Page 23 - School Planning & Management, March 2019

TK: I am always amazed at how few physical supports are needed for in-depth learning to occur. Three items are key; technology, communication tools, and flexible furniture. Learners use devices to access resources, document findings, and communicate their ideas. Learners need an option to display or share information; therefore, white boards or other writable surfaces are always in high demand. The furniture must flex to their many postures, activities, and different group sizes during the day. Students are hungry for authentic information and experiences, and we provide the backdrop for this type of learning to occur.
How do you define a successful SIC?
MD: I am inspired by what the students come up with, how ener- gized they are to learn, and the friendships they build. If you give them the reigns, they produce. There is no test for the SIC; instead, we look for and support skills like teamwork, collaboration, com- munication, research, and creativity. Student teams prepare a presentation and experience speaking in front of a group of people they don’t know, which provides an opportunity to learn an impor- tant and necessary professional skill.
What is the takeaway for DLR Group?
TK: DLR Group begins each project with the end users in mind— learners and educators themselves. Our design teams spend time observing users in their current environment and engaging them in visioning workshops; however, we rarely get the opportunity
to work directly with them for three consecutive days. The SIC af- fords us better access to the learning process itself. It is crucial for us to understand, at a deep level, what supports or tools students need as they move through the learning cycle. We ask a series of questions: “When do you need head-down focus time? How does
the environment truly support that? When you collaborate, is
the mobile furniture actually supporting that activity, or are you creating work-arounds to achieve the task at hand?” Each time we facilitate the SIC we gain more data to inform our design process. We are able to facilitate a divergent-thinking process that shifts our clients’ mind frame and allows them to make informed deci- sions about the future of learning and what they want learning to look like for their community.
Tell me about your SIC experience
during the 2017 NSBA Conference in Denver.
KP: I agreed to participate in the SIC because of the innovative nature of the challenge. My entire career, I have worked with gifted and advanced learners and have found that project-based, performance-based learning is the epitome of critical and creative thinking. In Denver, our students experienced what has now become a national educational initiative: personalized learning in flexible environments. Student teams were able to work and think amongst flexible seating, atypical resource supplies (white boards, chart paper, building block seating), and participate in authentic applications of learning by questioning experts in the exhibi-
tor showcase as well as pitch their ideas to superintendents and administrators from across the country.
After experiencing the SIC, Klein ISD embraced
other innovative activities to engage learners.
Describe those events.
KP: JASON Learning, a nonprofit that provides authentic science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) learning experiences, invited Klein ISD to participate in another exercise shortly after our Houston community suffered devastation from Hurricane Harvey.
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