School Guide

New Approach to Learning

Published by SchoolAdvisor | Jun 01, 2018

Sharing and Learning Together - Spaces for Collaboration, Teamwork and Creativity

By Roger Schultz, Head of School

Alice Smith School

Modern learning spaces should be designed to be flexible in their use, supporting and encouraging different ways of learning and teaching and enabling collaboration and teamwork. Access to information through the internet, digital technologies and social media are altering the experiences and aspirations of learners and their teachers.

More and more schools are providing facilities to deliver an outstanding modern education for the 21st century. By investing in good facilities, we help to create the right environment for current and future students to receive a holistic education, and attract and retain an excellent team of teachers.

With the support of an expert educational advisor, these fundamental questions were used at the Alice Smith School to stimulate discussion and facilitate the design of exciting yet functional learning spaces for current and future students to receive an exceptional education.

Does the design of learning spaces affect the way that learning can best take place and if so, why? Does the design of learning spaces affect the way that teachers can best lead and support the learning that takes place? What are the five most important design elements to consider in designing learning areas for the future?

Pedagogy, technology and space, carefully considered and integrated, define new learning spaces in schools. There is less direct instruction, with teachers adopting and developing constructivist teaching pedagogies, the “sage on the stage” giving way to the “guide on the side.” Classrooms and their surrounds need to support teachers moving among students to provide real-time feedback and direction and to support students in peer-to-peer learning.

Space impacts learning and teaching and learning areas need to be versatile with mobile and adaptable furniture. Change begins with pedagogy. Modern teaching methods are diverse and evolving and interactive pedagogies require spaces where connectivity is fundamental feature, ensuring everyone can see, communicate, connect, engage and interact.

A new classroom paradigm is guiding the development of new and regenerated learning spaces in the Alice Smith School for facilities for different ages, from refurbished classrooms in older buildings to renovated and new breakout spaces.

This will ensure that physical space, furniture and technology can readily adapt to pedagogies and learning preferences and create a more active and engaging experience for students and teachers.