Redesigning Learning Spaces

Robert W. Dillon, Benjamin D. Gilpin, A. J. Juliani, Erin M. Klein

• Publisher: Corwin
• Year: 2016
• ISBN:
  9781506318332
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Education
• Subtopic: Education Technology

Bring hope, joy, and positive energy back into the daily work of the classroom. In this book, learn to design brain-friendly learning environments that foster engagement, productivity, and achievement while allowing for seamless integration of educational technology. Discover how flexible, welcoming, and comfortable learning spaces can prepare students for the future. In this book you’ll:

• Find resources for redesigning spaces on a sustainable budget
• Support technology integration through blended and virtual learning
• Hear from teachers and schools whose successfully transformed spaces have increased student achievement

Chapter 1 Leading Change Through Classroom Learning-Space Design

Why Change Classroom Space Now?

Designing learning spaces is foundational. As a teacher, you can have the best curriculum and you can be the best facilitator of knowledge, but if you don’t have an environment that’s conducive for learning, then nothing else truly matters. Imagine trying to learn something that is unfamiliar to you or trying something new for the first time. If these things are occurring in an environment that is overstimulating, noisy, or uncomfortable, it’s like being at the bottom of Maslow’s hierarchy because you don’t feel comfortable or safe. The result will be that you are never able to reach any deep level of learning.

One of the first design principles that teachers should recognize as they design an optimal learning space is to start by talking to the students. They are the ones who will really define comfort and speak to its essential nature. They will talk about how certain seating arrangements in the room make them feel more comfortable. These listening sessions help teachers to see and hear the links between comfort and learning. This is true for adults as well. Comfort also creates more stamina for the current task at hand.

Start a classroom redesign by talking to the students.

Great community examples showcase what is possible for the classroom. Places that are learner-centered, engaging, and dynamic all provide clues to the optimal classroom experience. One example of this is a hands-on museum. These museums engage kids almost immediately. Just watch as kids hop inside of the bubble contraption; put their hands in the sand; or build, construct, and manipulate objects. In these environments, kids have tangible objects that allow them to become makers and creators. The environment builds a learning energy. It is essential to look for ways to make this a reality in the classroom as well. This means not confined or restricted in terms of bulky furniture that gets in the way. It means having enough space to collaborate and work with one another to solve problems.

Another space that can serve as an example for teachers looking to rethink their classrooms is a bookstore. Observe how comfortable kids are in the bookstore. They want to sit and linger and read books. Really take notice of the entire children’s book section. Notice all of the children who are not with parents. There are no grownups. No one is teaching them. No one is telling them what to do, but they are actively engaged in self-selected books. In these spaces, you see children who have piles of books beside them and are just sitting and reading. Some are laying on floors. Some are on little beanbag chairs. Some are sitting across from one another in tables and chairs, and some are walking around shopping for books.

After seeing this, a teacher has to think that it is the most perfect example of a classroom and begin to ask questions like, “What elements that I observed are absent in my own classroom, and how can I integrate them into my classroom?” Classroom teachers seeing this scene would clearly want to infuse all of the dynamic learning that is happening, so that students could benefit from it every day.

What Are Other Experts Saying About the Elements of Learning-Space Design?

Interesting research on learning spaces was done by Carnegie Mellon University in regard to attention to allocation. They conducted two different studies on the amount of environmental print and the external stimulus that was in the classroom. Two different groups of learners were put in two different environments. One that was minimalistic in nature, and one that was very heavy on environmental print and external stimuli. When the children were given the same lesson and the same content delivered in the same methodology, the children in the minimalistic environment outperformed the children who were in the environment that was heavy on environmental print and stimuli. The conclusion to be drawn is that less in the classroom is truly more for learning (Carnegie Mellon University, 2014).

