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  • 8/8/2019 69A Learning Journey

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    Learning journeysM

    ovingtowardsdesigns

    fo

    rnew

    learningspaces

    1:

    twotruthsandasuggestion

    1 New ways of learning dictate a second generation

    of school design replacing cells and bells

    with collaborative learning studios

    This report from Isis is a useful contribution to the quiet and though

    revolution taking place in our learning spaces. Teachers and learne

    creating spaces in their schools that go beyond and add to the trad

    classroom. A better understanding of the needs of a variety of teac

    learning styles is the driver of changes large and small.

    Re-thinking education space has profound learning outcomes. Pro

    understanding how learning spaces are changing is vital to our teac

    profession. As Kenn Fisher identifies, the pedagogy of space is ke

    continuing to make learning relevant, fun and comfortable. Frankly,

    old schools will not properly serve the needs of a 21st century cur

    or fast-changing learning technologies.

    From Reggio Emilia in Italy to Maidstone in Kent, educators and de

    are working together to unlock the real potential of our school build

    Ty Goddard

    British Council for School Environments

    Forward

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    Lifeislikeridingabicycle.

    Tokeepyourbalanceyou

    mustkeepmoving.

    AlbertEinstein

    Lavie,c'estcomme

    un

    ilfautavancerpour

    ne

    perdrel'quilibre.

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    2

    The country is in the midst of a massive programme that could truly

    transform education.As part of this agenda, people, organisations and who

    communities are looking at the buildings in which learning takes place; the int

    has an inevitable effect on how successful these buildings will be.

    The University of Warwicks CETL2 has done away with tables (they have a sin

    large horizontal surface on which to work, and its called the floor see page

    Some new academies, on the other hand, have retained 1200mm x 600mm

    rectangular tables each accommodating two students, and arranged these in

    facing the front and in individual 56m2 classrooms.

    The extent to which schools will adopt one extreme or the other (or somewhe

    between) is a judgement each has to make individually. This booklet does not

    advocate one over the other, it simply documents some of the current thinking

    research and opinion so that these judgements become informed ones. We m

    no apology, however, for looking at moving forward towards a second, inspirin

    generation of learning environments.

    Most of us went to dodgy,ugly schools, and it fires you up to think:

    What if schools were inspiring?What if schools were what theyare not? What if they werent rubbish?

    Thomas Heatherwick, Educational Architect

    2 Centres for Excellence in Teaching and Learning funded by the Higher Education Funding Council for England.

    Warwicks CETL is called The Reinvention Centre

    Preface

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    4

    There is a revolution in the classroom of St Trinians scale. Building Schools for the

    Future (started in 2005 with the aim of rebuilding or refurbishing every secondary school by

    2020), together with the earlier City Technology Colleges and Academies programmes, has

    re-ignited the debate in the UK about how schools should be designed. But while there is a

    growing acceptance that we should not simply be building new old schools, how these

    learning environments will manifest themselves remains very much to be seen.

    In 2004 CABE3 and RIBA4 commissioned Professor Stephen Heppell (then of Ultralab,

    Anglia Ruskin Universitys learning, technology and research centre) to conduct a research

    project entitled Building Learning Futures.The results made grim reading: Many of the

    schools that are being built, he concluded, are unsuited to the changing future pedagogy,

    curriculum and learner expectations that we can already anticipate. They remain corridors

    lined with classrooms, that, apart from the materials used and superficial styling employed,

    simply reflect the teacher-at-the-front chalk and talk, didactic classrooms which have

    remained, for the most part, unchanged since the Victorian schools that were built following

    the first education act of 1870.

    But society has moved on from the largely agricultural and manufacturing economy of the

    last centuries to the information age, so it would be natural to conclude that what

    students are taught and the environments they are taught in, should be different too.

    He showsgreat originalitywhich must be

    curbed at all

    costs!From Peter Ustinovsschool report

    Cells and bells? Primroseby Seymour Harr

    3 Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment4 Royal Institute of British Architects

    ?

