designs on my learning: a guide to involving young people in school design

Designs on mylearning...A guide to involving young people in school design

Design for Learning: Schools for the 21st Century Project

introduction ...

Good clientship – the 21st century skill

PreambleBad design is expensive – its not like bad television, you cannot switch it off. It continues to infect our lives. Good architecture comes about through the architect/client relationship - through a design dialogue, in other words. A good architect can a make good building, but combined with a good client you can get an excellent building. The essence of good clientship is being able to understand the ramifications of what you are advocating for in a building. As well as, in the case of a school, knowing about the process of teaching and learning, it not only requires the ability to read the plans, to understand the design, but the capacity to articulate needs. A sympathetic architect can help with these. The procurement of a school, maybe more than other building types, needs this relationship. In the procurement of a school it isn’t just the education authority that is the client, the definition of client in this case should cover the users of the school - teachers, parents, and most importantly, students.

Working with Architects and the Importance of DesignLike an encounter with any creative professional, working with an architect is an opportunity to take advantage of his or her knowledge and expertise. Architects can bring particular insights into the world of the built environment, especially the importance of design. Design is a problem solving process that centres on a brief. Developing a comprehensive brief is a crucial part of this process and should be the result of a dialogue between architect and client/s. It has been said that in the last century public services and buildings, like schools, were produced in a dedicated, hierarchical organisation to deferential users. In the 21st century schools and other public buildings, increasingly, will be procured interactively, as a result of a partnership between professionals and user-collaboratives. If we are to attain buildings that are both fit for purpose and future flexibility co-creation will be key.

Demystifying Design and PlanningPlanning in particular, and discussion of the built environment in general, can appear complex and put people off getting involved. In the past consultation rarely moved beyond posting out a questionnaire or holding a public meeting. Just as contemporary TV make-over shows have demystified interior design new ways of opening up architecture have been developed. The Lighthouse, Scotland’s National Centre for Architecture and Design has instigated a range of workshops aimed at democratising design and bringing professionals and non-professionals closer together. This usually happens at the pre-briefing stage and comprises site visits, inputs from a variety of sources, ergonomics, as well as an emphasis on drawing and modelling which is the language of design. The purpose of all of this is to mobilise the imagination and creativity of the users.

Without this environment of co-creation, asking stakeholders for opinions on subjects that they have had no opportunity to develop informed and critical responses can lead to reactive responses that are NIMBY-istic and, therefore, disregarded by professionals. Ideally, users should be participants in the design, creation and delivery of buildings like other public goods. At the very least they should gain some insight into the process of design as a stage beyond public consultation. Users should self-service taking on some of the work previously done by education authority support staff and professionals.

Young People and the FutureYoung people are part of the future. They are also an important user group whose views are rarely, if ever, canvassed. It follows that young people, as users of educational buildings - even very young pupils - should be involved in the design process. This, of course, has to be done in an appropriate manner; one that recognises the contribution that they can make relative to their age and stage and the way in which it can be incorporated into the brief. The Lighthouse has considerable experience of working with young people from both the primary and secondary sectors on school design, introducing them to architects and designers, drawing upon their unique insights.

There are many benefits in the involvement of young people in the process of procuring an important public building like a school, all of which reinforces contemporary curriculum demands:

• they gain a vocational insight into the design profession• they learn to work as part of a team as all design is team-based• the drawings and models they produce may be useful for subject portfolios• they are the new generation of co-creators, forging a new approach to the procurement of public goods and services

Of singular importance for future citizens, they might learn to share the risks and responsibilities of procuring a new building with the design professionals.

Stuart MacDonald, DirectorThe Lighthouse

The Lighthouse As Broker

‘With the assistance of The Lighthouse, consultation with all members of the school community has been integrated into the briefing process for six new secondary schools in East Dunbartonshire’. Annie Atkins, Snapshot: people’s stories from the Architecture Centre Network, 2005.

The Lighthouse is Scotland’s National Centre for Architecture, Design and the City and education is at the heart of everything that we do. Our ultimate aim is to impact on the way in which people live their lives and to improve the quality of the built and designed environment in Scotland. We have developed a strong reputation for our specialist knowledge in the field of built environment and creative industries education and for our capacity to facilitate negotiation between the education and design sectors, particularly in the area of school design.

In the Design for Learning: Schools for the 21st Century project, The Lighthouse is playing a key role as broker, bringing together a diverse range of stakeholders and facilitating meaningful dialogue between them. What additionality does The Lighthouse bring to what are, for the most part, existing PPP projects?

As a national body, The Lighthouse brings a national and international perspective on school design, together with a cumulative knowledge and experience of school design projects. It has access to a national network of architects and other creative professionals which it can tap into to recommend the most appropriate designers for any given project.

Through our experience, we have developed a solid understanding of what makes for good practice in creative participation. Crucially, by providing training and by co-ordinating the consultation process, The Lighthouse can nurture relationships and understanding between key stakeholders (school users; planners; architects; PPP teams). In summary, our role as broker encompasses the following:

• Acting as a catalyst, bringing together a range of stakeholders.• Providing neutral political ground for meetings and planning.• Taking an overview of projects and providing a co-ordinating and communicating role.• Facilitating rather than demanding. • Providing training for architects on working within a school context.• Planning and enabling a consultation/participation programme.• Supporting teachers, architects and other stakeholders in working together.

Julia Fenby, Education DirectorThe Lighthouse

Why school architecture?

Everyone is affected by the quality of their surroundings

Design, materials and finish all speak of the value which society attaches to any building and the people who use it. So long as money pours into office atriums, hotel lobbies and airport lounges, while school costs are screwed down to the minimum, the message is clear. Education is unimportant and children are second class citizens. More ingenious and forward-looking architecture can directly assist learning. Fundamentally, however, good architecture is important to schools because of the values it conveys.

Keir Bloomer, Chief ExecutiveClackmannanshire Council

You learn more at school than the curriculum

We all learn more at school than the curriculum. Things that teachers can’t teach. We pick up social skills andlife skills.

At or in our time we may not be fully conscious or aware of the quality or lack of quality of the environment in which we spend much of the valuable time spent learning and growing.

Now that I am a trained architect and have worked (and I mean worked) with actual school children, I am staggered at the level of awareness they have particularly about the negative aspect of their existing built environment and amazed at their grasp of the extent of the possibilities creatively conceived architecture can make, by simply exposing them to the ‘art of the possible’.

Good architectural space where there is light, volume and comfort is life enhancing. Architecture that forges a meaningful relationship between the interior and exterior space in the learning environment will embed a key spatial experience in a young mind that will last forever.

Never underestimate the importance that young people place on the quality of their learning environment just because they don’t discuss it or appear to be aware of it.

Put the question to them, and you will realise just how aware they are of the importance of high quality, well-considered, well-designed space (architecture) and what it means to them. Give young people a chance to participate in thinking about space and you realise just how much this empowers them and gives them a voice in the potential quality of their school environment. Henry McKeown, Director JM Architects

Why is Architecture Important to Schools?

“Today Mrs Khan is taking us to the ‘Big School’ Mummy” – my just turned five year old announced excitedly, and immediately an image of her primary school flashed into my head. I pondered. True there was a flight of rather daunting stairs to the elevated entrance level of the Edwardian building that she was going to, but it was no different in scale to that where her nursery was housed, in the large classrooms of another turn of the century edifice. Her thoughts were shaped by the number and size (literally) of her fellow pupils. Mine were musing on the architecture.

I recall my own experience of a seventies comprehensive – monumental ramps, an entrance area elevated on pilotis, the Mooresque sculpture in the courtyard. I had no thoughts of being an architect, but I loved it. I loved the difference of it to any other building I had encountered. It stimulated the just turned teenage me.

Key points in the developing life – milestones of change - coping with new people, systems and environments. Our educationalists build learning carefully around the development of the child. As architects we have a wonderful opportunity to mirror their aims, creating spaces that are a joy to learn in, that function on that level but introduce more. We can introduce children to the potential and qualities of really good architecture. Don’t let’s build tin boxes filled with anonymous classrooms – leaving the kids alone to provide the joy within the spaces and the walls. Let’s create spaces that really open up their experience.

Karen Anderson, PartnerAnderson, Bell, Christie Architects

How learning is enabled through architecture.

Architecture forms a central part of our consciousness throughout our lives from our earliest years. It is a marvellous resource. We live in it, move between it and learn through it.

To learn in a stimulating and challenging building where maximum use is made of daylight and sunshine, where natural ventilation provides a fresh and invigorating environment and where valuable imaginative use of colour to aid a ‘feel good’ factor acknowledges how learning is enabled through architecture - not only in specific teaching spaces but also in play, social, dining and circulation spaces, both internally and externally.

Architecture is embedded in and across the curriculum - from ages 3 to 18 . In being provided with a stimulating built environment, pupils, teachers and members of the wider community can also learn an enormous amount about architecture: about structure, form, spatial quality, emotive quality and sustainability. Good architecture creates a learning environment which encourages the development of the whole person – personal, social, physical, intellectual, spiritual and emotional.

Jean Kerr, Educational Consultant

how to use ...

How To Use This Resource

This resource is intended to support local authorities, schools and architects to explore what has been learnt in the second year of the Design for Learning project. The aim of this publication is to facilitate understanding of the work we have done and to help you develop your own strategies for designing future learning and teaching environments. It is for you to use - not to read and store! You can write on this resource, annotate the information and make it your own.

To support your learning we have included:Introductions: by leading architects and educators which describe in general terms why school design is so important to Scotland’s future.

Viewpoints from professionals and pupils: who have participated in Design for Learning. These will help you to understand why this way of working is effective and provide evidence to justify this way of working to others. It will also give you the opportunity to understand what is important to different professionals.

‘How to’ Guides: This range of first step guides provides a general background to each subject. Each guide uses the model of the design process to develop strategies for your future work. All sections are designed to be photocopied so you can use them in your own meetings. In each section you will be asked to read the guidelines, research the issue, investigate your situation and design a change to your current way of working.

We encourage you to develop your own local models for change using this resource as a toolkit for reflection and planning action.

How this publication was created:This publication contains many voices and brings together the learning of all those who participated in this year’s projects. The information has been compiled from professionals and pupils who contributed their experiences via evaluation workshops facilitated by The Lighthouse.

We hope that you will use this resource prior to making decisions about who you will involve in a school’s design. The many perspectives presented in this resource will help you to reflect on your established processes for school design and assist you in deciding whether you want to create a live, learning link between professionals and pupils.

viewpoints...

