Flexible planning pedagogy: Pedagogy above all else

By Jacques Cool, CADRE21, special collaboration

When approaching the topic of flexible design pedagogy, attention quickly turns to furniture and structures that stand out from a classic classroom setting. However, the most important remains the pedagogy.

Flexible layout of course goes hand in hand with changing the furniture in the classroom. On the other hand, it is especially important for the teacher to initiate a change in his teaching practices. The “Wow! ”Of the new well-appointed spaces must be directly linked to an“ educational Wow! ".  

For teachers, the challenge therefore lies in properly grasping the links between the educational needs of their students and the definition of different learning areas that will be set up in the classroom. Each must make it possible to support these needs.

The three pillars of a flexible planning pedagogy are: 

• caring classroom management;
• a pedagogy adapted to the needs of the learners; 
• a physical arrangement that supports educational intentions.

The pandemic, an opportunity

The challenges caused by the pandemic with regard to the school attendance of several students can become an additional pretext to reflect on the different educational means resulting from the pedagogy in flexible arrangement. These can certainly help mobilize students who are not all at the same level of mastery of certain skills. Educational differentiation to support students in their school career should be at the heart of a flexible context.

In a flexible classroom, with or without a desk, the teacher leaves much of the control and several choices of learning activities to his students. New pedagogical postures, new roles for the learner: how to meet the individual needs of students while maintaining pedagogical agility?

“As the leader of a school that remakes all of its classes […], it is necessary to get teachers to understand the foundations of flexible planning pedagogy”, explains Philippe Picard, secondary school principal in the region of Sherbrooke. “The key element: to bring the teacher to have a teaching practice centered on the needs of the pupil and to fully understand these real needs in 2021. The starting point always remains the questioning of the teaching intentions. "

Mr. Picard adds: "The fact of developing students' autonomy, allowing them to make choices, having their own pace of learning greatly promotes their commitment. In addition, the pleasure should not be neglected. The pleasure of being in a beautiful environment. The pleasure of collaborating with his peers. The pleasure of feeling in an environment and educational support adapted to the needs of today's young people. "

In closing, let us remember once again, questioning pedagogical intentions remains the starting point for change in the classroom.

In addition : 

• Our flexible planning guide by Carrefour education
• CADRE21 training on flexible planning pedagogy.
• To (re) read on the École branchée: Flexible layout (flexible seating): a trend favoring attention
• An educational meeting on the subject, with Geneviève Marcoux and Isabelle Patenaude