Page 10 - School Planning & Management, July/August 2019

TRENDS IN
EDUCATION
In many schools, the traditional classrooms may have become out- moded. Classes might be conducted in buildings other than the school itself
or even outside.
Here’s an example, offered by William
Payne, AIA, chief executive officer and principal with the Indianapolis offices of
Fanning Howey, an integrated archi- tecture, interiors and engineering firm specializing in the design of learning environments.
“Suppose a school is next to a creek that is polluted — a serious and legitimate real-world problem offering a potential learning experience,” says Payne.
Students might report the problem to the proper authorities at the Envi- ronmental Protection Agency (EPA)
and perhaps even offer to assist in
safe, unobtrusive ways, as a remedia- tion effort is mounted. Just think how valuable such an experience would be compared to reading a textbook. Even the least studious of students might find himself or herself observing and ques- tioning the clean-up effort first hand.
Consider, too, the various disci- plines such an adventure might tap. Not just environmental cleanup, but chemistry would be required to diag- nose the problem. Geography and to- pography would map out the contours of the affected land. Depending upon how long the class worked outside, camping and other outdoor disciplines might come into play. All are learning experiences quite different from those available in a traditional classroom.
Time To Go Back Inside
Of course, many, if not most, classes are still conducted in class- rooms inside schools, but trends have changed the design of indoor class- rooms as well.
Today, what used to be individual classrooms may have seen the walls removed to create large spaces with sev- eral wall-less suites available to several teachers and several classes.
“We needed the right floors and those floors were Harlequin.”
10 7/8 2019
WEBSPM.COM
“When the team at Harlequin Floors reached out to tell me that instead of sprung dance flooring, sports floors were being installed in the new SHSU Gaertner Performing Arts Center dance spaces, I was not happy. Our dancers are athletic artists, but they do not wear cushioned basketball shoes! Most of the time their feet are covered by a thin piece of leather or nothing at all!
I immediately contacted the construction team to tell them it was imperative that they put in proper dance floors. We needed the right floors and those floors were Harlequin. Needless to say, years later our Harlequin Activity® and Harlequin Liberty® sprung dance floors - ing and our department.”
Photo Credit: Jared Doster. Dancer: Rachel Culver
Financing Available
Dana E. Nicolay
Professor of Dance
Sam Houston State University Huntsville, TX
American Harlequin Corporation
800-642-6440 contact@harlequinfloors.com