01 PPP Manager

02 Secondary Head Teacher

03 Primary Class Teacher

04 Quality Improvement Officer

05 Pupil Council

06 Pupils, Greenwards Primary School

07 Pupils, Sir E Scott Secondary School

08 PPP Project Architect

09 Product and Interior Designer

10 Landscape Architect

11 Cultural Co-ordinator

12 Local Authority Design Teams

Viewpoints contents:

While we started consultation with a broad brush approach, the students ultimately focused on one very important aspect of school life – the toilets. Potentially, this could lead to a significant improvement in the schools we hope to build as consultation rarely gets down to the level of actually addressing issues in any detail. Consultation does take place but the timescale and the speed we need to work at generally mean that consultation remains broad.

As a father of two daughters who attended the local secondary, I’m fairly certain that any consultation on problems with schools will highlight toilets as an issue. Also, I’ve visited several PPP schools and, generally, pupil toilets are one of the standard areas for viewing. However, in no school have I seen a design which is different in any way from the approach we’ve adopted for the last fifty years. Basically, the toilets of today are the toilets of yesterday with more modern fittings.

Following the consultation with students, the proposed designs/solutions were different from the norm, as a result of being based on detailed comment from users. The designs specifically address issues which are very real to students. Looking at them, I do feel that they will actually make a difference to schools and pupil life if the designs are implemented:

• Schools will be more comfortable, more attractive and more secure

• Students will be more likely to use the toilets during the school days

• Vandalism will be reduced

• Social responsibility will increase

• Toilets will be safer and less likely to be used as meeting places.

When we get to the stage of seeking bidders, companies will be asked to consider the designs in their proposals. The Information Memorandum for the project already contains reference to the work carried out and suggests that bidders should consider the proposals.

Richard Donald, Moray Council

Viewpoint 01: PPP Manager

Although we had no doubts about the potential benefits of becoming involved in the Design for Learning project in terms of improving our school grounds, we did not in the early stages give a great deal of thought to the nature of the consultation processes that might need to take place. This was due in part to the knowledge that we would be working in partnership with a Landscape Architect, whose expectations and requirements might be slightly different from our own.

As it turned out, the consultation that took place turned out to be quite different from the one we discussed at our initial planning meeting at The Lighthouse. A series of school closures as a result of the extreme weather conditions experienced during January forced us to postpone SQA preliminary exams by one week. Unfortunately exam week now coincided with Lisa’s visit, which meant that S4-S6 students were unable to participate in the consultation. An alternative approach was required.

Around this time we received details of the programme of student activities. The programme was impressive in its scope, variety and focus. It clearly offered a coherent, cross-curricular learning experience for students, which could support, indeed required, sustained involvement.

At this point we began to think in terms of involving a whole class, suspending normal timetable and allowing the students to work with Lisa and her team for the whole week. Following consultation with staff, it was agreed that our S1 class (24 students) would be released from timetable to work on the project.

This proved to be an extremely effective arrangement and the students were fully engaged throughout. Each group eventually produced a model of the school grounds based on the ideas developed during the week and these were the subject of a presentation on the Friday afternoon to an appreciative audience consisting of staff, School Board members and senior students.

The process generated a wealth of quality ideas which enabled Lisa to develop an imaginative and inspirational proposal for the redevelopment of the school grounds, which then became the subject of further consultation with stakeholders. The purpose of this secondary phase of consultation was to refine the design still further, prior to working towards its full integration within the local PPP framework.

So the consultation process worked extremely well for us on a number of different levels. There were several contributory factors:

• Pupils and staff were well informed - the Design for Learning project took place within a meaningful context.

• Practical working arrangements were good – the team and the class had a dedicated space to work in throughout the week and at least one member of teaching staff was present at all times.

• The quality of the programme was varied, challenging and well structured – it was a good learning experience for the students.

• The enthusiasm of the landscape designer and The Lighthouse set a very positive tone.

Viewpoint 02: Secondary Head teacher

School Consultation and the National Priorities

Our school has had extensive and successful involvement in enterprise projects of different kinds over the years. Prior to our 2002 inspection we took a closer look at the main activities generated by these projects to see how they related to the national priorities. We were reassured, though not surprised, to find that enterprise projects supported all five priorities to a greater or lesser degree.

The Design for Learning consultation project shared many of the characteristics of an enterprise project (pupil-driven, real context, clear deadlines, problem solving, team working etc.) We expected it to relate to the national priorities in a similar way and so it turned out: • Achievement and Attainment To raise standards of educational attainment for all in schools, especially in the core skills of literacy and numeracy.

• Framework for Learning To support and develop the self discipline of pupils and to enhance school environments so that they are conducive to teaching and learning.

• Inclusion and Equality To promote equality and help every pupil to benefit from education, with particular regard paid to pupils with disabilities and special educational needs and to Gaelic and other lesser used languages.

• Values and Citizenship To teach pupils respect for self and one another and their interdependence with other members of their neighbourhood and society and to teach them the duties and responsibility of citizenship in a democratic society.

• Learning for Life To equip pupils with the foundation skills, attitudes and expectations necessary to prosper in a changing society, and to encourage creativity and ambition.

Gordon MacDonald, Sir E Scott School, Comhairle nan Siar

This project supports national and curricular priorities in the following ways:

Achievement and Attainment

• Literacy skills The children had opportunities to talk and listen through discussion, debate, giving explanations, instructions and descriptions, questioning, reasoning and reporting. They wrote and recorded in a variety of styles, including via illustrations, lists, letters, personal responses and diagrams.

• Numeracy skills The children drew 2D plans and discussed drawing to scale. They measured area, length and perimeter in real life situations. They used a computer package to produce questionnaires for research and produce graphs of their results. They made 3D models and used problem solving skills to find a solution to a problem.

Framework for Learning

• Developing skills of teachers I had the chance to work with and learn from other professionals in different fields of expertise. I saw a relaxed and informal style of delivery elicit quality results and I experienced and adopted teaching methods with which I was unfamiliar.

• Self discipline of pupils While working in a relaxed and informal atmosphere, children were able to exercise self control and self discipline. They were able to make appropriate choices about their behaviour when faced with unfamiliar people and situations.

• Enhance school environments The children were given an opportunity to make a positive change to their own situation and experience the pleasure of empowerment.

Inclusion and Equality

• Equality Due to the variety of teaching methods used, all the children had opportunities to make some kind of contribution according to their ability. All of them were encouraged to feel that their opinion was valued.

• Disabilities and special educational needs As both schools cater for pupils with complex and profound educational needs there is generally an ethos of empathy for SEN pupils. While working in mixed ability groups, no pressure was put on any individual to perform beyond their ability.

Viewpoint 03: Primary class teacher

Values and Citizenship

• Respect for self and others Some of the younger children enjoyed the opportunity to express themselves and perform in front of older pupils. The children learned about the importance of showing respect for others, especially those whose actions or views were in discord with their own.

• Interdependence with other members of society The children were able to see where their role was in the design process and gained a greater understanding of the roles of others, for example councillors, architects and designers.

• Duties and responsibilities of citizenship and democracy The children were able to understand the importance and responsibility of the task to find a meaningful solution. They knew their outcome could affect many people in the future. This brought an increased sense of ownership for the building and its care. The children experienced at first hand a real life decision making process.

Learning for Life

• Skills, attitudes and expectations necessary in a changing society The children had opportunities to work and co-operate within groups which included pupils older than themselves. They had opportunities to form and express their opinions, as well as discuss and disagree in an appropriate way. They had a chance to practise thinking skills of reasoning, planning, organising, structuring and sequencing. In addition, they used ICT to access images for models.

• Encourage creativity and ambition The children were able to work within a meaningful scenario and produce a solution with possible application in the real world. Who knows if we have inspired creative thinkers of tomorrow?

Christine Lannigan, Greenwards Primary School, Moray Council

In working through the Design for Learning project, it has become evident to me that the design process model is an effective problem solving toolkit with applications beyond its associated disciplines of design and architecture. Development planning of the curriculum follows similar problem solving principles in meeting the challenges of providing a world class education for young people in our complex world of today:

Design Stage 1 – Research and InvestigationIt is ever more the case that senior management in schools, such as head teachers and depute head teachers, have to take a ‘bigger picture’ view which includes the engagement of all the relevant stakeholders in the school community, in determining school priorities. Additionally, school priorities are delivered through the school development plan, connected to an ongoing improvement agenda and are linked directly to local authority and national priorities.

Design Stage 2 – Consideration of Possibilities From this data, a professional approach to planning the curriculum and decisions on appropriate systems and structures takes place.

Design Stage 3 – Developing a PrototypeThere follows an implementation of the schools’ priorities that is supported through additional resources, appropriate developmental activities and staff training. The measuring of its impact and effectiveness on classroom practise through pilot projects is rigorously monitored.

Design Stage 4 - Evaluation of a SolutionAt the end of this process staff, parents and pupils are invited to feedback relevant information on the schools’ work, including that covered by priorities in the development plan cycle for each year. This informs future planning and priority decisions.

It should be noted that the design process model is applicable in a wide range of contexts within education including, monitoring for improvement which is an evolving process, delivery of in-service training, and tracking pupil progress. The design process can be used in a linear way whilst allowing for lateral considerations, thereby remaining open to the possibility of discovering more than one effective solution to the challenge set by the brief. This has been evidenced through Design for Learning in relation to both pupil and professional workshop management.

Joe McAvoy, North Lanarkshire Council

Viewpoint 04: Quality Improvement Officer

“ I find the project very valuable as it lets me know that I will be comfortable within my learning environment. The project has changed my views and opinions on how much thought goes into designing something.”

“ The project has shown me that pupils are not just a tickbox or a statistic but that our opinions are truely listened to and taken into consideration. I believe more in the PPP and can really see it happening….and for the better.”

“ The new school is better than I thought. Architects are actually friendly and they think about what others want.”

Viewpoint 05: Pupil Council

“ I have learned that you have to think very carefully about what you really want from a school - is it somewhere to have fun or is it somewhere to learn or can it be both and, if so, how? You have to be practical.”

“ This project has changed my views because I used to think design was easy and anyone could do it and now I know that it is quite difficult because each process takes a long time and a lot of forward planning and thought.”

“ The project has changed my views and opinions by me now feeling that I understand the views of my fellows. It has been brought together to make the idea of something that I think everybody will enjoy as there are a variety of people here with different opinions and personalities.”

Dunblane High School,Pupils elected to the Pupil Council S1-S6

“ I think everybody should be involved in a similar project.”