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    6

    As designers, questioning and challenging the status quo is the very stuff of our

    profession. We thrive on the notion that if you always do what youve always done,

    youll always get what youve always got5. But design is only one discipline that contributes

    to, and therefore influences the process of creating the physical setting of a school.

    Research conducted in New Zealand by ACNielsen6 questioning perceptions about how

    the teaching environment affected the learning outcome, clearly demonstrated a link

    between the physical space and its effectiveness in supporting education. Every principal

    who took part, as well as 93% of teachers and 81% of pupils, believed the environment

    had an effect. But when BCSE 7 looked at how well the school environment actually w

    in the UK (May 2007), almost a third of all teachers (32%) said it prevented them from

    teaching effectively.

    In this booklet, we intentionally pose more questions than present answers. Our aim i

    engage with teachers, builders, architects and cost consultants; in fact anyone involve

    education, seeking to ensure the physical environment within a school truly supports

    delivery of learning outcomes. Well present ideas too tangible pragmatic proposals

    how these issues may be addressed in todays classrooms.

    5 American life coach, writer and professional speaker Anthony J Mahavorick (pen name Anthony Robbins)6 Best Practice in School Design, ACNielsen, 2004 New Zealand7 British Council for School Environments

    0 20% 40%-20% 60% 80% 100%

    Teachers (n=139)

    Students (n=263)

    Principals (n=14)

    Best Practice in School Design reportACNielsen

    Respondents were asked: does the teaching environment affect the learning outcome?

    Dont know/not answered

    None at all

    Limited extent/not very much impact

    Some extent/impact

    reasonable extent/quite a lot

    Major extent/a lot

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    Iseebabiescry,Iwat

    ch

    themgrow.Theylllearnmu

    ch

    morethanIlleverknow.

    AndIthinktomyself,

    whatawonderfulwo

    rld.

    8

    For as long as there has been a formal education programme, people ha

    questioned how and what we learn. How? In 1916 John Dewey commented

    Nature has not adapted the young animal to the narrow desk, the crowded

    curriculum, the silent absorption of facts. And what? John Holt commented,

    Since we cant know what knowledge will be most needed in the future, it is

    senseless to try to teach it in advance8. This viewpoint was echoed by Richard R

    US Secretary of Education (1993-2001), when he predicted that the top ten

    in demand jobs in 2010 didnt exist in 2004 so were preparing students for j

    that dont exist yet, using technology that hasnt yet been invented, in order to so

    problems that we dont even know are problems yet 9. It is increasingly importan

    therefore, that we dont simply instil facts in children, but instead help them devel

    strategies to learn. The fact that the Danes only have one word, lrer, for both

    learning and teaching, perfectly illustrates this subtle shift in emphasis.

    8 John Holt, 1964. The quotation continues: Instead, we should try to turn out people who love learning so much a

    so well that they will be able to learn whatever needs to be learned.9 Microsoft Building Schools for the Future Conference 2007 held at the British Library, London 15th June 2007

    Sung by Louis Armstrong

    ABC Records 1967. Written by Bob Thiele, George David Weiss & George Douglas

    Truth one The space should reflect the pedagogy

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    10

    Truth one The space should reflect the pedagogy

    The traditional classroom design teacher at the front (the sage on the stage)

    serried rows of rectangular tables accommodating fidgety pupils facing him

    or her, remains schools primary building block. It bears more than a passing

    resemblance to the church architecture (including, in many instances, tall arche

    windows) on which it was based. While it is clearly ideal in supporting simple

    lecture-style instruction, is okay for independent individual study and not bad fo

    accommodating student presentation (although its formality does little to promo

    any interaction) everything else it does, it does with a degree of compromise.

    But there are numerous other pedagogies that have a place in todays

    classroom. If we are to enable pupils to develop appropriate skills for the mode

    world, schooling must embrace all sorts of other strategies, such as collaborati

    and negotiation, and this should surely be supported by, rather than being in s

    of, the physical setting of our schools. On top of this is an increasingly accepte

    move towards presenting lessons so they support the different learning

    preferences of individual students.

