Is your classroom old and boring, the typical uncomfortable chairs bolted to the ground in a lecture set up or the rowed desks and chairs? Time for a change! Kelly Walsh introduces to research and various reasons on why your school or work space needs a change in the article Reasons and Research – Why Schools Need Collaborative Learning Spaces. I was thinking back to my high school and undergraduate days and the classrooms were not a welcoming place but I always thought that "hey its a classroom and shouldn't be."
Fast forward to a few years back, the Coast Guard moved to its new Headquarters building located in Washington D.C. I had been assigned to the old building in 2003 and remembered going to work in the dark and leaving in the dark. Only a select few had windows and the building and decor was built over 50 years ago. The new building was built to be green with landscapes built on the roofs and the entire building is pretty much a window. What stood out to me was when I came for a meeting that the meeting rooms were all different and set up to be collaborative learning spaces. The rooms were all painted to create a mood based on research the designers had terminated would be welcoming Some of the meeting spaces were set up like typical board rooms but many options were available to reconfigure the room for the need. The decor and chairs were lively and bright. They also set up eight large rooms for large training or meetings with some of the same type of welcoming atmosphere. Each space had the latest technology that allowed for the presenter or instructor to really take advantage of the technology.
Many schools or turning to this type of set up but why? Walsh brought up some good points, one being that people are very active, participatory, experiential learning and the creation of collaborative learning spaces allows that to happen in the classroom. This type of classroom also encourages social learning and in the end encourage connections, not compartmentalization
And its visually appealing. Have you looked in a high school classroom lately? BORING! If you want students to feel valued, value their space.
ReplyDeleteI agree, our last school was a very small private start up school (5 years this upcoming year) and we worked with the teachers to fix every room up to make it more collaborative and welcoming. It is a shame that we do not spend the money on our children's education to include resources, environment and teachers in our public schools.
ReplyDeleteHi Ron,
ReplyDeleteDesigning collaborative environments is a popular trend but it needs to gain more momentum. For instance, I am completing my internship this semester and I find myself at a loss sometimes when I am asked to collaborate with my colleagues on projects. I have been assigned group work throughout the degree but there is a difference I find between the group work in our program and collaborating with your peers in a meaningful way at work. The group work in our program had a start and finish. It was a fixed and planned group environment. However, in a professional setting there are no fixed and planned environments. What do you think?
I think it is a brilliant idea to have such a space created for our students and teachers. However, I am not sure if the funding would be an issue, especially for public schools and government training programs. I am not sure the school boards really want to invest money on improving students' learning environment. In my old school, they do invest a lot in the latest classroom technology such as IPads and Smartboard, but don't care so much about improving the daily learning spaces and other facilities.
ReplyDelete