“ Children are starting to get involved in all kinds of things. If children get a chance to do something like this I think it makes kids more enthusiastic and challenged. It is also very fun…this project has changed my views on many things. When I grow up I think I would enjoy a job like being an architect.”

“ (This was an important part of my education) because it’s learning to be in a team and working with people of different ages. It has made me become more friendly and it’s changed the way I feel about (moving to) the High School.”

“ (I learnt) how to plan out things and follow them through.”

Greenwards Primary School, Moray, P6

Viewpoint 06: Primary Pupils

“ (This is an important part of my education) because we were designing our OWN school. Where we will be at until S6. ”

“ I learnt more about my surroundings, the animals that live near me, the great environment we live in.”

“ I have learnt how to work in a team and how to use different materials to make a model.”

“ We could practice skills that are not used in our normal classes.”

“ It has changed the way I look at the landscape around me…we should do more stuff outside.”

“ (This is an important part of my education) because it got us to work together, get along and have fun. It also taught us about the land/surroundings and what things

Viewpoint 07: Secondary Pupils

Harris is made up of. So it was a bit like Geography. ”

“ There wasn’t any part of the project that I found boring. I don’t like writing but if you understand what you are doing then it’s not so bad.”

“ The least enjoyable part of the project was the end because I had learnt so much.”

Sir E Scott Secondary School, Isle of Harris, S2

With the support of an open-minded client and a strong design team, we endeavour to incorporate the ideas that were developed during the workshop process by the students at Dunblane High. We are looking forward to translating their hard work into a practical reality and to creating a better learning environment. It is hoped that this type of end-user participation in the design process will set a precedent for future PPP projects.

Although the pupils have had no formal architectural education, they understood buildings. They recognised that certain places are designed because of their function and other spaces are designed to create particular atmospheres.

From the pupils it was possible to identify what they thought of the new school and how it would be used in the future. They formed plausible suggestions for the chosen space.

Despite having no prior consultation with the design team, they felt that they were ‘really involved’ through the workshop. It also changed their idea of architecture as a profession, ‘not stuffy but professional and human’. They also quickly realised and recognised their role within their school community and the value of contributing ideas in a creative and co-operative manner.

The pupils were encouraged to think ‘out of the box’ and told that no suggestion was silly. Initially, there was no point in forcing the pupils to be too practical as their imaginations may have been stifled if they thought that we were more interested in ‘sensible’ ideas, such as the durability or cost.

As a result of the success of the Design for Learning workshop at Dunblane High, JM Architects decided to organise and run similar workshops for the remaining schools within the Stirling PPP Project, including Wallace High, St Modan’s High, McLaren High and Stirling High. These have been worthwhile ventures and have resulted in close relationships with the schools. This is unusual within the PPP process. Again the workshops have given the students a chance to be involved and influence the new school, giving them a sense of ownership, responsibility, pride and achievement.

Lyndsey Dyer, JM Architects

Viewpoint 08: Project Architect for PPP School

During this project my design process was different to normal:

1. Meetings to discuss ‘school’ with students/users (I normally meet with a client who is paying a company).

2. Narrowing down to the problem: through consultation we soon identified that the focus was going to be on re-designing the ‘toilets’ (I am normally given a brief for number 1 which is specific and from the client not the user).

3. Primary research: this was carried out using documentation processes, such as photography and individual interviews (normally a designer would carry out their own research with input from a client and they would be unlikely to have access to the users).

4. Concept design: this was done in a similar way to the way I would normally do things - showing ideas and asking for feedback (normally the language is more complex and I am presenting to 5 people not 50).

5. Presentation of detailed design: this was done in a similar way to a normal project and shown in a similar way through technical drawings and costings.

Katty Barac, One Foot Taller

Viewpoint 09: Product and Interior Designer

I regarded the students as my client and considered their views with equal weight to those in authority. For me, it was important that feedback from pupils was as positive as comments from teachers. My role was to learn something from the children and make a holistic design for everyone on the island by tapping into social cultural aspects and unique environmental considerations.

I was challenged and tested right through the experience, rather than at the end of the process and the juncture where criticism was inputted. The consultation became integral to the structure of the design process. As a result, the proposals took shape quickly and flowed relatively easily. Design can at times be an almost painful, solitary process – this time was very different. I can think of no real disadvantages to the process we employed.

Lisa MacKenzie, Landscape Architect

Viewpoint 10: Landscape Architect

Design is an increasingly important part of our lives and though it is gaining an equivalent importance in the curriculum, it can fall between the two stools of “art and design” and “design and technology”. It is an area where principal teachers of art have expressed the need for support from the Cultural Co-ordinator, as has the one principal teacher of technology with whom she has had contact.

By involving pupils from the primary school who will shortly be moving up to the secondary school, the project is using the process of thinking about and researching the design brief to address issues of transition in a non-threatening way. Preparing for transition is an issue which teachers in other schools have told the Cultural Co-ordinator needs to be addressed in imaginative ways.

The role of the Cultural Co-ordinator in this project was three-fold.

1. To co-ordinate between The Lighthouse and the designer and the schools and outside bodies such as the press. This also involved co-ordination of the involvement of the PPP manager and other Moray Council officers.

2. The other schools involved in the PPP project may well wish to undertake similar pupil consultation exercises, but without the support of The Lighthouse and the Design for Learning funding. Observation of this project enabled the Cultural Co-ordinator to establish close links with The Lighthouse and the designer, so that they could facilitate future projects or provide advice, if needed. It was also an opportunity for my professional development to gain understanding of the design process.

3. The Cultural Co-ordinator had no first-hand experience of a project which is sustained like this, on an occasional basis over a period of months, involving two schools. Involvement in this design project opened up the prospect of using it as a model for activities in other disciplines.

Other beneficial outcomes were:

• The project enabled observation of how pupils responded to a single topic being approached through a variety of learning styles: listening; discussion in large and small groups; practical and physical investigation; creation of mood boards, mind maps and models; group drawing; and presentation to adults. It was good to see pupils’ confidence and creativity increase through direct contact with the designer.

• It was also an opportunity to see, in the case of Greenwards Primary School, how the class teacher can take the methods and ideas and apply them in her own teaching.

Pam Diamond, Moray Council

Viewpoint 11: Cultural Co-ordinator

Things you need to think about to make a project work

Definition of roles and responsibilitiesManagement of the process Commitment and resources from all team membersClear lines of communicationTo which other parties does the design team refer

Respect for each other’s skills and experienceLook for the complementary abilities in colleaguesThe best partnerships are more than the sum of the parts

An open mindPut aside preconceptions about school building design, education methods and people Be prepared to listen to all members of the teamAsk questions and challenge assumptions

Agreed overall project goals Educational ambitions Building quality and lifespan Level of user consultations and participation

Clearly defined constraints on the project Activities to be supported by the buildingPhysical siteTimescales for design and construction Full project budget indicating breakdowns for design, construction and fit-out

Neil Mochrie, Malcolm Fraser ArchitectsGordon Kidd, Architect, North Lanarkshire Council

Viewpoint 12: Local Authority Design Teams And External Architect As Consultants

Your Viewpoint:

Write a letter to yourself detailing your hopes and fears for a project of this sort.

Keep this and refer back to it when the project gets tough.

how to...

The How to.. Guides are designed to support your learning.

Each section has a different focus. All these sections are necessary when using consultation with young people to improve your school’s design.

1. How to decide roles and responsibilities

4. How to work with schools

5. How to develop an effective partnership with architects + designers

2. How To Prepare For Consultation Planning

3. How to set a brief for consultation

10.

6. How to plan a workshop programme

How to evaluate

7. How to create relevant learning experiences

8. How to plan and support an activity

9. How to set priorities

01.How to decide roles and responsibilities

01. H

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bilit

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1. Introduction

In any partnership project it is essential that all those involved share ownership of the project but it is also necessary to clearly identify roles and responsibilities to ensure the project progresses smoothly and to time.

This section gives an overview of how to allocate specific roles and responsibilities and lists those that are key to success. It includes a number of checklists which identify who should take forward specific actions and details the responsibilities of general groups, such as those of teachers.

Usually the person best placed to take forward a particular part of the project can be identified by their experience and knowledge but their access to resources, networks, and development plans etc. is also an important factor.

Many of the professionals involved in Design for Learning discovered that the processes involved in built environment consultation projects had relevance to their normal role, which deepened their learning experience and motivation, and consequently made the projects more sustainable.

In addition to the checklists, it can be helpful to draw up a list of expected problems and to consider these through group discussion, leading to the agreement of appropriate solutions. Including this activity would help to ensure that when problems arise they can be quickly solved.

2. Common Roles and Responsibilities

Everyone involved in the project should see themselves, like school buildings, as having a role to play and responsibility to act as a catalyst for:

Learning Creativity Innovation Flexibility Entrepreneurship Communication and collaboration

Reflection

3. Checklists for Project Team Members

The following tables provide a variety of checklists to assist the process of allocating responsibilities and to ensure accountability. The checklists also allow individuals to be clear about what their responsibilities are and provide transparency regarding the communication processes involved through the duration of the project.

Wherever a task is the responsibility of a specific individual, their name should be noted on the checklist to ensure clarity and pinpoint accountability. When a task is the collective responsibility of a group of people, teachers for example, then the checklist can be used by all members of that group to ensure their required tasks are accomplished.

How to decide roles and responsibilities

RESPONSIBILITIES FOR SCHOOL MANAGEMENT AND QUALITY IMPROVEMENT OFFICERS PERSON RESPONSIBLE

Strategic: Who understands the project in terms of existing development plans?

Evaluation: Who ensures structures and systems within the school are able to incorporate consultation?

Continuing Professional Development: Who checks opportunities are created for staff?

Participation: Who ensures the structure of the workshops is appropriate?

Advocating for pupils: Who currently makes decisions about the future of the school’s estate?

Who works with teachers to develop an effective system for monitoring and evaluating the project?

Who reflects upon monitoring and evaluating the project?

Who disseminates learning across the school?

SCHOOL MANAGEMENT TICK IF TASK HAS BEEN DONE

Have I co-ordinated cover and teacher time?

Have I communicated the project to all school staff and pupils?

Have other staff recognised the value of the project and are they willing to release pupils from normal classes?

Have existing groups with an interest in the project been consulted?

Disclosure: Have all adults been checked?


The following responsibilities are universal to all teachers.

RESPONSIBILITIES FOR TEACHERS TICK IF TASK HAS BEEN DONE

As an educator:

Have I produced a structured and robust workshop plan through creative planning?

Have I identified how the project relates to prior and future learning across the curriculum?

Have I ensured that the atmosphere is democratic and non-judgemental?

