Page 10 - spaces4learning, July/August 2020

spaces4learning COVER STORY FEATURE
chitecture firm.
As you rethink the design of educational spaces and struc-
tures to keep your communities safe and healthy when schools reopen, here are some possible strategies and issues to consider.
Use a hybrid approach that combines face-to-face and online instruction
Instead of having all students return to school at once, you might consider using a hybrid approach to learning that com- bines face-to-face and online instruction.
For instance, you might have students attend school in person two days a week and learn online three days a week. Half the students in each class could attend on Mondays and Wednesdays, and the other half could attend on Tuesdays and Thursdays. On Fridays, you could have everyone working from home online while custodial staff deep clean the building.
Another approach might be to have students alternate weeks of face-to-face and online instruction. One cohort could attend school for weeks one and three of the month and learn remotely from home during weeks two and four, and the other cohort could follow the opposite schedule.
One advantage to this weekly rotation model is that it involves less mixing of students; the same group of students would be in each classroom all week, and then the room could be thoroughly cleaned over the weekend before the next group’s arrival. However, a downside is that students wouldn’t see their teachers or peers for a full week at a time.
However you decide to handle it, a hybrid approach to learn- ing would address the population density challenge by cutting in half the number of students in the building each day, mak- ing it easier to follow distancing protocols. Because educators and students already have experience in teaching and learning remotely, moving to a hybrid learning model should not be as disruptive as it might have been before COVID-19 emerged.
If you choose to adopt a hybrid learning approach, aside from the question of how frequently students will attend school, you’ll have to figure out how to make the best use of students’ and teachers’ time both online and for in-person instruction. Here are some questions to think about:
• What is the teacher’s biggest value as
line join their in-school peers through live video conferencing as the teacher is giving direct instruction in class? There are many possible ways to approach this, and the method you choose will depend on your educational philosophy and per- haps what makes the most sense for each lesson.
• How will you structure activities so that teachers aren’t do- ing twice as much work, teaching one cohort of students in class during the school day and then addressing the needs of the online cohort in the evening? How will you ensure a fair workload for everyone involved?
Take advantage of non-instructional spaces for learning
Another way to reduce the density of students in classrooms might be to make use of non-instructional spaces for learning. With a little planning and ingenuity, K-12 leaders could con- vert spaces such as gymnasiums, auditoriums, cafeterias, media
a classroom presence? How you answer this question could help you structure in-class time in a way that leverages the teacher’s value most effectively.
CONSIDER USING A HYBRID APPROACH TO LEARNING THAT COMBINES FACE-TO-FACE AND ONLINE INSTRUCTION.
centers, outdoor spaces, and unused areas of the school into makeshift classrooms to accommodate students who are spread at least six feet apart.
Of course, reconfiguring non-instruc- tional spaces for learning will be much simpler if schools have flexible, agile furniture that is designed for easy ma- nipulation, such as tables and desks on casters and other furnishings that can be moved around and set up in various ar- rangements.
• How will direct instruction occur? For
instance, will you have students receive
instruction from the teacher while
they’re in class, and then practice or ap-
ply what they’ve learned while they’re
at home? Will you employ a “flipped”
approach to learning, in which students
learn content from home by reading or
watching videos and then apply these lessons in school under the teacher’s guidance? Will students who are working on-
Converting non-instructional spaces into classrooms so that students can spread out raises a number of logistical challenges. One of the most obvious is that teachers can’t be in two places at once. If a
10 JUL/AUG 2020