Teachers who have started to take things down quickly realize how much it benefits kids. It allows the students to truly focus on the content that is being delivered rather than all of the busyness going on around the room. Susan Kovalik (n.d.) has also done research on colors and design, how to place objects in the room, how to arrange them, and how that affects cognition and learning for students. In regard to color, her research shows how more monotone, monochromatic colors from the same hue or palate, are better than the bright colors of red, yellow, and blue. Kovalik encourages teachers to use grays, tans, and browns and even maybe soft greens or soft blues.

When it comes to technology in the classroom, the optimal amount of technology in a space often depends on the classroom itself. Rarely does the device matter. It’s all about how technology is being integrated by the teacher in the classroom. What is most important though is making sure that all students have access. This means that every classroom needs strong wireless access so that students can access resources and collaborate with one another and those beyond the walls of the classroom. There are a number of other smaller but essential components that go into setting up a successful learning space with technology, including having charging stations for devices and having enough power outlets to maintain classroom flexibility.

It is also necessary for teachers to consider the importance of children learning in places of beauty. The importance of beauty in learning-space design can’t be understated. Though beauty can be viewed as a subjective idea that varies for everyone, there are moments of universal beauty that stir all souls. Denis Dutton’s (2010) TED talk, “A Darwinian theory of beauty,” outlines this theory in more detail. He concludes that art, music, and other beautiful things, far from being simply “in the eye of the beholder,” are a core part of human nature with deep evolutionary origins.

Beauty is a core part of human nature.

Though it is great to “hack” learning spaces and add essential elements, it is important that students are exploring ideas, discovering connections, and debating issues in truly beautiful places to learn. Teachers who have already made these changes see how beauty contributes to learning in a deep and meaningful way. Beauty, for many children, is limited by their surroundings at home and in the community, so for these students, it is especially important that classrooms are also a place of beauty. Beauty can push back against the effects of poverty. Beauty can stimulate new dreams. Beauty can facilitate connections to people, place, and planet. Teachers can be champions for learning spaces for a number of reasons, but one of the motives should be that beauty is good for learning, and all students need to experience beauty to grow to their potential.

How Does Intentional Space Design Impact Student Mindset and Attitude?

As a way to help teachers see and feel the impact of learning spaces on learning, Erin shares some stories about how her classroom has come to life by using best practices around learning-space design.

It is interesting when students first see my learning space. They are not sure if it even is a classroom because it looks so far from the traditional space that they’re used to. A corner breakfast nook is the first thing that they see, and beside it is a tall green plant. On the other side of the plant is a rocking chair. There is also a lot of natural light that minimizes the overhead fluorescent lighting. This helps to make the room feel calm. Seeing all of this, the students kind of peek in. Then when they actually come in, it is always interesting to hear those first sounds that they make. There are the sounds of wonder, excitement, and curiosity. Parents are also very curious. They say things like “Is this a classroom? What grade is this for?” Former students, who experienced the space before the redesign, make comments like, “Wow. Your room is so big,” which is funny because my room is still quite small, very long and narrow, but after the redesign it appears so much larger.

One of my favorite comments that a student has ever made came when we were discussing what it means to have integrity and how proud I was of the class’s behavior. One of the students just couldn’t contain himself and said, “It’s really easy. It’s like whenever you walk into a McDonald’s. You know it’s just a place where you can have fun and run around and be crazy, but then when you go to a nice restaurant, you know to be on your best behavior. It’s like that when we walk in our classroom, we know it’s a space where we have to be respectful.”

When teachers set the stage for success, students, just by peeking in, know that the learning space is an environment built and made for them. They know it is a serious place for learning. It is as though the teacher is saying, “I respect you as learners.” Classrooms designed with intention are very, very student centered, and created tastefully f...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Publisher Note
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Contents
• Preface
• About the Authors
• Introduction
• Chapter 1 Leading Change Through Classroom Learning-Space Design
• Chapter 2 Learning-Space Change as a Lever to Shift School Culture
• Chapter 3 Shaping Learning-Space Change for the Community
• Chapter 4 Learning Space as a Lever for Systemic Change
• Chapter 5 Models of Excellence and a Place to Start
• References
• Publisher Note