Here’s a detailed floor plan I made for my vision of what an ideal classroom should be. This is in no way a computer class, but I’d prefer it if there’s a 1:1 ratio of computers to students. Computers are useful for research, online tests and surveys, along with some games that can be utilized for learning purposes.
In addition, a desirable number of students (around 12-15) can largely help with the conduciveness of the learning environment, since the teacher can provide relative feedback to performance in a real-time fashion.
The teacher’s desk is at the corner, near the door which I think is unobtrusive, yet, it provides maximum supervision of the whole class, in my opinion. The class is arranged in a U-shaped manner for I’d like to employ a constructivist classroom, with ample space for performance-based task, e.g. reporting, oral presentation, drama or role-play, etc.
In addition, during discussion, the attention is focused on the speaker, be it the teacher, or the student/s. It’s easy to detect unwanted behavior in the class as well since all chairs should be turned toward the speaker during discussion.
A projector is suspended from the ceiling, and is at the center of the room. This is helpful with presentations using PowerPoint, Keynote, or other means. Apart from that, film-showing can easily be done as well.
Readers can rejoice for there’s a reader’s nook with a reasonable space in the corner. Students would be encouraged to bring their favorite books with them to be placed on the bookshelf for everybody to read for the whole semester/school year.
A locker can also be found right beside the bookshelf so there’s a place for all of the students’ personal belongings. These stuff should provide minimal to zero interference in the work/learning space.
If you’ve noticed, the design is quite similar to training environments in some corporate offices. In my experience, whether as a learner or as a facilitator, I have found this layout to be effective in learning and/or transmitting information to learners. As such, this is how my ideal classroom setup would be.