Have I considered how to support non-educators (e.g. architects/designers)?

Have I developed new teaching skills?

As a link to the school:

Resources/Rooms/Materials: Do all involved understand what is available and how to access them?

Have I communicated with the school management?

Have I provided an introduction to working in the school?

As an advocate for pupils:

Have I ensured the activity is inclusive, suitable and ambitious?

Have I communicated pupils’ prior skills and experiences related to the project?

Have I planned how to support pupils with specific support needs ?

Have I discussed strategies for behaviour management?


RESPONSIBILITIES FOR ARCHITECT/DESIGNER TICK IF TASK HAS BEEN DONE

As a designer:

Have I raised aspirations for design?

Have I developed interesting and revealing ways to investigate the built environment?

Have I provided expertise on building/manufacturing processes?

As a member of the consultation team:

Have I designed workshops and developed plans for delivering workshops?

Have I participated in facilitating workshops?

Have I learnt from pupils and engaged in explorations of their ideas?

Have I communicated ideas and encouraged participation in creative processes at an appropriate level?

Have I clarified and developed ideas and priorities with pupils?

Have I discovered if pupils preconceived design solutions are based on experiences they are trying to create?

Have I been clear in explaining to the pupils what I need in order to create a good design?

Have I clarified the project’s process with pupils?

RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE PPP TEAM/ LOCAL AUTHORITY ARCHITECT NAME/INITIALS OF RESPONSIBLE PERSON

Who has integrated a coherent, strategic consultation process into a school build?

Who has ensured that commercial partners are committed to good consultation processes?

Who has briefed everyone on the changing parameters of the project?

Who has ensured that a consensus is reached by pupils?


Each of the projects in Design for Learning included a facilitator experienced in built environment education and in developing and facilitating participatory consultation.

RESPONSIBILITIES FOR A CONSULTATION FACILITATOR TICK IF TASK HAS BEEN DONE

Have I provided a consultation framework and guidelines?

Have I worked with the learning team to make existing structures, systems and attitudes transparent?

Have I facilitated an investigation into the present situation in order to create a brief for consultation?

Have I supported the development of a consultation process?

Have I ensured that all professionals and pupils take on appropriate responsibilities that relate to their roles and experiences?

Have I developed a framework for monitoring and recording key priorities and ideas?

Have I facilitated communication between professionals and pupils?

Have I facilitated critical discussions and supported facilitation by professionals?

Have I facilitated future planning?

Each local authority now has its own Cultural Co-ordinators whose role is to help schools enhance the cultural dimension of learning.

RESPONSIBILITIES FOR CULTURAL CO-ORDINATORS TICK IF TASK HAS BEEN DONE

Have I given information to the media and organised media opportunities that do not detract from the workshops?

Have I co-ordinated invitations to councillors, senior council officers and others (e.g. NGOs, community and school board members)?

Have I supported the teacher in planning and resourcing the project?

Have I provided logistical support?


4. Research Similar Situations

Looking at examples of other projects can provide valuable information which can stimulate ideas and clarify roles in your own project. In addition to the Viewpoints section in this publication, the following websites and publications contain information on the different roles played by people participating in change.

• Websites:

Demos, the everyday think tank of democracy:www.demos.co.uk

International Futures Forum: www.internationalfuturesforum.co.uk

• Publications

Coghlan, David, and Brannick, Teresa (2005) Doing Research in your own Organisation, second edition. London: Sage.Greenwood, Davydd J., and Levin, Morten (1998) Introduction to Action Research: Social Research for Social Change. Thousand Oaks, Ca: Sage.Stringer, Ernie (1996) Action Research: A Handbook for Practitioners. Thousand Oaks: Sage.

5. Investigate Your Current Situation

Assume you can make changes to the way you work very quickly. Using your diary for the next few weeks and referring to your past experience, identify one situation which you would like to introduce the following to:

• Learning• Creativity• Innovation• Flexibility• Entrepreneurship• Communication and collaboration• Reflection

Hint: you may need to work out how you define these words before starting the exercise.

You should also consider:

• What and who would make this possible?• What would hinder you?


6. Design a Change

What would you do differently in the future?

When would you do it?

How will you plan for it to happen?


Thinking space...


02.How to prepare forconsultation planning

02. H

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1. Introduction

Consultation is the gathering and considering of the views, interests and feelings of all the individuals and groups involved in or affected by a project. It is an important link between those delivering a project and those that the project affects. Consultation can take place through a wide range of structures, systems and processes.

A good consultation process improves the quality of use of a building and its sustainability. The way consultation is implemented has a significant impact on the quality of information that pupils and other stakeholders provide and consequently, on the quality of the resultant design. Good consultation develops ownership and positive attitudes in pupils for the current, and future, projects. Conversely, poor consultation can undermine a project and mis-inform the design brief.

Once you have a feel for the level of consultation you are proposing for your project and how you might implement the consultation process, it is advisable to assess your preconceptions which will have influenced your proposed consultation plan.

The questions below will help you to do this assessment but they are only a start. At the end of this section you will find links to resources which can further support your work in this area.

2. The Consultation Quiz

The following questions form a quiz to assess your plan for consultation. For each question, choose an answer (a, b or c) and make a note of it.

1. Why are you consulting?

a. To gather information over a short period of time.b. For users to become involved in the development of designs.c. For users to participate in and initiate future developments of either activities or buildings.

2. What is the brief for your consultation?

a. To be transparent about what you do and don’t know.b. To avoid involving pupils in contentious subjects.c. To create a brief that you know the answers to.

3. Why should people take part in consultation?

a. To give pupils an opportunity to explore and express their own motivations for taking part in consultation.b. To motivate pupils by offering them an incentive.c. To only involve pupils who are a successful in a school environment.

4. Is it clear to pupils how their input is integrated with other consultation and research?

a. There is a clear strategy for bringing different pupils together. b. I intend to make the decisions as to which stakeholders views are more important. c. I am glossing over possible problems with using their consultation.

5. How are you going to keep users updated?

a. I assume pupils will hear about updates and meetings through adult channels. b. I am planning accessible ways for pupils to know about future consultation and project updates.

c. Pupils will not receive a finished school so no updates are needed.

How to prepare for consultation planning

6. Have you created an environment where pupils will be confident to work?

a. I am expecting pupils to participate in adult meetings and forums.b. I have discovered where and when existing groups meet and asked them for their support.c. I am expecting pupils to understand the language and process of my professional group.

7. Are you presenting information in an accessible way that is relevant to the interests of the user group?

a. I have found a range of different ways to present and explore unfamiliar designs and ideas.b. I am expecting pupils to fully understand plans and reports.c. I am using seductive visualisations.

8. Do your users have the skills and confidence to use their experience to give critical and informed input?

a. I am only hoping for single questions that I can give short answers to. b. I am offering pupils the opportunity to develop the specific skills they need to have a sustained and critical

exploration of proposals.c. I am presenting designs to pupils as a formality.

9. Are you willing and able to learn and respond creatively to suggestions?

a. As a professional involved on the project I assume that I know better than the pupils and they should be learning from me.

b. I am able to spend most of my time listening, facilitating and recording.c. I am expecting to debate the validity of my ideas.

10. Are your processes going to be stimulating, challenging and tailored to local needs?

a. My workshop programme has room for individual activities and interests to develop. b. I am expecting pupils to learn and develop ideas the same way as I do. c. I am expecting pupils to complete a series of standardised tasks which I use with every group.


3. Scoring the Quiz

Score yourself and/or your organisation on the above quiz to find out where your current understanding of consultation is. The points for each answer are listed below:

Q1. (a) 1 (b) 2 (c) 3Q2. (a) 3 (b) 2 (c) 1Q3. (a) 3 (b) 2 (c) 1Q4. (a) 3 (b) 1 (c) 2Q5. (a) 1 (b) 3 (c) 2Q6. (a) 2 (b) 3 (c) 1Q7. (a) 3 (b) 1 (c) 2Q8. (a) 2 (b) 3 (c) 1Q9. (a) 1 (b) 3 (c) 2Q10. (a) 3 (b) 1 (c) 2

If you have scored:

1 – 15 points: Manipulation and Information GatheringYou are in danger of alienating pupils from future involvement and the information you are likely to collect will be led by your existing ideas. Possible outcomes are high levels of vandalism and spaces that aren’t fit for purpose.

15 – 25 points: Managed ConsultationYou are involving pupils in a real project but to some extent are restricting the level of responsibility they take and their potential to provide you with important learning. You are therefore reducing the quality of future designs. Possible outcomes include a learning environment that is mostly fit for purpose but does not aspire beyond the here and now.

25 – 30 points: Facilitated ConsultationYou see yourself as facilitating a community’s development of ideas and are asking them to contribute and take responsibility for the future. Possible outcomes include an environment where pupils are more likely to initiate and take on responsibility for their own future learning.


Pretty, J. N., Guijt, (1999) Participation Works! 21 Techniques of Community Participation for the 21stCentury, London, New Economics Foundation.

Thompson, J., Scoones, I. (1995) Participatory Learning and Action: A Trainers Guide, International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED), London.

Wates, N. (2002) The Community Planning Handbook, Earthspan, London.

Carnegie Trust (2003) STANDARDS, Carnegie Young People’s Initiative(www.carnegieuktrust.org.uk/cypi/publications/standard_2003)



In the first three publications listed above, you will find a table or ladder of participation. Use your answers to the quiz to further research the advantages and disadvantages of your current practice.

Use the table below to record your ideas.

MY CURRENT PRACTICE

Advantages Disadvantages

6. Design a Change

Use the appendices in the STANDARDS publication to create your own strategy to develop the involvement of pupils.


03. H

ow to

set a

brie

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tion

03.How to set a brieffor consultation

1. Introduction

Setting a clear and accurate brief for consultation ensures that pupils are given accurate information about the project. Good consultation will involve pupils as early as possible and will support them so that they feel able to give informed responses in line with the brief. In turn, this will lead to pupils seeing themselves as important participants in the development and transformation of their environment. Transparency throughout the development of the project will generate more insightful and useful consultation outcomes.

Before you can set the brief for the consultation you will carry out, you need to establish the project team who will play an important role in setting the brief.

2. Establishing a Project Team and Setting a Brief

• Step 1: Setting up a Project Team

Each of the four projects in Design for Learning involved people with existing responsibilities for the school who formed the Basic Project Team. This team ensured that the project had access to the mix of skills and experience required to design a good school.

