Faculty research informs classroom design for all learners

Faculty from the College of Architecture, Arts, and Design and the College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences conducted a study that informs classroom designs by incorporating the perspective of neuroatypical students.

This study on universal design, supported by funding from Steelcase, a global design and thought leader in the world of work, is not only acting as an industry guide, but its findings are attracting attention throughout the educational community.

Neuroatypical people have cognitive abilities and associated learning, mood, attention, sociability, and other mental functions that do not present as typical for the larger population. When David Kniola, assistant professor of practice in education, and Elif Tural, associate professor in interior design, were asked to investigate design principles that enhance learning spaces for neuroatypical students in higher education, they went directly to the source.

Virginia Tech students were interviewed about their experiences in the classroom. Nine students participated in the study. Seven were women, two were men, and all participants identified as neuroatypical, having one or a combination of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, autism, Asperger’s, or anxiety. Their input was applied to designs, and those were modified based on student feedback.

“Neuroatypical students have a very unique perspective that they want to share, and if we can do that through the design of a classroom, it enhances the learning for all students in that classroom,” said Kniola.

Some design perspectives that emerged from this study include the following:

• Students want private, semi-private, and collaborative spaces to enhance their learning and focus but don't want to feel like outsiders in the classroom.
• Students like designs that reduce or isolate noise and chaos, both internal and external to room.
• Students favor design choices that support student movement while masking the distraction for others.
• Students need a variety of spaces to meet their personal needs to align with classroom activity. Different activities require different space needs.
• Students desire control in their environment. Having ability to manipulate seating, blinds to regulate lighting and visual “noise,” and dimmers on artificial lighting allows control of physical learning environment.

“The most important thing is one size does not fit all, so it is about giving choice to students and giving them control over indoor environmental comfort issues that play an important role in learning,” said Tural. “There’s not going to be one solution that’s going to work for everyone, so as designers, our role is to provide as many options as possible so that people have the option to choose what works best for them.”

“We do not advocate for classroom designs that isolate students or have elements that are for ‘those’ students only,” said Kniola. “These designs enhance learning for neurotypical students by giving them flexibility in where and how they work, but also in being interdependent with students who may think differently.”

Kniola and Tural have written a chapter on universal classroom design for an upcoming book, and they presented their research results at the EDSpaces Conference in November.

Educators and designers have a lot to learn from this study, but parents do as well. Gwen Vogelzang and Kristen Kaiser, co-hosts of "You Don’t Want a Hug" podcast and parents of neurodiverse children, discussed the research results on their podcast and offered this statement: "As parents, educators, and advocates, we understand the power that our environment has on how we experience the world. So often, our physical surroundings aren't considered, but they play a vital role as an additional teacher in classrooms, therapy offices, and even our home environments. Finding tangible ways to manipulate physical space to become universally accessible and engaging is a topic that excites us. So much interesting work and research is being done around the world in this space and we were honored to learn from Elif and David during our podcast interview."

Another important finding in this study was that many students went undiagnosed until their college years. Kniola and Tural said approaching classroom design with all learners in mind benefits all students, not only those with a neuroatypical diagnosis.

Reflecting the university’s commitment to offer broad, transformational learning experiences to students, three student researchers were able to work with Kniola and Tural on this study:

• Jennifer Bertollo, clinical psychology doctoral candidate
• Haleigh Daughtrey, interior design
• Lauren Shelton, interior design

Steelcase has sponsored multiple Virginia Tech research projects over the years. Andrew Kim, director of Steelcase WorkSpace Futures and Learning Explorations Lead, proposed this work.

“We have been exploring the topic of inclusive learning spaces and wanted to dive more deeply into neurodiverse learning spaces,” said Kim. “Neurodiverse students have much to offer their peers, and all students can benefit from neurodiverse learning environments. It was a privilege to work with Virginia Tech faculty and students. Their insights have contributed towards creating more effective learning environments for all students.”