    Dont giveme a book Miss,

    Im a kinaesthetic

    learner.Boy quoted by Professor Guy Claxton,during his keynote address at SETT05

    University of Warwick Reinventio

    by John Viner AssociatesPresident Kennedy

    Humanities College

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    12

    10 Campfires in Cyberspace: Primordial Metaphors for Learning in the 21st Century, David D Thornburg, PhD, January 199611 Fielding/Nair International http://www.fieldingnair.com

    4 Peer tutoring

    5 Team collaborative work ingroups of two-six students

    6 One-on-one learning withthe teacher

    7 Project-based learning

    8 Technology-based learning withmobile computers

    9 Distance learning

    10 Research via the Internet withwireless networking

    11 Performance-based learning

    12 Seminar-style instruction

    13 Hands-on project-based learning

    14 Naturalist learning

    15 Social/emotional learning

    16 Art-based learning

    17 Storytelling (floor seating)

    18 Team teaching

    Educationalist, David Thornburg differentiated the ways students learn by using the

    metaphors campfire, watering holeand cave. The learning community of the campfire

    brought us in contact with experts, and that of the watering hole brought us in contact with

    peers. There is one other primordial learning environment of great importance: the cave

    where we came in contact with ourselves. 10

    This concept has been expanded by American education consultants Randolph Fielding

    and Prakash Nair11 who claim that there are 18 different learning modalities [sic], of which

    they believe only the first two or three are supported in a traditional classroom model:

    Truth one The space should reflect the pedagogyThe space should reflect the pedagogy Truth one

    Ind

    epend

    ent

    st

    ud

    y

    123. . .Lectureformat

    with

    th

    ete

    ac

    her

    at

    cent

    rest

    age

    St

    ud

    ent

    pre

    sent

    ation

    campfireampfire

    watering holeatering hole

    caveave

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    14

    They, as has Kenn Fisher12, proposed different environments to support different

    learning styles. Recognising the relevance of this, Partnerships for Schools, the

    body charged with delivering the BSF programme, now requires within its BSF

    policy guideline, that teaching spaces can be adapted to different models of

    curriculum delivery 13.

    In some respects, none of this is new. It has long been recognised that specific

    spaces need to be created for specific activities its just that these have typically

    been reflected solely in practical physical requirements, such as laboratories,

    workshops and sports facilities. So to put Fielding & Nairs observations into the

    context of a typical British school, the traditional classroom falls down only in

    respect of those aspects not covered elsewhere within the campus. If we accept

    that there will always be specialist teaching areas, we now consider a generalKey

    Stage 3/Key Stage 4 teaching space should be able to support ten learning styles,

    of which five (below) are, to a lesser or greater extent, accommodated within many

    traditional classrooms:

    12 Research Fellow at University of South Australias School of Education Rubida http://www.rubida.net

    http://www.sofweb.vic.edu.au/knowledgebank/pdfs//linking_pedagogy_and_space.pdf13 Partnerships for Schools, Building Schools for the Future Local Authority education vision policy guidelines for wave 2,

    November 2004

    Individual/independent studywith or without IT

    One-to-one tutorial

    Examination/test

    Formal lectureswhole-class teaching

    Presentation by students

    1

    2

    3

    4

    5

    6 Collaboration withstructured groups of two-six

    7 Seminar/discussion

    8 Student/other performance

    9 Hands-on experimentation/experience

    10 Shared learning with peers

    Not withstanding the fact that traditional classrooms can be improved, they hav

    completely prevented teachers from imparting knowledge and inspiring the des

    learn! If they had, there would have been no Stephen Hawking nor Harold Pinte

    alone millions of well-educated, rounded individuals, many of whom contributed

    the creation of the information age. (Harold Pinter, incidentally, attended Hackne

    Downs School, later claimed to be one of the worst schools in the country 14, an

    which, whilst in Special Measures, was closed to make way for Mossbourne

    Community Academy.)

