Movement and engagement in flexible, technology-enhanced classrooms: investigating cognitive and emotional engagement from the faculty perspective

Abstract

The main objective of the study was to understand specific ways in which a flexible, technology-enhanced space can create opportunities for student engagement. Despite a few studies that address classroom elements such as furniture, researchers argue for more-holistic attention to the materials of learning environments to better support the activities in which students engage. To address this gap, we designed this qualitative case study of the role of the physical structure of flexible classrooms on college students’ engagement. Findings from the analysis of the data can be classified into three areas: (a) flexible room layout and movable furniture enabled participants to create settings that could support students’ group interactions; (b) flexible room layout and movable tools enabled people to move around to enhance student–to–student and teacher–to–student interaction; and (c) through the movement of furniture and tools and movement of people, participants were able to easily transition between different activities. The easy movement of tools and furniture widens the range of available classroom configurations to optimize engagement opportunities. Similarly, the flexibility of the classroom allows for the relatively easy movement of people. Our data suggest that such flexibility can facilitate interaction and engagement among students and instructors to create opportunities to promote both cognitive and emotional engagement. Findings underscore the critical role of space, furniture, and tools in the creation of learning environments that support student engagement in higher-education settings.