The members of the Basic Project Team were also involved in networking with, and learning from, a range of people they hadn’t previously worked with, including experts and professionals whose knowledge and experience enhanced that of the Basic Project Team. Some of these professionals were involved throughout the project, while others acted as planning advisors or contributed to workshops at specific points in the project’s development. These people were usually called upon once the consultation brief had been established.

All of the projects were co-ordinated by The Lighthouse, which was seen as being politically neutral and having the ability to develop the teams’ aspirations.

A Basic Project Team should include the following:

Head/Deputy Head TeacherQuality Improvement Officer or Cultural Links OfficerPPP Manager or Council ArchitectTeacher (linked to pupil group or student council)Architect/DesignerCo-ordinator

An Enhanced Project Team might include the following:

Biodiversity OfficerCouncillorsCommunity membersCultural Co-ordinatorLocal and National NGOsSchool Board membersParentsPupil Clubs

In all instances the Project Teams gained information and accessed support from a wide range of other professionals and groups which helped to connect the teams to the bigger picture. These other professionals and groups mainly attended presentations and decision-making forums. They included:

DirectorCouncillorsSchool staff/ School Management TeamLocal Authority planning/School Estates department.

How to set a brief for consultation

• Step 2: Setting a Consultation Brief

The brief needed at this stage is for the consultation process. It is important to clarify that this brief is different from the design brief.

In order to create the consultation brief, all the relevant decision makers were asked to identify the parameters under which they work. This process also helped to clarify what information was not yet available to the Project Team. In addition to the decision makers, the Project Team also consulted with Pupil Councils to identify existing problems and aspirations within the school. From this process each Project Team set a brief which clearly communicated all the parameters affecting their project.

Pack of Cards:

The Pack of Cards is a device that can be used throughout the project to stimulate discussion and ideas, raise issues and assist consultation. It is a visual, non-linear way of presenting information and can be very useful for challenging pre-determined views.

There are different ways to create the Pack of Cards but in the Design for Learning projects they were created by the Project Teams collating information about their project at a special workshop. Each team was asked to consider the parameters that impacted on them, current information on the school and any knowledge they had of future plans.

From this information, the teams created the following four suits for the Pack of Cards:

• Fixed parameters• Unknown parameters that could have a future influence• Future aspirations

• Possible and existing threats

Each card in a suit had a single issue on it and the suits provided useful pointers to help set the initial brief for consultation. The Pack of Cards also provided a stimulus for developing presentations and workshops.

The cards should not be viewed as static devices and as the project develops the cards should be reviewed and changed where necessary to reflect the changes that have occurred in the project and in the information available to the Project Team.

Hints for creating your own Pack of Cards:

• Some topics, for e.g. budget, timescale and sustainability, may fit into more than one suit - so include them in all the relevant suits.• There is no limit to the number of cards.

What can you do with the Pack of Cards?

• Use them as a reference point.• Use them to brief other pupils and professionals.• Use them as a benchmark for evaluating the project.• Stimulate pupils to develop their own set of cards.• Create multiple packs with different pupils. • Set priorities by numbering cards, either in groups or as individuals.• Use them as the basis for a workshop that mixes different pupils. Ask them to discuss each other’s priorities and set collective priorities. • Use them to design workshops and decide on experiences pupils will need to advocate on for their future.• Create mind maps by laying out the cards and drawing connections between them. These can be photographed for displays or records.



You may want to refer to the Viewpoints for ideas on what thinking about the built environment has enabled in schools:

The Lighthouse (2004), Design Strategies: Design for Learning, 21st Century Schools, Glasgow, The Lighthouse.

Design Council (2005), Learning Environments Campaign Prospectus: From The Inside Looking Out, London, Design Council.(www.design-council.org.uk )

CABE/RIBA (2004), 21st Century Schools, Learning Environments of the Future, London, CABE/RIBA.(www.cabe.org.uk)

CABE (2004), Green Space Strategies: A Good Practice Guide, London, CABE.

Your local authority website and other relevant statutory and voluntary organisations websites may also provide you with useful information.

These websites contain information and further links to how the built environment relates to other concerns: www.buildingconnections.co.ukwww.thelighthouse.co.ukwww.scottisharchitecture.comwww.sust.org


Using the project information provided above and your own experience, identify a list of people you think should be involved in the design of a school.

1.2.3.4.5.6.7.8.9.10.


5. Design a Change

Use the information above to design your own set of cards for refurbishing or redesigning a new school.


04. H

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04.How to work with schools

1.Introduction

Schools are required to fulfil a variety of local and national policies and successful consultation projects on the built environment can help to fulfil these requirements. Ideally projects should be initiated prior to the start of the school year and integrated into school development plans, so that project activity is assimilated into the school’s general activity.

A successful consultation project should fit smoothly into a school’s culture and activity and provide a useful and interesting learning experience for all involved. A good fit will also encourage the school to view consultation as a sustainable activity.

An important factor in achieving successful consultation is good communication. During consultation projects schools have a responsibility to effectively communicate their needs to external professionals. The checklist below is designed to help assist and develop that communication process. The list can be used as part of a contract between a school and the external professionals involved.

2. Checklist of Questions to ask a School

Use this checklist with the link teacher at the beginning of a project. Some questions can be answered immediately, others will become useful later on in the project. Ask the school to tell you when they will need information from you.

TIMINGS WHEN

When are the school holidays and other events, exams, teacher CPD etc.?

Are there difficult times of the year?

What are the timings of the school day?

Do all pupils have lunch at the same time?

Do pupils have to leave early for buses?

What time will pupils arrive for a workshop?

What is the best time of day to get hold of you and do you have regular email access?

How to work with schools

RESOURCES NOTES

What rooms/spaces can the school provide, including specific facilities, e.g. computer and technical rooms?

When can we have access to a room for set up?

Is the room being used for any other activity during that day/week?

Are there any areas of the school or its grounds that pupils cannot use?

What equipment can the school provide?

What furniture can the school provide?

What technical skills do your pupils have e.g. using scalpels, cameras etc.?

Does the school have display boards or are there pin boards in the rooms?

Who is meeting the cost of workshop materials?

Is there somewhere we can store workshop materials?

Can we have workshop materials delivered in advance? Do you have local suppliers?

Can I get lunch and tea/coffee in the school?

OFF SITE ACTIVITY

Are you able to arrange for pupils to work off site? What information do you need in order to arrange visits or work experience?

What are the travel times involved?(Ask schools to arrange buses with their normal provider)

PHOTOGRAPHY

Have all pupils given permission for their images to be used in print, film and on websites?

SCHOOL MANAGEMENT

Have you arranged staff cover for workshops?

Have you arranged for staff cover and allowed them time to plan the project and attend meetings?

Who is meeting the cost of staff cover?

Have you briefed the whole staff and school that this project is going on?

Do you require enhanced disclosure? (This can take up to two months)



The Viewpoints section, as well as the introductions to this publication, will give you an idea of how schools plan their activity and how you can work with them on projects involving the built environment.

Other useful websites include:

www.ltscotland.org.ukwww.nationalpriorities.org.ukwww.inspiringlearningforall.gov.ukwww.cabe.org.ukwww.designcouncil.org.uk

4. Investigate your Current Situation

Architecture is not a subject area in the school curriculum and is only occasionally touched upon. Use the website:www.buildingconnections.co.uk to discover how you can link a school’s need to deliver the curriculum with activities around the built environment.

5. Design a Change

Write a proposal for a workshop that uses the school building as a resource for learning. You do not need to plan the workshop activity, instead identify how you would promote the proposal to a school. Link it to the educational and curriculum priorities you found during your research.


Thinking space...


05. H

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Des

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05.How to develop an effective partnership with Architects and Designers

1. Introduction

A real buzz is created by bringing together the two very different working cultures of architects and schools. Architects and designers are not only passionate about buildings but about peoples’ experience of buildings. They use a wide range of research methods to discover and understand the ways in which people live their lives and use buildings.

Not all built environment education needs to involve an architect or designer but a very dynamic learning environment can be created by bringing together pupils and the architect(s). This is because both are motivated to learn and contribute to a live project where their inputs are tangible and genuinely have an impact.

At the end of this section you will find links to a wide range of resources that show how working with an architect or designer can support the curriculum.

2. Choosing and Supporting your Architect or Designer

For the consultation process it is important to select architects and designers who relish the thought of involving others in their design process. In Design for Learning, the architects and designers who were most excited to learn from, rather than teach, young people, consistently created designs that linked a wide range of issues into an effective solution.

Many architects and designers have excellent communication skills, diverse experiences of working in creative teams and a range of visual and spatial research and presentation techniques that can enhance learning for pupils and teachers.

Whilst some architects and designers work as tutors at further and higher education levels, they should not be expected to be experienced educators/facilitators in a consultation process. They may well be unaware of the ways in which they can influence young people and they may not know when to press for further information on an idea. Architects and designers should therefore be seen as part of a learning team with particular expert knowledge. To achieve clarity regarding their role, it is essential that architects and designers are working within a clearly defined consultation structure in which they can participate in developing and delivering relevant activities. It is also essential that they are supported by a facilitator or educator.

3. Practical Advice

Architects and designers often have flexible diaries allowing them to be responsive and to react to problems on their projects. While working on the school project they will often need to stay in contact with their own offices. To facilitate this it is helpful to plan breaks when the architect/designer can be freed up to attend to other projects as required.

As most school email systems do not allow laptops to be plugged in, architects and designers should be made aware of this so that they can plan alternative communication routes.

Architects and designers often have access to suppliers of unusual materials or samples which can be used in projects. It is worth asking them for contacts for cheap or free materials for use in future work. Many manufacturers are happy to donate surplus materials to schools in return for an article in their company magazine.

How to develop an effective partnership with architects


The following publications contain examples of good design in schools, illustrating how an effective partnership with an architect can enhance the learning and teaching environment.

Design Council (2002), Kit for Purpose - Design to Deliver Creative Learning, London, Design Council

Design Council (2003), Furniture for the Future, New Ideas for Tomorrow’s Classrooms, London, Design Council/DfES

OECD (2001), Designs for Learning: 55 Exemplary Educational Facilities, Paris, OECD

Clore Duffield (2004), Space for Learning, London, Clore Duffield.

MacDonald S. (2002), Architecture in Scotland 2002-2004, Glasgow, The Lighthouse

The Lighthouse (2004), Design Strategies - Design for Learning, 21st Century Schools, Glasgow, The Lighthouse

The Lighthouse (2004), From Consultation to Design - Design for Learning, 21st Century Schools, Glasgow, The Lighthouse

Details of contemporary design and architecture projects in Scotland can also be found at:www.scottisharchitecture.comwww.thelighthouse.co.ukwww.rias.org.uk


Just as there are good architects, so there are good clients and both are needed to create a good building. Much of this publication is dedicated to describing the processes you need to use in order to be a good client.