    We are proposing, however, that if we make subtle changes, concentrating on

    five learning styles (below) we consider to be less well supported, well have a g

    effect on progressing classroom design.

    14 The Guardian. Friday 23 February 2007

    Truth one The space should reflect the pedagogyThe space should reflect the pedagogy Truth one

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    Caravans pack quite a punch

    when it comes to dual use of furniture.

    16

    For todays teachers, creating appropriate environments to support diff

    learning styles within the four walls of a classroom is difficult when all

    youve got is 30 polypropylene chairs and 15 rectangular tables. Trapez

    ones purportedly offer a degree of flexibility, although I remember someone, wh

    faced with a meeting room and half a dozen such tables, likening the challenge

    creating a horseshoe out of them to something off the Krypton Factor.

    Commonsense tells us that a simple solution is the utilisation of furniture that c

    be used in a number of different ways. A trip around any education exhibition,

    as BETT or The Education Show, will demonstrate that there are countless fold

    solutions for example, dining tables with integrated seats that can be folded t

    side of a hall, allowing the space to be used for something else once the lunch

    dishes have been cleared away. A darling of Orgatec 15 in 2004 was Seattable

    single product that can be used either as a seat or a table, meaning an audienc

    200 can be accommodated on the same items of furniture as 100 exam stude

    (The solution has not been adopted to the extent one might have expected tho

    as its large footprint means youll probably only get 180 chairs in a space requ

    200.) There are tables that tip that may be used to define spaces when theyre

    being used for writing, and those that fold computer monitors into the worksur

    so that the same space can be used for IT and non-IT use. But despite the

    availability of such solutions, a 1200mm x 600mm crush-bent, steel-framed tab

    and a couple of polypropylene chairs often remains the default furnishing solut

    15 The biannual international furniture fair held in Cologne

    Truth two Flexible furniture, flexible space

    Isthata

    sofa&table?

    Adouble

    bed?

    Orastora

    ge

    chest?

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    18

    When Shin and Tomoko Azumi were researching classroom management as part of their

    award-winning submission to the DfES and Design Council 16, they noticed that the

    teachers were like performers, bringing entertainment into the classroom to try to maintain

    pupils attention. Their design submission, Orbital, shown right, is intuitively mobile,

    enabling students to move both their bodies and their desks, an observation that was the

    inspiration of the much imitated concept of 360 learning.

    16 Orbital workstation with Keen for DfES/Design Council Furniture for the Future competition 2002

    Flexible furniture, flexible space Truth two Truth two Flexible furniture, flexible space

    The teacherswere like performers,

    bringing entertainmentinto the classroom

    to try to maintain

    pupils attention.

    Shin Azumi

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    Flexible furniture, flexible space Truth two Truth two Flexible furniture, flexible space

    An important lesson learnt early on in

    the development of furniture solutions for

    offices was that to achieve maximum

    flexibility, you needed the minimum number

    of different components.When, in the 1980s, systems office

    furniture manufacturers boasted countless

    possible permutations and combinations,

    Facilities Managers soon realised that in

    order to avoid store rooms full to brimming

    with redundant product after an office

    layout change, they had to restrict their

    product specification to a few well-chosen

    components, rather than a little of

    everything. A mistake would be to adopt

    a similar child-in-a-sweetshop syndrome

    with schools. Enormous care must

    therefore be taken in determining an

    appropriate kit of parts.

    (an example is shown on page 32-34)

    Hellerup Skole (School) to the north of Copenhagen is perhaps the best known

    example of where this flexibility has been extended from just furniture to the sp

    itself. This stems from the recognition that in order to make available a space th

    supports the pedagogical approach employed at a particular moment requires

    acceptance that you wont necessarily remain within the four walls of the classr

    Hellerup is designed around nine home bases, each supporting between 75 an

    100 pupils, and from these zones, students move to areas that support the

    curriculum and selected teaching style for that lesson. A timetabling nightmare

    may think, but this is avoided by a flexible approach in space demarcation from

    staff. One problem with David Thornburgs campfire, watering hole and cave

    metaphors mentioned before is that because they are place-names they freque

    lead to distinct places being created for each, ignoring opportunities for the

    same place to be used in different ways. As an example, a meeting table in a q

    corner could be a perfect cave. It could also be somewhere that two students

    collaborate thus a watering hole. For a small group (a very small group admitt

    it could even be a campfire.

