General Instructions

1. Driving Question What is an optimal middle school learning

environment?
2. Explanation Classrooms are learning environments. However, how can
a classroom be changed to make it a better learning environment? Your
job is to select one academic
classroom (such as a math room) or learning center (such as a library or
computer lab) or the downstairs room (for a new Study Center) and
design it to be the best learning environment possible for that subject or
area.
3. Research Once your team has selected a room or learning center, do
some preliminary research to see what floor plans, furniture, lighting, etc.
has already been created.
4. Your Room As a team, give your project a name, then decide how you
want to design your room. What is already available? How can you
change it and make it better? What can you create that will be different,
unique, and functional? Remember: the goal of your project is to show
how you can design a room by utilizing what you have learned about
anthropometry biometrics (measurements) and ergonomics (designing

and arranging).

5. Plan Next week, you will have four afternoons to prepare your project
and presentation, and you will present it on the fifth afternoon. As a
group, decide what type of project you want to do.
6. Project Must include a poster and a model. Floor plans, drawings,
models must be to scale. Remember, you are designing this for the
average 6th grade student.
Possibilities include but are not restricted to 3-D drawings, 2-D floor plans,
architectural drawings, computer images (Sketch It Up), and
cardboard/clay/Styrofoam/balsa wood models.

7. Presentation On Friday, your project will be set-up in the Lair. Several

Lower School classes, administration, and teachers have been invited to
visit your presentations. You will be briefly explaining your project to
them and answering any questions they may have.

Project Work Report

Project Name: ___________________________________________________________
Members of group: _______________________________________________________
Due date for finished project with presentation:
________________________________

This is a verbal
description of
our project.

1.
These are the
general steps we
will take to
complete this
project

2.
3.
4.
5.

Our Agreement
We
We
We
We
We
We

all
all
all
all
all
all

promise
promise
promise
promise
promise
promise

to
to
to
to
to
to

listen to each others ideas with respect.

do our assigned work to the best of our ability.
turn in our work on or before due dates.
ask for help if we need it.
share responsibility for our success and for our mistakes.
turn in work that is our own.

If someone in our group breaks one or more of our rules, the group has the
right to call a
meeting and ask the person to follow the rules. If the person still
breaks one or more of our
rules, we have the right to vote to ask that person to
do his/her own project.
Date: ____________________________
Group Member Signatures:
_________________ ____________________ __________________ ________________

Specific Task

Person
Responsible

Done
Due Date

Status
Day1
Day2
Day3
Day4
Day1
Day2
Day3
Day4
Day1
Day2
Day3
Day4
Day1
Day2
Day3
Day4
Day1
Day2
Day3
Day4
Day1
Day2
Day3
Day4
Day1
Day2
Day3
Day4
Day1
Day2
Day3
Day4
Day1
Day2
Day3
Day4
Day1
Day2
Day3
Day4

Materials List All materials must be brought to school on Monday.

Item
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.

Person Responsible