Prepare a guided tour for an architect of a building you use regularly. The tour should include aspects that are, or allow the user to be:

CHARACTERISTIC LOCATION IN BUILDING

Ugly

Beautiful

Stimulating

Contemplative

Creative

Disruptive

Boring

Sociable

Flexible

Innovative


6. Design a Change

Develop your ideas of what you want from a building by referring back to the resources you used above. Use the template below to start a reference note for yourself of projects that you have strong feelings about, either positively or negatively. This can inform any future discussions you have with an architect.

WHAT NAME/TITLE/DETAILS

Buildings

Architect/Designer

My feelings about this buildings:


Thinking space...


06. H

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pla

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work

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me

06.How to plan aworkshop programme

1. Introduction

This section presents an overview of the Design for Learning workshop programmes and explains how they relate to the design process.

Workshop programmes need to be scheduled carefully and be properly integrated into the timescale of the school build to be effective and useful. Below are listed the workshops, carried out through the Design for Learning projects, in the order in which they should be held.

You may find that earlier stages of the programme take longer as pupils explore new ideas and develop new skills. Also, if personnel change during the course of the project, it may be necessary to provide catch up sessions.

Throughout the project evaluation will be essential and should lead to the creation of informed and skilful advocates who understand their role. A well planned programme of workshops can help you to achieve this.

To help you cover all the relevant areas for your project the following workshop themes should be addressed:

Introduction: to the project and each other

Motivations: what are yours?

Aspirations for the future

Investigation of the present

Exploration of ideas

Prioritisation of ideas

Design reviews

Final presentation

Evaluation and Future Planning

2. Workshops

Introduction and Motivations: This workshop aims to:Introduce the project and its parameters.Explore the aims of the project.Explore individual motivations for participation.Identify existing skills and relevant experiences within the group.

Participants should include:Project TeamPupils

To prepare for this workshop you should:Set a brief for consultation

How to plan a workshop programme

Aspirations and Investigations:This workshop aims to:Explore prior knowledge.Develop ambitious and informed pupils. Develop skills necessary for later stages.Build a relationship with stakeholders.

Participants should include:Project TeamPupilsStakeholders

To prepare for this workshop you should:Work through this guide and devise a series of experiences and activities.

Prioritisation and Decision Making: This workshop aims to:Create a design brief.Reduce the number of ideas as a group.Understand why priorities are necessary.Manage aspirations.Allow different groups of stakeholders to meet each other.

Participants should include:Enhanced Project TeamIndividuals and groups who could influence the process

To prepare for this workshop you should:Work through the “How to set priorities” guide in this publication

Design Reviews:This workshop aims to:Clarify the design against the design brief.Take advantage of pupils’ subsequent reflections on earlier workshops.Maintain pupil ownership.

Participants should include:Project TeamEnhanced Project TeamPupils

To prepare for this workshop you should have:The design ideas developed by the architects/designersA note of the issues raised by pupils and explored by the Project Team in previous consultations


Design presentation:This workshop aims to:Sign off the design with user groups. Ensure your process continues to be transparent to stakeholders.Maintain your commitment to their ownership of the designs.

Participants should include:Project TeamEnhanced Project TeamPupils

To prepare for this workshop you should have:Detailed designs developed by the architects/designersA note of the issues raised by pupils and considered by the Enhanced Project Team

Evaluation and Future Planning:This workshop aims to:Evaluate individual development, including professionals.Evaluate the consultation process.Plan how pupils will be kept updated.Plan for sustaining pupils’ involvement in their community.

Participants should include:PupilsMixed Stakeholder groups

To prepare for this workshop you should:Know the fixed next stages in the school’s designConsider updating your consultation brief pack of cards.


All of the following publications can be downloaded from the relevant organisation’s website. In them you will find detailed information for setting up workshop programmes with young people and with adults. You may also want to refer to the Viewpoints section of this publication to discover the value of this process for different professionals and for young people.

Action Aid (2003) Reflect: Communication and Power, Action Aid

Save the Children, (2001) Re: Action Consultation Toolkit, Save the Children, Edinburgh

Save the Children (2005) DIY Guide to Community Planning, Save the Children, Edinburgh

Carnegie Trust (2003) STANDARDS, Carnegie Young People’s Initiative



Draw a flowchart illustrating the usual stages in your projects. Include details of who is involved, when, and what method is used to involve them, for example, via community meeting, questionnaire, phone call etc.


5. Design a Change

Can you think of examples of a place you have been to where young people are considered to “mis-use” a building or public space?

Who would you involve in planning a workshop programme to engage them in the project?

How would you introduce them to the ideas in this publication?


Thinking space...


07. H

ow to

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07.How to create relevantlearning experiences

1. Introduction

‘Learning is a process of active engagement with experience. It is what people do when they want to make sense of the world. It may involve the development or deepening of skills, knowledge, understanding, awareness, values, ideas and feelings, or an increase in the capacity to reflect. Effective learning leads to change, development and the desire to learn more.’ Resource definition adapted from Campaign for Learning

This section lists a number of activities we have used to create learning experiences for those involved in the projects. These experiences included opportunities for critical reflection and evaluation. This enabled the participants to think beyond their initial ideas and to examine the views of workshop facilitators.

2. Scenarios/Activities

Scenario 1: Working with a Pupil Council

The designs for Dunblane High School aimed to incorporate pupils’ ideas after a preferred bidder for their new PPP School building had been selected. The brief for the consultation was set by the project team and the PPP consortium. Pupils then selected one of a number

of areas that could still have significant design input.

The Pupil Council participated in a workshop that explored the future plans for their school and raised their aspirations regarding school design. They were asked to canvas the views of the pupils they represented on the following subjects:

• Which spaces in the building should specifically have pupil input?• What qualities and uses should these spaces have?

The Pupil Council reported back their findings and voted on a specific space to focus their attention on. They later explored the design priorities set by their peers and set a brief for that space.

Scenario 2: Pupils on Work Placement

Two pupils took a brief set by their Pupil Council and worked as architects for a week. They took on full responsibility for fulfilling the brief, investigating different scenarios and precedents, designing a cost effective solution, presenting their designs for a critique by the office and presenting their designs for approval to the Pupil Council and PPP Team.

The pupils required support to develop their technical skills and understand their responsibilities and the ensuing process but the architects managing the project gave them significant responsibility to find their own solutions and expected them to achieve a result that fulfilled the brief. The pupils were initially apprehensive but rose to the challenge of developing the designs for Dunblane High School’s social and entrance area.

Scenario 3: Visiting Buildings

Kilsyth Academy is considering becoming an expressive arts comprehensive. Pupils with an interest in the expressive arts and/or on the Pupil Council visited some of Scotland’s top contemporary arts spaces. The pupils were involved in a series of activities to investigate these spaces, working with professionals who had used them. This work enabled the pupils to develop ideas for the future of expressive arts spaces beyond their school’s current provision.

How to create relevant learning experiences

Scenario 4: Mapping Techniques

All workshop programmes utilised a variety of different mapping techniques to stimulate pupils and develop their learning. Pupils were asked to investigate an area of their current school, or another space/building and to map their findings. They investigated a wide range of elements such as sound/light levels and types, aural history, facilities, materials, use over extended periods, circulation and clash points.

Pupils used a wide range of methods to investigate, record and display aspects of the built environment of their chosen space, including: video, photography, note taking, sound and light meters, thumbnail sketches, sensory deprivation and annotating plans. Their findings were displayed using cartoons, drawings, charts and diagrams, videos and annotated image maps and these were then used as the basis for setting priorities.

Scenario 5: Video Conferencing and Facilitated Feedback

Sir E Scott School is on the Isle of Harris and like many schools in the Highlands and Islands has access to video conferencing equipment. Use was made of this equipment when designs for the outdoor learning areas of the school were presented to the school staff by video conferencing. This is just one of the ways that video conferencing can be used in a project.

To facilitate feedback on the designs, staff were provided with guidelines to help them develop a design review workshop. After supporting a week of workshops in the school, the staff facilitated pupils’ feedback on the designs for the outdoor learning areas. The staff and local community also gave feedback at the same time. Although both staff and local community members answered the same questions, their responses were kept separate. All of the feedback was emailed to the designer, who integrated the responses into her next proposals.

Scenario 6: Model Making

All the projects have involved expressing ideas in three dimensions. Pupils often do not get a chance to do this type of activity in schools so incorporating it provided a new learning experience. Working in 3D offers a new way of understanding, exploring and recording information and can have a variety of uses. For example:

• To avoid a lengthy presentation: Pupils worked as a team to build models of the outline design for their school. This process also created an opportunity for extended dialogue with the architects, allowing the architects to learn about pupils’ concerns.

• To create an experience for others: Pupils worked in groups to build life size interventions in their school. These were used to stimulate debate by press, pupils, teachers and council officers. It also gave a wide range of people the opportunity to physically experience how different spaces would work.

• To set personal priorities: Pupils presented a small model containing the elements of an environment which was important to them. This was used to stimulate discussion amongst members of the school board, community, other pupils and teachers. The model was then used as a stimulus to discuss priorities for the designer’s brief.



The following resources will provide you with more detail on the learning experiences used to involve pupils in school design.

CABE (2004), Being Involved in School Design - A Guide for School Communities, Local Authorities, Funders and Design and Construction Teams, London, CABE(www.cabe.org.uk/data/pdfs/Being_involved_school_design_sept_2004.pdf)

The Lighthouse (2004), From Consultation to Design - Design for Learning, 21st Century Schools, Glasgow, The Lighthouse(www.scottisharchitecture.com/articles/learningspace You will find the publication in the internal links section of this page)

The Building Connections website provides a wide range of case studies of projects where young people have used the built environment as a learning resource:www.buildingconnections.co.uk

You may also find these websites useful: www.thelighthouse.co.ukwww.careersscotland.org.uk www.inspiringlearningforall.gov.uk www.architecturecentre.net


What experiences do young people choose to participate in? (You may need to ask them). How could these be used as the basis for learning?



5. Design a Change

Can you think of a new experience you would like to participate in and what your learning objective for that situation is?

Who else would learn in that situation? How would you enable their learning?

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08.How to plan and support an activity

1.Introduction

Everyone has opportunities to be a learner and a teacher everyday. This section will give you some tips from those who were involved in Design for Learning workshops and provide an opportunity for you to examine the baggage you bring as a teacher and as a learner to a new situation.

