Research abstract

Ditching the Desk

Laura Lurns Last updated November 22, 2016 · 1 min read

An experimental teacher tries a non-traditional layout in the classroom. He decides to get rid of his teacher’s desk and finds that he is more engaged with his students and that his students were more comfortable due to more space. At the beginning of the year the teacher wasn’t sure if the new layout would truly be better but in the end, the new changes stayed.

“Teachers can remove emotional and cognitive barriers between themselves and students by changing the physical environment of the classroom. Removing the teacher’s desk can make the students perceive the teacher as a learner that they are allied with.”

A high school English teacher that felt his classroom layout was focused more on his comfort rather than the comfort of his students, he decided to remove his own desk. At first he has trouble adjusting to this change, but in the end he found that removing his desk helped his students be more comfortable and were more willing to approach him to ask questions.

Key takeaways

Getting rid of the teacher’s desk can drastically change the way a classroom works.
Getting rid of the desk can encourage students to approach the teacher, as well as simply creating more space, among other benefits.
A classroom without a teacher’s desk can feel more like a space shared by students and teachers, instead of a teacher’s space where students visit.

Is your child struggling in school?

Get your free personalized learning roadmap

You describe what you see at home. We turn it into a plan you start this week.

Answer 5 short questionnaires about what you already notice, 30–45 minutes at your own kitchen table
Your child sits no test and gets no score: nothing to schedule, nothing for them to dread
You do the answering, the AI does the writing, and a person reviews it before it reaches you
Access all 40+ courses instantly: reading, math, focus, processing and more, with new ones added regularly

Why we use AI, plainly: it writes from a knowledge base our team maintains and audits. We work through it line by line and pull anything the evidence stops supporting. The roadmap you get on Tuesday reflects what we corrected on Monday, and a human still reads it before you do.

Your school district must evaluate your child free of charge if you ask in writing, whatever your income and whatever the outcome (US, 34 CFR 300.111 and 300.301(b)). That route takes time and answers a different question than you do. This one starts today, from what you already know.

Get my free assessment & 7-day trial Cancel anytime during your trial.

Your answers stay yours. We do not sell your personal information, and we do not hand identifiable assessment data to outside AI companies to train their models.

A screener is a starting point, not a diagnosis. If your child might need formal accommodations (an IEP or 504 plan), or you suspect a vision, hearing or medical cause, pursue a professional evaluation too. That is the only route to those supports.

Laura Lurns · Learning Success expert Writes about the learning brain for parents who want plain answers. Every article is grounded in current neuroscience and classroom practice.

“Teachers can remove emotional and cognitive barriers between themselves and students by changing the physical environment of the classroom. Removing the teacher’s desk can make the students perceive the teacher as a learner that they are allied with.”

Key takeaways

Is your child struggling in school?

Keep reading