Traditional Classrooms

• The traditional classroom typically consisting of a chalkboard, a desk for the teacher that is located at the front of the room, and smaller wooden student desks that face the teacher's desk and are organized in rows. Students are discouraged from interacting with their classmates, as there is a distance between each desk. Instead, students interact directly with the teacher. To do so, they raise their hands to get the teacher's attention before speaking, as it would be difficult for those in the back of the classroom to be heard otherwise. Other characteristics of a traditional classroom include minimized student autonomy, strict teacher control and a focus on individual work.
  
  

Open Classrooms

• The open classroom is characterized by its welcoming atmosphere and emphasis on interaction between students. Desks in an open classroom may be organized in a circular pattern, with the teacher either sitting at one of the desks between two students, in the middle of the circle, or simply standing and moving throughout the circle. This type of classroom arrangement facilitates one-on-one contact between the students and the teacher. Students can also readily interact with each other because of the close proximity of their desks. Open classrooms are ideal for courses that emphasize discussion and group work. Students must be mature to handle the autonomy provided by an open classroom.
  
  

Combination Classrooms

• Combination classrooms represent the best aspects of the traditional and open classroom. They permit a level of student creativity while still allowing for the possibility of individual work. While some students may work in groups in open areas of a combination classroom, others can complete individualized tasks while working alone at single desks. Other teachers may want to focus on one aspect of the classroom at a time. For example, the open classroom could be used when working on a class play or art project. The traditional classroom set-up of single separated desks may be used when students have a test or individual tasks to complete. Combination classrooms work best in spacious rooms.
  
  

Media-Enhanced Classrooms

• For some, the media-enhanced classroom represents the classroom of the future that will eventually replace traditional classrooms. Equipped with wireless Internet access, laptop computers for each student and other media materials, media-enhanced classrooms allow teachers to use a variety of Internet, audio and media sources in their lesson plans. Such classrooms could greatly enhance the learning process by increasing student interest and providing access to real life and up-to-date examples to supplement books and other traditional teaching supports. Still, because of funding issues, media-enhanced classrooms are currently only available to a small percentage of schools, generally at the university level.