You may not agree with everything you read here, so we have included an opportunity for you to reflect on what you do think and what experiences have led you to hold that view.

In asking young people to participate with adults it is important that both groups are able to either work together on the same activities or to communicate using the outcomes from the activities. This is important to achieve agreed development of ideas and to build consensus.

2. Types of Activity

The following are some of the activities undertaken during the Design for Learning project:

• Mind mapping• Model making• Discussions• Presentations• Mapping activities including consideration of sound, light and facilities, undertaking aural history interviews, holding facilitated discussions• Using Powerpoint• Creating comic strips, posters, thumbnail sketches and exhibitions• Creative drama• Developing and using questionnaires• Presenting information in bullet point lists, flowcharts and pie charts.

The confidence of both adults and young people regarding the different activities was varied, and some felt more challenged by certain activities than others. It was noticeable, however, how confidence levels changed through the duration of the project, as individuals developed new skills and became more familiar with new ways of working. Some participants thought visual and spatial activities, such as model making, would only assist young people in learning. The architects and designers obviously disputed this!

3. Do’s and Don’ts for Undertaking Learning Activities

The following information provides some useful do’s and don’ts when planning and implementing useful learning activities around the project.

DO’s:

Planning activities: • Set clear learning objectives for an activity.• Build on existing knowledge and skills.• Create a friendly and relaxed environment to work in.• Have regular refreshment and toilet breaks.• Maintain a balance of active experiences and reflective evaluation activities.• Include a mix of group and individual work.• Trust pupils to take on more responsibility than normal.• Include time to explain and clarify activities. (This will allow pupils to work more independently.)

How to plan and support an activity

Supporting activities:• Ask pupils to set their own ground rules for behaviour for different activities.• Suggest strategies for exploring a problem or making decisions. (Don’t provide solutions.)• Ask pupils why an activity is not working.• Use your voice, body language and environment to manage the energy in a workshop depending on the needs of activities.• Give space for pupils to develop their own interests.• Allow pupils with specific skills to take on responsibilities.• Build in some flexibility for timing.• Do have extra activities for pupils if they have taken an activity as far as possible.• Assume you can trust pupils.• Have fun.

DON’Ts:

Planning activities:• Have presentations that are more than 10 minutes long.• Cover up what you don’t know - suggest research instead.• Be afraid to take risks and try new, well planned activities.

Supporting Activities:• Take over from pupils or intrude when you have nothing to do.• Change your role in a workshop without discussion.• Change the workshop plan without discussion.• Keep pupils in the same room all day.• Allow pupils to give up.• Focus on specific pupils - good or bad.• Require constant silence and focus. (This is not necessary for learning!)• Panic!

4. A note on Behaviour Management

During the projects we learnt a number of things about behaviour management. From this learning we would suggest that:

Pupils are:Asked if they are clear on the activity or its purpose.Asked if they are uncomfortable with an aspect of the workshop.Asked if they want to participate in the project.Given the opportunity to talk outside the working space.Asked by a teacher to reflect on the ramifications of their actions.Given time and space to calm down.Asked what they think is the best way forward.

Pupils are not:Reprimanded by non-teachers or teachers they have only just met.Reprimanded in front of their peers or in a public setting.Pre-judged on their normal behaviour in class.



The website ‘Inspiring Learning for All’ is designed for those working with museums, galleries and archives but has many valuable resources for everyone involved in learning.www.inspiringlearningforall.gov.uk


Using the above website, start in the Introduction section by reading the ‘What do we mean by learning’ information. You will find downloads on learning and a questionnaire to examine your own preferred learning styles. During the project we found that learning styles changed over time, so you might want to repeat the questionnaire at a later date.

Circle the activities below that you consider appropriate for adults and those you consider appropriate for young people. You may find that your choices overlap so use different colour pens to identify those for adults and those for young people.

Mind mapping

Model making

Discussions

Presentations

Pie charts

Aural history interviews

Facilitated discussions

Powerpoint presentations

Comic strips

Posters

Questionnaires

Exhibitions

Creative drama

Thumbnail sketches

Bullet point lists

Flowcharts

Mapping activities


7. Design a Change

Identify any activity in section 6 that you do not use in your everyday life? Can you list the reasons why it would be useful to try out this activity and then identify situations where you could introduce it?


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09.How to set priorites

1. Introduction

Consultation workshops provided pupils with the opportunity to explore ideas and develop their aspirations for their future school. This was not, however, the end of the process. Reflection upon the ideas raised in the consultation workshops was also important and pupils were encouraged to prioritise and justify the ideas they had come up with. Determining priorities also generated guidelines regarding the use of the qualitative and quantitative information which was collected.

During the process pupils were given the opportunity to:• Understand and evaluate each other’s ideas.• Understand how their priorities would be used.• Set clear priorities for the design brief.

It was important for professionals, such as councillors and school management, to participate in setting priorities. Professionals consistently commented on the pupils’ depth of understanding and the quality of their ideas. Pupils could also discuss their ideas with professionals, or in some workshops, participate in setting priorities.

The success of these workshops lay in good facilitation and transparency around the issues being explored. All the workshops started by asking pupils to evaluate the ideas produced by the consultation workshop and to collate them under various headings, for example, ‘sustainability’.

The methods outlined below can be used to set priorities and you will find links to workshop outlines in the further research section.

2. Methods for Setting Priorities

Voting:

Through group discussions a list of priorities was created. This list was then displayed on the wall. Each pupil was given a fixed number of votes in the form of small stickers which they stuck next to their chosen priorities. Pupils could put all their votes next to one priority or they could spread them between the whole list.

Charts and Diagrams:

Mathematical charts and diagrams were used by pupils to represent the percentage they gave different issues or ideas regarding its priority. The charts were particularly useful when prioritising qualitative information.

Mixed stakeholder workshops:

Mixed stakeholder workshops can be useful to help the exchange of ideas and to facilitation recognition of the varied priorities for different groups. A mixed stakeholder group might, for example, contain pupils and teachers. Participants in the Design for Learning project were asked to further explore particular issues in small mixed groups with each group discussing a single issue. These discussions were facilitated to reach a consensus if possible. The aim was not for participants to out debate each other but to reach agreement. The groups were then asked to reset their priorities in the light of their discussions.

Creating an exhibition:

Teams of pupils discussed the activities and work that had occurred over the course of the week. They then selected the work which for them was the most useful and generated the most important ideas. This activity had to be carefully facilitated to ensure all pupils were genuinely involved and that ideas were not selected on the basis of good presentation rather than content. The choices the teams made were then displayed in an exhibition and pupils led personal tours of this for professionals. The tours provided the opportunity for the professionals to explore more qualitative issues with the young people involved.

How to set priorities


Save the Children, DIY Guide to Improving Your Community, 2005, London

Pretty et al, Participatory Learning and Action: A Trainers’ Guide, 1995, London

Institute of Development Studies, Participation Resource Centre: www.ids.ac.uk/ids/particip/index.html. This website has resources on a wide range of topics, including involving young people in their built environment.

De Bono, Six Thinking Hats, 1999, Back Bay Books, US


Complete the decision diary below. Select a problem related to your existing building and write it in the ‘Question’ column. Then work across the table answering each of the questions in relation to that problem.

QUESTION CURRENT DESIGN SOLUTION

WHY DO YOU THINK THIS HAPPENED?

WHAT JUSTIFICATION WAS USED

WHAT COULD BE IMPROVED ON?

WHO COULD HAVE PREDICTED THIS?

Example:Where should the car park be?

Next to front door

Car parks are normally near the school and the disabled car space needs to be there.

Existing design and DDA

Car fumes near to building and other facilities have to be located further away

Pupils, staff, janitor, environmental officers, sustainable transport initiative.


5. Design a Change

Use the chart below to identify who should be involved in setting priorities.

QUESTION WHO HAS EXPERIENCE OF THIS ISSUE?

WHO ELSE WILL BE AFFECTED BY THIS DECISION?

WHO NEEDS TO UNDERSTAND OR SUPPORT THIS DECISION

WHERE CAN I RESEARCH THIS SUBJECT?

Example:Should a secondary school social area also have another use?

Pupils, Janitors, Catering Staff, Teachers

Primary pupils, Visiting specialists e.g. dance teachers, Community users

Parents, Councillors, Curriculum advisors and other council officers.

Exemplar designs in this publication


Thinking space...


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10.How to evaluate

1. Introduction

It is essential to evaluate in order to monitor and adjust working practices during a project. Evaluation highlights the areas of learning provided by a project and facilitates critical assessment of the current situation, as well as assisting the process of planning for the future.

By using a mix of evaluation methods you can gain a range of perspectives on a project. This section includes a small selection of tried and tested methods that can be used in different situations.

2. Evaluation Methods

There are a number of different types of evaluation that have been used in school design projects:

1. Letter to yourself:Everyone was asked to write and seal a letter to themselves at the beginning of the project detailing their hopes and fears. The letter was then sent to them when the project became demanding. Receiving the letter allowed individuals to evaluate changes in the project and revive their initial motivations for participating.

2. SWOT analysis (strengths/weaknesses/opportunities/threats):This is a useful method for reviewing a wide range of situations. In the Design for Learning projects, workshops were evaluated daily using SWOT analysis to review activity, analyse problems and to ensure lessons were quickly learnt and integrated into the next day’s planning. This technique can be focused on tasks or specific issues.

3. What went well?This technique was used with pupils in workshops and with project teams. It allowed reflection on recent actions and set new aims and objectives for the future. The following questions were asked, in this order:

• What went well?• What didn’t go so well?• What will we do differently in the future?

4. Pie Charts:Using a pie chart, displayed on a flipchart, a visual display was created that indicated the success of different activities. The pie chart was divided into equal segments and each segment was labelled with the name of an activity. Lunch was included as a control activity. For each activity, if participants thought that the activity was worthwhile they placed a dot near the centre of the appropriate segment. If the activity was not considered worthwhile, the dot was placed towards the outside edge of the segment.

This evaluation method often works best if the chart is left on the wall for participants to fill in individually, i.e. not when all participants could watch each other’s choices. It can be used as the basis for later discussion or to support an alternative form of evaluation.

5. Video rooms:In a separate room a video camera was set up which pupils could give opinions to, either in groups or as individuals. Sometimes pupils were interviewed, sometimes they answered questions left in the room and sometimes they expressed what they thought unprompted.

6. Questionnaires:Questionnaires should be used with care. They were useful on subjects that pupils had directly considered during the workshops, for example, why they should be involved in school design. However, answers tended to be uncritical of the process and dependent on the pupil’s ability to write about their own feelings. Questionnaires are best used in conjunction with other evaluative activities.

