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Date
17 September 2025
Link
inclusive.tki.org.nz/guides/planning-innovative-learning-environments-iles/introduce-students-to-the-new-space-prior-to-moving-to-build-familiarity-and-minimise-challenging-situations

Introduce students to the new space prior to moving to build familiarity and minimise challenging situations

Suggestion for implementing the strategy ‘Involving students in planning and preparing for the transition to the new space’

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Prepare for change

Prepare for change

Create a revisitable resource, for example, a book, slideshow, or video, of the new spaces for students. Include things they may be anxious about, such as where to hang bags, where they can sit, and quiet spaces.

10534 [Poster-frame-Inclusive-classrooms.png]

Source: Enabling e-Learning (opens in a new tab/window)

Source:
Enabling e-Learning
https://elearning.tki.org.nz/Snapshots-of-learning/Snapshots-of-Learning/Hapara-Teacher-Dashboard-and-Google-Apps/Inclusion-in-the-classroom

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Use a visual timeline

Use a visual timeline

Create and refer regularly to a visual timeline showing the dates and steps to prepare for change.

Use this selection of online tools to create a timeline that captures and presents information in a visual format.

10535 [time-line-2.png]

Source: Ministry of Education | Te Tāhuhu o te Mātauranga

Source:
Ministry of Education | Te Tāhuhu o te Mātauranga

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Visit the new space regularly

Visit the new space regularly

  • Arrange for students to visit the new spaces on several occasions before moving in.
  • Show photographs or videos of the new spaces and talk about what will happen in them.
  • Prepare a scrapbook on the new space for students to familiarise themselves with how it looks, and where they can work in the space.
  • Discuss any concerns the students may have about the move and address these directly.
  • Use social stories to practice routines, systems, and ways of working.
  • Visit locations in the new space that may be different to the current classroom space (for example, work spaces, the gymnasium, the cloakroom).

Practise routines prior to moving

Practise routines prior to moving

Lucy Fong explains how they trialled different uses of space by converting single classrooms, prior to building their new flexible learning spaces.

Video hosted on Vimeo http://vimeo.com/142187311

Source: Enabling e-Learning (NZ) (opens in a new tab/window)

Closed Captions

Source:
Enabling e-Learning (NZ)
https://elearning.tki.org.nz/Teaching/Innovative-learning-environments/Adapting-single-cell-classrooms-to-create-an-innovative-learning-environment

Next steps

More suggestions for implementing the strategy “Involve students in transition to new space”:

Return to the guide “Planning innovative learning environments (ILEs)”

11445 [ILEs.jpg]

ILEs

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Guide to Index of the guide: Supporting ākonga Māori

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