Page 30 - spaces4learning, January/February 2020

spaces4learning K-12 STEM & MAKERSPACES
INNOVATIVE
K–12 DESIGN
INSPIRED BY
INNOVATIVE
CURRICULUM
See how this district and community’s vision influenced the design of the building to support their desired educational continuum, from CSTEM exposure in early elementary to CTE pursuits in high school.
By Bob Erickson, AIA, NCARB
TECHNOLOGY’S ABILITY TO DISSEMINATE CONTENT has rendered the role of the teacher as a formal expert redundant — shifting the goal of education from traditional instruction toward empowering students to discover how they learn. Owing to the push for personalization, individual learning styles are suddenly central to the future of education. With increasing technological advancements, educators must respond with the future in mind. Evolving curriculum demands that design also evolve to incorpo- rate innovative and hands-on learning.
The experience of learning — for both student and educator — is heightened in a well-designed space. The right space allows for innovation, exploration and creation, preparing students for jobs of the future. Freed of the limitations of a traditional classroom, Corgan is exploring how the built environment can augment fu- ture learning — reimagining schools as a playground of self-dis- covery and its walls as a canvas for individualized stimuli.
As the first K-8 CSTEM school in the state of Arizona, the Dove Mountain CSTEM K-8 School is setting a precedent as a school of choice, defining the future of school design. Influenced by the district’s vision to provide CSTEM (computing, science, technology, engineering and mathematics) exposure in elemen- tary school and connect with CTE programs in high school, the design promotes student interaction in a 21st century learning environment, offering a creative and specialized academic expe- rience.
Using the district’s
guiding principles of cre-
ative, innovative and spe-
cialized learning, Corgan
devised a plan to create
a campus based on the
community’s goals of a
collaborative environment, providing opportunity to break down siloed learning.
Students, teachers, parents and community members were asked to participate in several visioning sessions to capture in-
30 jAN/FEB 2020