Learning spaces

21st Century Learning Spaces:Form Follows Function

Derek Swanson21st Century Skills Coordinator

Jack Swigert Aerospace Academy

Form follows function. It seems obvious but is often forgotten: teaching and learning should shape the building, not vice versa. This session will help to rethink what a learning space should look like to promote collaboration.

Agenda

5 minutes- Why it should be a learning space and not a classroom.

15minutes-Design Informs Intent. Visual samplings. Discussion of what works in participants classrooms.

5 minutes- Third Place

10 minutes- Swigert Internet Café

5 minutes Effective Learning Spaces

http://tinyurl.com/21stcenturyspaces

Learning SpacesSpace as an agent of change.

“Learning occurs in classrooms (formal learning); other times it results from serendipitous interactions among individuals (informal learning). Space—whether physical or virtual—can have an impact on learning. It can bring people together; it can encourage exploration, collaboration, and discussion. Or, space can carry an unspoken message of silence and disconnectedness. More and more we see the power of built pedagogy (the ability of space to define how one teaches).”

-Diana G. Oblinger, Educause

At a cafeIs learning taking place?

Based on what you see, what kind of teaching will take place?

Design Informs Intent

When a learning walks into a room, they have a notion of what type of learning is about to occur based on the layout of the room.


Think about the places in your schoolWhat do the classrooms around you look like?

What perception are students having when they walk into your room?

Are the classrooms in your school set up to support collaborative learning or are they set up for lecture?

What could you do in your classroom to support 21st century learning?





Hallways

How much of a student’s day is spent transitioning through halls?

How much of a student’s school year is spent?

Hallways account for 10 and 25 percent of space in a school. How can you make halls learning spaces?

Funding the Creation of Space

Over the next three years, federal funds via the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act in the form of grants and bonds will be dedicated to the creation and redesign in K-12 schools that support learning, as well as provide for green initiatives.

http://www.ncef.org/school-modernization/chart.pdf

How Swigert is creating a Third Space

In his 1989 book The Great Good Place, Ray Oldenburg states that there is a place beyond the traditional social environments of home and work.

This third space is a place where community can be built . The traits of these spaces are: • Welcoming and have comforts. • Highly Accessible• Individuals should feel comfortable meeting their habitually.

Swigert Internet Café Concept: To provide a multi use space to serve several purposes; student learning, community engagement, and teacher professional development.

Objectives:• Military students/parents have opportunity to use to computers to

Skype family members overseas.• Parents to be trained on technology their students use.• An opportunity for students to have technology to do their

homework.• Opportunity for students to stay afterschool for homework and

other technology opportunities for student achievement growth and also not go home to an empty home.

• Great place for staff development.• Great place for community meetings.• Great place to market school to newly located military families.• Great place to promote STEM. Science, Technology, Engineering,

and Math• A place to have technology math and science games for student

competition.

Swigert Internet Café




We hope that students and staff will be able to intermingle during professional development times. Breaking down artificial barriers between teachers and students in terms of training will give confidence to all involved.

What makes a learning space effective?

List 1: 1. Adaptability: spaces that support people, activities, and change, while keeping pace with a multitude of learning and teaching styles (including people, technology, and furnishings) 2. Social: spaces that support collaboration, interaction and engagement 3. Healthful: spaces that promote safety and physical well-being of students, faculty, and staff. 4. Sustainability: spaces that are environmentally responsible 5. Resourceful: spaces that support long term efficiency and use of assets 6. Stimulating: Spaces that attract people and spark creative thinking

From: Best Practice in Learning Space Design: Engaging Learners| Grummon

http://www.educause.edu/EDUCAUSE+Quarterly/EDUCAUSEQuarterlyMagazineVolum/BestPracticesinLearningSpaceDe/163860


List 2: 1. Flexible – to accommodate both current and evolving pedagogies 2. Future-proofed – to enable space to be re-allocated and reconfigured 3. Bold – to look beyond tried and tested technologies and pedagogies 4. Creative – to energize and inspire learners and tutors 5. Supportive – to develop the potential of all learners 6. Enterprising – to make each space capable of supporting different purposes.

A learning space should be able to motivate learners and promote learning as an activity, support collaborative as well as formal practice, provide a personalized and inclusive environment, and be flexible in the face of changing needs. From: Designing Spaces for Effective Learning: A Guide to 21st Century Space Design | JISC http://www.jisc.ac.uk/uploaded_documents/JISClearningspaces.pdf


List 3: A learning space is designed around the needs of people, where the process of learning is considered "active, collaborative, and social."

1. Support multiple types of learning activities 2. Enable connections, inside and out 3. Are flexible 4. Accommodate information technology 5. Design for comfort, safety and functionality 6. Reflect institutional values

From: Leading the Transition from Classroom to Learning Space | National Learning Infrastructure Initiatives

http://net.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/NLI0447.pdf

Design Informs Intent

Create spaces that allow learners to be creative and participate in groups.

Start small. Have a shared classroom act as a learning laboratory and alter design. As you use design to change the intent of the class, pedagogy will follow.

Look for places, “nooks” where learning can take place. Alter the space to promote learning. It may be something simple like Idea Paint to provide space to collaborate.

Education

Learning spaces