Machesney Park teacher embraces non-traditional learning space by redefining classroom

MACHESNEY PARK, Ill. (WTVO) — Teaching is evolving at one Machesney Park school, and so is what a classroom looks and sounds like.

On Thursday, Marquette Elementary third-grade teacher Sarah Jacobson welcomed students into a room that looked far different than the typical classroom most are familiar with.

“It’s completely different from the way I started the curriculum that I started with 20 years ago,” she said. “With the children, with our classrooms, with the buildings, with the expectations, things have kind of evolved. And I just thought their needs (are) different. We need to have fun in a very structured way.”

Exercise balls, floor mats, and rocking chairs are now some of the seating options in a classroom that looks just as much like a hangout space as a place to learn.

Principal Brock Morlan says a growing number of teachers are embracing non-traditional classrooms.

“We’re slowly getting to the point where this is becoming more of the norm. Instead of expecting a perfectly quiet classroom, there is going to be some noise. And that’s okay,” Morlan said. “But not everybody is comfortable with that. A super quiet classroom doesn’t always mean that it’s the classroom that has the most learning going on. And that’s a shift in thinking.”

All the movement and noise could be considered disruptive, but Jacobson said she has had fewer behavioral issues with students since adapting to her classroom.

“Those students, who might need to stand while learning or might need to take a break or might need a just a minute to center themselves in their learning, they have the opportunity then to do that and not interrupt the classroom and not become frustrated and not become a disruption to the rest of the class during the lesson,” she said.

“We know kids need a lot more collaboration, they need more movement, they’re spending more time in front of screens. And so this allows them to talk and collaborate with their peers that they might not be getting as the kids twenty years ago, did,” she continued. “My favorite thing is to see parents and kids’ faces when they walk into ‘Back to School’ night and see how different the classroom looks compared to other classrooms.”

Jacobson said social media has allowed teachers to collaborate nationwide and share best practices.

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