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    W

    henSiemensplcrelocateditsheadquarters restaurantin1999

    andincorporatedacappuccinob

    ar, itsawa46%reductioninb

    ookingsofitscentralisedmeetingroomsuite. Thatsbecause

    informalmeetingscouldnow takeplaceoveracoffee

    .

    22

    Having been heavily involved in the 1990s with changes to office planning

    methodologies, we see enormous similarities in the developments in classroom

    design, most prominently, those instigated then, by Frank Duffy 17, which also led

    to a new vocabulary: hot-desking, hotelling and rightspace. Then it was spiralling

    rents and increasing pressures for businesses to be lean that pushed designers and

    architects to look at ways to reduce floorspace through dual use. Now, its not the

    requirement to increase efficiency that is driving schools to look at dual use, but the

    pragmatic consequence of seeking to provide different learning spaces within a fixed

    envelope of space18. Its important though, now as then, that the vocabulary

    becomes an intrinsic part of change management.

    17 Architect Dr Francis Duffy CBE co-founder of international architecture and consultancy practice, DEGW, where he became known

    for developing office-planning practices promoting the flexible use of space enabling, as he saw it, clients to make more efficient, more

    effective, and more expressive use of [the] workspace18 BB82 gives a minimum area of 56m 2 for a general classroom accommodating 30 pupils + 8-11% float

    As most spaces within a school will be

    subject to a documented timetable, this

    is our first descriptor timetabled

    space. Then, taking it as read that its

    inappropriate to have different defined

    areas for each learning style (even if we

    had the space!), it remains important to

    be able to break learning time down into periods with a different tempo in orde

    to meet the unscheduled aspects of a typical lesson. Non-timetabled areas adj

    to timetabled spaces provide opportunities to break out, thus the second desc

    democratic space. Finally social space areas in which students are free

    roam, and potentially the greatest facilitator of social and emotional learning.

    All of these spaces should accommodate more than one teaching style, and

    between them accommodate all the styles that are required (we use a simple

    matrix to cross-check this).

    Flexible furniture, flexible space Truth two Truth two Flexible furniture, flexible space

    Large Learning Base

    Small Learning Base

    Core Zone

    Exploration Zone

    Indi

    Onetoone

    Sharedlearningpeertope

    Formallectures

    Studentpresentation

    Collaboration

    Seminardiscussion

    Performance

    Handsonexperim

    entation

    Examination/test

    The areas considered relplan on page 30

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    24

    19 The Reinvention Centre for Undergraduate Research Two-year evaluation July 2007

    ...and a suggestion The concept of the Learning Stud

    and now the suggestion... The concept of the Learning StudioOnce you start to blur these boundaries between the formal and informal,

    individual and group, the natural consequence is a learning studio, accommod

    a number of classes (as does the example shown on page 30). Chris Gerry from

    Cornwallis School in Maidstone (now Cornwallis Academy) has done this with New Li

    Learning an open plan space that relies on earned autonomy. The environment cre

    there has no walls between different learning spaces, although tiered stepseats give

    space a sense of scale. Students self-police the room, showing a respect not neces

    seen elsewhere. For example, they happily remove their shoes when they enter it, in t

    same way that countless primary school children, as well as pupils of all ages inScandinavia and Canada, change into indoor shoes after break. We wanted to do th

    Warwick], said Professor Mike Neary, now at the University of Lincoln, who was

    responsible for commissioning Warwicks CETL. It has a great levelling effect.

