5 Ways to Design Inclusive Learning Environments for All Students

It’s a fundamental right that every child should have the same opportunity for a high-quality education and the same chance to learn and thrive in school as their peers—regardless of their capabilities, challenges, family circumstances, language, or ethnicity.

For this to happen, the school environment must feel safe and welcoming for all students, which is why access and inclusion are basic necessities in education today.

As our country becomes increasingly diverse in all these ways, educators are tasked with meeting a broad range of student needs. No two students are alike, and each child learns in different ways. Instead of employing a one-size-fits-all approach to instruction, educators are adopting more engaging, inclusive, and personalized approaches designed to support all students more effectively.

Thoughtful furniture choices and classroom resources not only promote physical comfort but also facilitate social interaction and collaboration among students of varying backgrounds and abilities, enhancing the overall inclusivity of the classroom setting.

Universal Design for Learning

Access and inclusion require educators to be thoughtful and purposeful in how they interact with students on a daily basis, incorporating strategies such as Universal Design for Learning (UDL) into their instruction to support a diverse student population and give everyone a fair shot at success.

UDL accounts for the differences among students and how they learn by giving them multiple ways to engage with instruction, understand the content, and show what they can do. This flexibility gives students numerous pathways to learn the material and demonstrate their skills and understanding, allowing them to draw on their unique strengths and abilities in doing so.

Teachers can also connect what students are learning in school with their interests, languages, and life experiences. This involves getting to know students, including their families and interests; celebrating these unique backgrounds and experiences; and drawing upon these to help students learn the content more effectively.

Designing Inclusive Learning Environments

UDL is an evidence-based strategy for creating more inclusive learning environments that support students as individuals, foster a strong sense of belonging and community, and accommodate various learning differences.

But designing an inclusive learning environment is about more than delivering fully accessible instruction. It’s also about creating a classroom culture in which all students treat each other with kindness and respect.

The design of the physical environment matters, too. How a classroom space is designed, furnished, and equipped plays a key role in whether students feel welcome in that space and how effectively they can learn.

Here are five ways to design physical learning environments that are more accessible and inclusive of all students.

Focus on Flexibility

Designing flexible instruction that caters to various needs requires the use of flexible furniture to support it. For instance, using moveable furniture on wheels and modular pieces that easily can be arranged into different configurations allows educators to create versatile classroom spaces that support a wide variety of learning activities and modalities.

Offer Students Plenty of Choices in Seating Styles

Choice gives students agency and ownership of their learning and leads to deeper engagement. It also makes classrooms more inclusive. Something as simple as having multiple seating styles to choose from can accommodate different learning preferences and helps students feel more welcome.

For these reasons, learning spaces should give students plenty of choices in where and how they’ll do their work, with a variety of seating styles and materials. Classrooms that include multiple seating options—such as standing desks, clusters for small-group learning, soft seating, and formal desks and chairs—help students make their own choices to support how they learn best.

By providing furniture that accommodates different learning needs and preferences, schools can create an environment where every student feels valued and supported in their unique ways of engaging with the material. It also gives teachers options to accommodate different learning modalities and instructional options.

Pay Attention to Comfort and Convenience

To ensure that students can work comfortably, classroom furnishings should be ergonomically designed and age appropriate. For instance, height-adjustable desks create a comfortable workspace for students, allowing them to easily raise or lower the height of their desks to the right level they need to be productive.

Because some students are sensitive to certain types of materials, learning spaces should offer seating options with different fabrics and surface types. This gives students who have sensory processing disorders a variety of options to choose from. Many students on the autism spectrum have sensory processing concerns and are overly sensitive to touch.

Environmental factors such as lighting, acoustics, temperature, and air quality should also be at appropriate levels for learning. Students with sensory processing issues, in particular, might be overly sensitive to light and sound. Classroom décor offers an opportunity for student input and agency and is frequently used as part of daily classroom routines.

To maximize students’ ability to focus and learn, schools should use natural lighting wherever possible and avoid using fluorescent lights, instead choosing warmer, recessed lighting sources. If replacing light bulbs or fixtures isn’t feasible, light filters (such as Cozy Shades) can provide an affordable option for softening classroom lighting.

When students are physically comfortable in their seats, they are more likely to participate actively in discussions and activities, regardless of their individual needs or abilities. Soft seating offers comfort and mobility for both secondary schools and primary education.

Give Students a Way to Move Around Easily

All students need to move throughout the school day, and those with sensory processing challenges or difficulty self-regulating are likely to move more frequently. Classroom environments designed to support all learners should accommodate the need to move around, and in fact, research supports the idea that frequent movement and fidgeting might actually help students with ADHD learn better. “Fidget” seating and “wobble” stools allow for frequent movement by letting students twist, rock, or move in place without disrupting a lesson.

Establish Quiet, Calming Spaces

Students who are overstimulated or suffering from anxiety might need some time to decompress by themselves. This is why a growing number of schools are realizing the value of having quiet, calming spaces, such as separate areas of the classroom that are available to students who need those private moments of downtime.

For instance, a Mini Geode Den helps block noise and prevents sensory overload, giving students with sensory issues a quiet and calm space in which they can feel secure.

Wholly separate multi-sensory rooms are also emerging in schools. A Snoezelen® multi-sensory room, or Snoezelen® room, often includes gentle lighting and soothing sounds, furniture that helps define spatial boundaries to help children feel secure in their physical space, and sensory tools that help students stay calm and regulate their emotions.

Accessibility for Everyone

As K-12 leaders look to create more inclusive learning environments for everyone, small changes to the physical learning space can make a big difference.

To learn how School Specialty® can help you design and furnish learning environments – including equipping them with proper resources and supplies – so they are fully accessible and inclusive for all students, please reach out to your School Specialty® Representative.

Dr. Sue Ann Highland is the National Education Strategist for School Specialty. As an Education Strategist, she uses her expertise in educational initiatives and administrative leadership to help teachers and leaders to transform teaching and learning.

In addition to her work at School Specialty, Highland has also served as a change and improvement consultant to more than many Colorado business and educational institutions since 2004. In this capacity, she enhanced personnel performance, streamlined organizational operations and introduced process improvements that enhance productivity for companies and schools. She also has several years experience in managing a team that transforms learning environments for districts.

Highland derives her expertise from over 25 years in education, with half of those years in rural districts. She has worked as an Organizational Development Director, an elementary school principal and a school district’s Director of Federal Programs, Curriculum and Instruction. In these positions, Highland was responsible for professional development and daily management as well as for leading initiatives and evaluating staff performance and results. She specializes in improvement, turnaround, and change management.

Highland received a Master of Arts in Educational Leadership and Policy Studies from the University of Northern Colorado and a Ph.D. in Industrial and Organizational Psychology from Grand Canyon University.