Page 40 - spaces4learning, Spring 2023

spaces4learning FLEXIBLE LEARNING SPACES
THREE ADAPTABLE SPACES WE’LL SEE MORE OF IN SCHOOLS
By Mary Ruppenthal
AS TECHNOLOGY EVOLVES, SO DO THE DEMANDS of society and the skills needed in our workforce and communities. To support student success and take full advantage of these new tools, educational facilities are adapting to incorporate and enhance their pedagogical uses. Spaces for movement, exploration, and hands-on knowledge and skill development are becoming the norm, replacing structured, single-use spaces. Learning is untethered, spontaneous, and technology-rich, and schools are reshaping themselves to facilitate nimble and adaptable approaches to education. As we look to the future of schools, here are three flexible spaces we’ll see more of.
The Untethered Classroom
The classic vision of the classroom is a row of desks facing for- ward towards a single teacher positioned in front of a blackboard or screen. Today, many classrooms bear little to no resemblance to this model. Now, most teachers
share information, screens, or project work. Features like telescop- ing seating and mobile furniture allow for large spaces that might otherwise go unused to be used as classrooms or for group work. Picture open stairways, large halls, dining areas, courtyards, li- brary alcoves, or purpose-built large spaces that are only used for part of the day being fully utilized by spontaneous interactions. You can now find multiple groups of students working on indi- vidual or shared projects. With minor modifications, these spaces
prefer varied and moveable configura-
tions that allow them and their stu-
dents to move about the room. Tech-
nology, once bound to a single wall, is
multi-point, interactive, and becom-
ing more wireless and universal. Inter-
active displays, which can connect to
a student’s individual technology, will
be strategically positioned throughout
the room, and in some more progres-
sive districts become more moveable.
The technology itself will become
more powerful, harnessing virtual
and augmented reality that will allow
students to interact in 3D with virtual
objects like the solar system, layers of
the Earth, volcanoes, and other students around the globe.
Now, topics that once required special support or lab spaces are within reach for most school districts thanks to technology. Subjects such as animal or human physiology—which required dedicated lab space as well as space for storage, movement, airflow considerations, and disposal—used to require square footage and investment that can now be redistributed. That redistribution can be put towards space that is more communal, comfortable, and flexible.
The Spontaneous Classroom
As students continue to become less and less reliant on stationary technology, spaces will adapt to meet those needs for movement, flexibility, and technology that can be easily paired together to
40 SPRING 2023 | spaces4learning.com
WE CAN’T BE SURE WHAT THE CAREERS OF THE FUTURE WILL DEMAND ... BUT WE CAN PREPARE OUR FACILITIES FOR THAT CHANGE BY LOOKING AT SPACES FOR WHAT THEY COULD BE RATHER THAN WHAT THEY ARE.
can also be used for communal inter- actions or assemblies, flexing to meet the needs of students and educators. What’s most important to note about spaces like these is that they should be capable of “breaking in” and “breaking out”—being essentially out of the way until needed, rapidly form and change to the needs of the group, then can be put back in place at a moment's notice. Flexible and open common spaces also foster a sense of inclusivity and belong- ing as they support collaboration and connection, accommodating a variety of teaching and learning styles.
To be good stewards and use available land and funds most responsibly, schools have always been designed to avoid empty or unused space. That being said, outdoor space is still an area of promise that is typically underutilized. Adding even rudimentary or temporary outdoor structures can facilitate more use of the outdoors as class space. This offers a range of wellness benefits, connecting underutilized areas of campus through activity, and provides a change of pace for students and faculty. Where the climate permits, alcoves and small amphitheaters can be created on campus and equipped with compatible equipment for projection and sound. I’ve also seen that technology being mounted to moveable walls that come outside with the class. Learning isn’t bound to the classroom, but wherever the classroom is, technology
is certain to be present now and in the future.