Does the design of learning spaces affect the way that learning can best take place and if so, why?
Modern, positive learning environments are being designed to be flexible and versatile with mobile and adaptable furniture. These types of spaces support and encourage different ways of learning and teaching, and enables collaboration, communication and teamwork. Access to information through the internet, digital technologies and social media are altering the experiences and aspirations of learners and their teachers.
Pedagogy, technology and space, carefully considered and integrated, are defining positive learning environments 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 support teachers moving among students to provide real-time feedback and direction and to support students in peer-to-peer learning.
Use of Space Impacts Learning and Teaching
Interactive pedagogies require spaces where ease of communication and the capacity to work with others face to face or online are fundamental features of the design.
Everyone should be able to see, connect, engage and interact and have choice in how they learn. Ensuring that physical space, furniture and technology can readily adapt to pedagogies and learning preferences creates a more active and engaging experience for learners and teachers.
In an international school’s design, a new classroom paradigm is guiding the development of learning spaces for facilities for different ages. The design of these positive learning environments is to ensure 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.
At our British international school, we understand that an innovative 21st-century approach to learning takes more than a positive learning environment. It takes a tailored curriculum, active engagement from the students and teachers who thrive using collaborative tactics. And this is exactly what we provide our students at Alice Smith.