School furniture of the future should encourage movement

Physical activity results in better learning

According to a report from the Nordic Council of Ministers, 68% of Swedish school children are physically inactive. But the future looks bright. Kinnarps' Trend Report about the learning environments of the future compiled in collaboration with learning environment experts in the Nordic region indicates that there will be an increase in the use of the entire body in education. Learn BNB is one of the trends which will have a large impact on our learning environments. The trend is important in many ways as being able to handle the body facilitates intellectual learning. The Learn with Brain and Body concept recognises that it is no longer enough just to use your brain, the whole body has to be involved. Classroom gyms and quiet furniture are therefore a couple of the trends that are becoming increasingly common in our schools.

 "Physical activity not only improves our health but also our short and long-term cognitive ability. Children spend a large amount of time in education the first 20 years of their lives. As a result, schools are given a unique opportunity to influence a child's physical activity levels and promote healthy living habits. This can be done for instance by creating environments that promote physical activity and introduce short exercise breaks in class," says Daniel Berglind, researcher at the Karolinska University Hospital in Sweden.

Technology and interior design

Learn BNB places new demands on both products and environments being silent while at the same time they promote movement, like rocking chairs or silent flooring. The report also reveals that technology and the Internet of Things (IoT) will in the future support movement in classrooms using sensors that alter the position of furniture and encourage pupils to stand up when they have been sitting still for a period of time. Learn BNB is all about increasing the dynamic and movement in the room in order to enhance learning. Therefore, it is important that interior design is flexible and can be adapted to the needs of individuals, groups and different teaching styles.

"Just as many workplaces are furnished with furniture that promotes movement, classrooms and learning environments are being adjusted to prevent pupils from sitting still too long. We have noticed an increase in the demand for mobile furniture, sound-absorbing products and chairs which enable movement without making any noise. There will be much going on when it comes to developing school interiors in the coming years," says Anders Larsson, Next Education Concept Manager at Kinnarps.

Meeting pupil needs

Our offices and workplaces are constantly changing. Interior design trends are being combined with ergonomics and creativity-enhancing elements. For the most part, we see this as a natural progression, but in many schools, time has unfortunately stood still. "Technology has changed, but classrooms usually still look the same. Desks are lined up in rows facing a board. One of the few differences in many of the schools we visit is that pupils have tablets rather than pens in their hands," Anders Larsson tells us. Schools on the cutting edge dare to challenge traditional structures and instead meet the needs of their pupils. Flexible classrooms and furniture that support variation and encourage children to move around improve the chance of good work and collaboration. It is all about accommodating individual learning processes. "It may just be that it's easier to take in the contents of the book you read in the morning when you do so from a soft sofa or rug rather than a hard wooden chair. Everyone learns in different ways. Some people do best sitting in a low chair and others in a high one. There are also those who need to be screened off or sit facing a wall. It's important to bring this knowledge into the classroom, not to mention long overdue," Anders continues.

Furnish many surfaces

An important observation is that many children feel safe sitting in a corner. This is seen in how they choose to sit along the walls. Consider, in this case, creating a classroom with more than four corners. You can use screens, textiles, high-backed easy chairs and storage units on castors to block spaces off. Create zones within a room. There are also other areas in schools that can be used more effectively. Why limit the canteen to eating? Can a passive hallway become active? And how can you create environments for spontaneous meetings and informal learning?

Can a chair and a desk affect learning?

There are a number of smart options for naturally incorporating movement and variation in day-to-day teaching. Place a standing table in the classroom to encourage pupils to stand while doing assignments. This is not only a good way to encourage movement, but often a simple one. It is also important to enable variation for work as a whole class, in groups or individually. Therefore, the interior design needs to be functional and mobile to enable customisation for the need and situation. Chairs and tables on castors make it easy to rearrange furniture into new formations or groupings. The challenge is, however, to avoid creating noisy environments. More activity should not mean more noise. Using rocking chairs or stools on quiet flooring is one way to go about this. Choosing an ergonomic chair that is customisable and adjustable, or one that rocks and has castors, encourages pupils to move while sitting. It has the added benefit of being able to adapt the chair to the height and needs of individual pupils.