A glimpse into the future of the classroom: how the Steelcase node will change the way we teach

MONDAY

This week is NeoCon, the big show in the furniture world. I really hope to make it out there someday because I want to experience what’s new in the world of design. It would be cool to check out Stride Benching and the Vox Monogram this year.

 

One new product that I am really excited about is the Steelcase Node. I hinted about this back in March but wasn’t able to reveal anything more at that time. Steelcase has been really cool about it though and granted me an interview with Sean Corcorran, Director, Product Development & Marketing, Education Solutions (and former IDEO guy.) They also gave me some prototypes and sketches that I can share. I’m planning to do several posts this week about the node, but for now let’s take a look at what it’s all about:

 

     

My initial reaction was that it looked kinda cool, but so what. It has the tablet-like arm, which they refer to as “personal work surface” and wheels... and it looks very modern, but I couldn't see my University administrators rushing out to buy hundreds of these chairs for their classrooms.

 

My opinion changed then I saw these photos:

    Lecture Mode
   Group Mode
  

More planning ideas.

The brilliance of the node is how it functions as a complete system. It’s not just an individual chair or a set of chairs, it is a mobile grid. It enables the instructor to customize the learning environment accordingly.

They way they explained it—you could have the chairs arranged in lecture mode, but then very quickly have the students break into pairs or small groups, or into a circle or into a u-shape, whatever is needed. Node adds flexibility into the configuration of the space, so rather than deal with the limitations of static furniture, it enables the class to have the shape required for the lesson or activity at hand. This is really beneficial for variations in teaching style as well as differences across the disciplines.
 

Beyond the portability factor, there are some other great qualities of the node. I encourage you to review the official site because they articulate the features better than I can. But here are a few thoughts:

• The casters/wheels work well. They roll well when you want, but I never felt like it was out of control. If you bump into someone else, you’re not going to roll out of control.
• The space under the seat is great for books and bags. The idea here seems to toward reclaiming space and providing order.
• The arm rests also function as a book bag hanger so that students have easy access to their supplies.
• The base rotates/swivels so that you can spin around side to side. If someone is talking or writing on a board, you can quickly adjust to view.
• There is a ledge along the base for resting you feet. I love this!
• The chair has a fair amount of give. This allows for a slight rocking. I prefer to have slight movement when I’m sitting for a long time.
• The personal workspace/work surface is fair large. Unlike traditional lounge chair style tablet arms (which I actually dislike) this product has a great amount of space. You can fit a laptop and a book on it. There is also a small ridge to help keep papers from falling off. It swings out of the way pretty easily as well.

  

That should get the conversation started. I think there is a lot of potential here in how we can conduct the business of teaching, but also in how node might reshape the learning experience in libraries too. Check back Tuesday for my interview with one of the key developers of the node. And later in the week I’ll speculate how these might be used by librarians and instructors.

 

For more on the concept of adaptable space read:
 What we can learn from Cosi

 

Comments

[Jen Waller]

Nice post. I now find myself wishing each chair came with it's own power supply so that students could charge their laptops! 

I'm going to take minor exception to the title of your post though. Good instructors have already changed the way they teach, and they encourage this kind of flexibility. Its so necessary to allow for different learning styles and collaborative learning. I rather think it is the furniture evolving to meet the needs of students and instructors instead of the other way around. In other words, "How teaching (or learning) changed the way Steelcase designs chairs!" 

[Brian]

Thanks for comment. I'll cover in the interview, but basically the observed teaching and found the limitations with current classroom arrangements... There was a gap between how teachers wanted to teach and the tools they had to work with. So they applied design-thinking to build a chart that could enable the activities that instructors wanted.

[stevenb]

It may be that the future of classroom design isn't a seat at all. See http://bit.ly/cWVjg1

[brian]

Bell-- I don't know about standing for a 3 hour class!

[stevenb]

Well there are lots of classes running less than 3 hours. But he's got that covered - there are inflatable balls you can sit on if you need to give your legs a rest. Either that or he's really interesting and you never want to sit down.

[Rebecca]

I like that the swivel seat means that there is no "right handed" or "left handed" chair. There's cost savings in there.

As for sitting on exercise balls, someone in my office does that from time to time. I've never tried it myself. Maybe if I come in early and no one is looking...

[Kaijsa]

How big a person can sit in those units? A pregnant woman? An obese person? A really tall man? I think these look great and useful, but I always wonder about the problems with fixed desk/chair combination. And there are probably other accessibility issues, too.

[brian]

Kaijsa. I believe they did a lot of testing. The current market of classroom chairs are horrible, but they tried to develop a chair that is more open to various body types, as well as sitting style (sloucher, rocker, edge of seat) and the personal workspace / tablet is very mobile. I don't recall if it goes up and down, but I never felt like it was intrusive. Thanks for reading. Hope to get some of my interview up tonight.