    It is important, however, that these projects are born out of clear pedagogic goals

    rather than simply the desire for innovation. Questioning neoliberal education policies,

    Warwick see their students as producers where by connecting research and

    teaching, undergraduate students become productive collaborators in the research

    culture of the department. 19

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    26

    Both The Marches School

    Oswestry and the London

    School of Economics & Po

    Science are two establishm

    that have proved youre no

    reliant on a new build to cr

    these spaces. Whilst LSE

    created a suite of rooms within their existing property portfolio, Marches simply remov

    the walls between existing classrooms to create an ICT suite accommodating 120 stu

    without barriers between each. Disruptive students lose the opportunity for disorder

    presented by a closed door, commented Marches deputy head, David OToole, whil

    students intuitively learned to speak with an indoor voice meaning those in adjacent s

    are not disturbed. Regrettably the same cannot be said of Norman Fosters new build

    The Business Academy in Bexley, where open-plan classrooms are located along wal

    that overlook a central atrium in one case accommodating a resistant-materials

    workshop. Unable to see, and therefore be aware of students in neighbouring class

    spaces, there are no indoor voices at Bexley, whilst inadequate sight lines prevent p

    supervision, meaning this relatively early example of open-plan space will ultimately be

    modified enclosed into classroomsby the Academy.

    Arranging classroom clusters around a central communal space gives schools and colleges

    the heart included in Genslers masterplan for Kents BSF programme. This approach is

    similar to the streets seen in many FE colleges and universities, and originally seen in

    corporate headquarters buildings, such as those for SmithKline Beecham and Royal Bank

    of Scotland. Niels Torps design for British Airways headquarters, Waterside, opened in

    1998, was an early exponent of the indoor street. The only route into the building from

    the carpark is through the street, explained Kathy Tilney, who was Design Manager for

    Watersides interior. That way it acts as the hub. I can sit in a caf in the street, and bump

    into managers from different departments as they walk through.

    Reggio Emilia schools, meanwhile, accepted the importance of the interior since their

    establishment soon after WW2, often describing the school environment as the childs third

    teacher. Reggio Emilia schools are also arranged around a central piazza, while the

    classrooms have atelier workshop areas promoting experimentation and collaboration.

    Fielding and Nair, in creating areas each with a different tempo, has ended with the unlikely

    pairing of Jamie Oliver with Albert Einstein and Leonardo Da Vinci in naming alternative

    zones: Einstein where creative reflection and inspired collaboration is encouraged;

    Da Vinci supporting hands-on experimentation, and Oliver where we link food, nutrition and

    health with participation nourishing mind, body and spirit 20.

    21 Proverb (possibly African or Native American), used as the title of books by Hillary Clinton and Jane Cowen-Fletcher, the latte

    on the Elementary Category of the African Studies Ass ociation Trull Foundation Childrens Book Award20 Master Classroom by Randolph Fielding, Jeffery Lackney and Prakash Nair http://www.edutopia.org/master-classroom

    It takesa village to

    raise a child.21

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    28

    In all projects there is a time when decisions are made. Frequently t

    made at the beginning otherwise, we attest, the project cannot progress

    as it moves on, so our knowledge increases to a maximum just when all

    decisions have been made!

    Amongst other things, we hope this booklet encourages you to pause for

    thought: to realign the decisions you make with the knowledge that engag

    in the process allows you to acquire.

    In order for the infrastructure of a school to fully support learning, we belie

    we need spaces that reflect different teaching and learning styles, requiring

    flexible furniture solutions and a flexible approach to space fluidity in

    determining demarcation lines; in essence, creating learning studios or

    learning barns. There is an enormous body of research and opinion that

    supports this approach.

    These ideals, however, must be achievable within schools (many of which

    already exist) and (specifically if it forms part of the BSF programme) shou

    be deliverable within a pre-determined FFE budget 22 set by central govern

    As manufacturers, we need to be pragmatic abou

    reality this set of circumstances presents. But as

    idealists, we should not be afraid to continue testi

    boundaries. As the headmaster at Hellerup comm

    The school building is never finished; experience

    should rebuild it over time.

    22 Partnerships for Schools http://www.p4s.org.uk/documents/FundingguidanceforBSFprojects2 007FINAL.doc (p14,

    Conclusion

    Decisions

    Knowledg

    e

    Time

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    30

    1.Less is moreLots of each, of a fewer different items ratherthan a few of each, of lots of different items.

    2.Modularity/ReconfigurabilityIt should be more difficult to get it wrongthan to get it right. Consider dimensions caref

    3.Multi-usePieces of furniture that perform differentfunctions will assist in transforming pedagogi

    4.Right questionright timeThe wrong question at the wrong time willinevitably give you the wrong answer.

    5.QualityDifferentiate between cost and value.A cheap chair will always be a cheap chair you can get them from petrol stations.

    Key

    Five Golden Rules

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    3332

    Individual table and chair

    Individual tables and chairs are a staple

    of our kit of parts because students are

    individuals. This isnt a cheap catch-

    phrase its just that you cant work

    individually very well with the more

    common double tables their only

    justification, from what we can see, is

    cost (as opposed to value). Everything

    you can do with double tables, you can

    do with individual ones too and linked

    with power/data totems, or all-day

    power packs laptop computers can be

    used to integrate IT.

    Orbital is the ultimate individual table

    and chair 23, as, on top of this flexibility, is

    an intuitive fluidity promoting healthy

    postural movement, and 360 learning.

    23 See page 18

    Group table

    Despite this, a large group table has a

    place specifically one which has

    additional functionality (the tops of ours

    tip, allowing them to be stowed away,

    used as room dividers a dry-wipe

    whiteboard even). How many people

    does it accommodate? It depends on

    the task and the individuals involved

    two, perhaps for a large artwork project

    or twelve debating an issue.

    Group seat/bench

    In the same way, a long bench

    accommodates the right number of

    students. Again, lots if theyre working

    collaboratively (and the teacher can still

    get them to budge up and perch on the

    end to assist) or less if theyre not.

    Our StepSeat adds a second tier of

    seats behind so when you move the

    table, the space can be used as a mini-

    auditorium for performance-based

    lessons, or simply start-of-the-lesson

    instruction. Underneath theres storage,

    for resources (including EarthWalk

    laptop chargers), whilst StepSeat also

    adds a sense of scale to open plan

    learning studios.

    IT Bench

    Desktop PCs provide robust connectivity

    in terms of power and data, and this,

    together with performance requirements

    dictated by some software packages

    make them more appropriate, in some

    instances, to laptops and tablet PCs.

    Traditionally PCs have been

    accommodated on worksurfaces that

    are fixed to the perimeter of the

    classroom. In this way, power and data

    is easily available, whilst teachers can

    see whats on the screen. Not so whats

    on the childs face, even though you can

    use software, now, to track what

    everyone is getting up to on the

    computer. Flipscreen is one way that

    computers can be accommodated so

    students face the front.

    Informal seats

    Upholstered stools and beanbags

    even Puppy stools from Big Brother,

    all break down barriers between in-

    school and outside-of-school. As an

    architect once commented, kids want

    the mall, so we give them the mall.

    If their only educational content is

    assisting students to engage with the

    environment, their inclusion in our kit

    of parts is well-founded.

    Temporary spac

    The acoustic foldi

    deaden sound tra

    heavy its been kn

    teachers to be un

    Hardly surprising,

    remain a white ele

    expensive white e

    Furniture solution

    Space or the Volu

    quick and easy de

    within open-plan

  • 8/8/2019 69A Learning Journey

    19/19

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    Useful links

    www.bcse.uk.net

    www.designshare.com

    www.edutopia.org

    www.fieldingnair.com

    www.p4s.org.uk

    rubble.heppell.net

    www.school2-0.org

    www.school20.wikispaces.com

    www.tcpd.org

    www.rubida.net/Rubida_Research/html/rr_index.htm

    www.teachernet.gov.uk/management/resourcesfinanceandbuilding/bsf/aboutbsf/

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