7. Presentations and Discussions:These are not strictly evaluation mechanisms as such but they can provide very useful information and clarify views. All pupils were involved in presentations to staff and other professionals during the course of the project and these usually generated sustained discussion on school design, with pupils responding positively to professionals’ questions. The usefulness of this method is that pupils had already developed and considered their ideas before being asked to present them or answer questions and their input was therefore more detailed and clear.

How to evaluate

9. Setting personal objectives:At the beginning of the project, those involved were asked to consider their personal objectives and motivations for participating. Each participant then shared these with the group and all of them were displayed on a flipchart. During the course of the project, individuals were asked to evaluate activity according to their stated objectives and motivations and to adjust these if necessary.

Displaying the personal motivations and objectives openly on the flip chart helped individuals achieve group support for their own objectives and allowed them to learn about what concerned other group members.

10. Facilitated discussions:A trained facilitator asked people to critically consider their own, or others, objectives for the project. The facilitator ensured that all participants gave their perspective without leading discussions.


The following publications provide information on approaches to monitoring and evaluating projects and how to set up a structure for your project that will allow you to integrate user feedback into future planning. You will also find the Viewpoint section useful.

Coghlan, David, and Brannick, Teresa (2005) Doing Research in Your Own Organisation, second edition. London: Sage.

Greenwood, Davydd J., and Levin, Morten (1998) Introduction to Action Research: Social Research for Social Change. Thousand Oaks, Ca.: Sage.

Stringer, Ernie (1996) Action Research: A Handbook for Practitioners. Thousand Oaks: Sage.

Pretty, J. N., Guijt, (1999) Participation Works! 21 Techniques of Community Participation for the 21st Century, London, New Economics Foundation.

Thompson, J., Scoones, I. (1995) Participatory Learning and Action. A Trainers Guide, International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED), London.


Do you ever feel you don’t really know what people think? Do you think your projects would improve with more feedback and user ownership?

Identify a specific situation where you are concerned you are making a decision about the next step in a project where you are unsure you have the support of your user group.

How to evaluate

5. Design a Change

Use your research and select an evaluative method, either from the list in section 2 or from your research. Plan how you will introduce it to the situation you identified in section 4.

• Who will you work with?

• How will you introduce the new type of evaluation?

• How will you include their evaluation in future planning? (You may not know this until you gain their feedback).

How to evaluate

Thinking space...

How to evaluate

exemplar designs...

The scenery of Harris is spectacularly beautiful. Although Sir E Scott School is nestled within a corridor of diverse and rich natural landscape we found that some of the pupils had disengaged with the environment that surrounded them. It is very important that pupils are encouraged to appreciate the quality of their environment in terms of ‘beauty’ but also that they are able to interpret the natural and artificial componentsthat interconnect to function as an ‘ecosystem’.

Maintaining and enhancing the landscape of a school involves considering the ‘sense of place’ and the special qualities that have evolved and changed over time. It is important to make proposals that are in tune with existing ecosystems. Our goal was to maintain landscape integrity and design, while keeping sustainability in mind, and to take the pupils on a journey of exploration while we compiled an inventory of the existing situation.

Landscape Design - holistic and responsive, dynamic, shifting with the seasons and providing a resource for all its participating users. This project was partnered with Landscape Designer, Lisa MacKenzie and will continue for an additional year.

Themes of the consultation -What is biodiversity? Introducing Sustainability, Distance and Scale,Taking Inventory, Interaction and Play, Climate, Thinking in 3D, Ecosystems.

LANDSCAPE DESIGN

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1. EXPERIMENTAL GROWING PLATFORMS – FOR TESTING DIFFERENT GROUND CONDITIONS, GREEN MANURES AND FERTILISERS SUCH AS SEAWEED.

2. HAIRY WALL – RETAINING WALL ‘STUFFED’ WITH PLANTS TO PROVIDE A VERTICAL TEXTURED GROWING STRUCTURE.

3. PRODUCTIVE GARDEN – GROWING HERBS, FRUIT AND VEGETABLES FOR THE SCHOOL CANTEEN

4. SHARP GARDEN – SHARP DESIGN AND STRONG VISUAL LINES TO COUNTER THE OFTEN BLURRY RAINWASHED LANDSCAPE OF THE WESTERN ISLES.

5. EXISTING OLD WHALEBONES ARE CLEANED UP AND RESURRECTED TO FORM AN ARRIVAL GATEWAY TO THE SCHOOL.

6. EXPLORE POOL – FOR LEARNING ABOUT HYDROLOGY AND OBSERVING AQUATIC LIFE.

7. M.U.G.A = MULTI USE GAMES AREA, A SURFACE SUITABLE FOR LOTS OF DIFFERENT KINDS OF SPORTS.

8. HYDROPONICUM POLY TUNNEL – FOR LEARNING AND POTENTIALLY PART OF AN ENTERPRISE PROJECT, SUPPLY OF PRODUCE FOR LOCAL MARKET.

9. BLACKHOUSE – REINSTATEMENT OF BLACKHOUSE RUIN, USE IN TECHNICAL STUDIES. PROMOTE THE APPLICATION OF PRACTICAL SKILLS TO CREATE A SPACE FOR THE PUPILS.

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First impressions of the site: there is a beautiful, simple relationship between the lowland strip, the steep mountainous edges and the reaching sea. These territories overlap and collide and the site of Sir E Scott School is fortunate enough to nestle within them. On further exploration with the pupils we made discoveries regarding a more complex mosaic of habitats and ecosystems breaking the territories into patches of hydrological features, geology, flora and fauna and climate.Much of our week was spent mapping and recording and ‘doing’, we were learning and discovering constantly. This process was not consultation, rather participation. Every landscape has the potential to be discovered. Whether rural in the extreme or the most enclosed urban site, the inherent properties of the landscape are there waiting to be explored.

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When we first arrived at the school, all the pupils wanted was an astroturf. In the end we proposed a M.U.G.A (Multi use games area) and went to considerable lengths to make this space a working component of a wider, more holistic masterplan. Although sport is hugely important its accommodation must not lead to the suppression of all other forms of outdoor pursuit …a balance is required. In our final proposals this space is sunken and absorbed within the wider masterplan, functioning as a linked space rather than a stand alone component.

A ruined blackhouse sits on the hillside overlooking the school site. By thoroughly exploring the site it is possible to take a ‘landscape inventory’ finding components with the potential to be transformed. By working with the existing landscape the approach is pragmatic rather than fanciful. Pupils would have the opportunity to practice craftsmanship and engage with traditional methods and techniques such as stonemasonry.

The site provided a rich linear tapestry of spaces, some sharp and articulate, some organic twisting and moulding, all evolving and integrating with the existing ecosystems of the island. It was important to make the most of existing resources: the proximity of the sea provides the school with a multitude of potential recreational and educational opportunities, while learning through experimentation with different landscape management techniques, such as cultivation and even reclamation, should be encouraged. (see masterplan)

The landscape is broken down into pockets to maximise the potential of the local microclimate. In order to shelter the strips of cultivation the landforms are sculpted into banks and basins. (See growing ‘snug’on Landscape Masterplan). Shelter belt planting is proposed to enhance protection from the strong wind and provide spatial definition.

In places the landscape breaks into strips of linear gardens for growing and producing fruit, vegetables, flowers and herbs. The linear grid is based on the dimensions of a long ship: the meaning of ‘Tarbert’ relates to the Vikings pulling their long ships over the land from the sea on one side to the sea on the other.

It is important that any new landscape is responsive to history and culture, respecting and enhancing the sense of place. The idea is to promote an air of enquiry in the minds of the students.

The principle aim of the design of Dunblane High School is to deliver appropriate educational facilities, both modern and practical which enhance the lives of students, staff and the community. Throughout the development, the design proposals have been directly driven by the desire to provide a safe, stimulating and comfortable environment for all pupils and building users.

The involvement of the pupil council, once the preferred bidder, JM Architects, had been selected, allowed the pupil council to select an area to work on (the main social and entrance area), consult their peers and create a portfolio of briefing information and priorities. Two pupils then worked as architects at JM Architects to design the social area. JM Architects and Stirling Council have since carried out similar consultations on the design of other secondary schools in their PPP programme.

SOCIAL AREAS

Brief

The team identified that they wanted to develop new spaces within the design of the new school. The development of these spaces would hopefully give the students a sense of ownership and collective responsibility. They chose four spaces that the students could influence, all of them had a social aspect to them and would be used by the whole school.

Learning Aims

• Develop analytical skills through examining the elements that make up architecture and its surrounding environment.

• Raise aspirations and understanding of design and design research.

• Develop communication skills through discussion and teamwork.

• Work cooperatively and collaboratively on tasks.

• Develop creative and imaginative capabilities.

• Develop visual, construction and production skills.

• Put together an architectural installation/design.

• Gain experience of working with professionals.

• To be creative within a real life brief.

Day one: Thinking and Building

• Introduction to the aims and objectives of the workshop.

• What is Design? Slide show to encourage the students to think about design and initiate discussions within the group.

• Introduce your shoe. An opportunity to think about design and begin to think about the choices made and the consequences/outcome of them. ‘Getting inside the head of the designer.’

• Introduction to the new school and the four spaces that they could possibly influence and the role that the two placement students would play in the whole process.

• Model of the future: The group worked as a team to build a large scale model of the new school. This enabled the group to bond and think about the school in a 3D form and think further about the spaces they could influence.

• Homework: The task was set that the students should canvas their peers, find out what the wider school body thought, and collate the ideas gathered. ‘From the year groups we were able to determine that most people in the school felt that the new social area for the kids should be handled by the pupils themselves.’

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RIEF Day Two: Aspiration & Ambition

• Results and Brainstorming: The information gathered by the group from their peers was noted and discussed.

• Slide show to introduce some influential and inspirational images to the group to stimulate ideas for their spaces.

• Investigation of Form, Texture and Light: The students were asked to create a 3D representation of their favourite shape/form using plastecine. They were then split into two groups. The first group was asked to explore their school and take rubbings of materials they liked/disliked. The second group was asked to explore the school and think about the lighting, recording the type of lighting they liked/disliked. Everyone was then asked to present their form and report back to the group on the rubbings or lighting discovered. These activities allowed the students to explore their environment with ‘designer’s eyes’ and discuss the elements that make up a good/bad space, such as form, texture, materials, lighting and atmosphere.

• Slide show/discussion of further inspirational images.

• Finally, each member of the workshop wrote an individual letter to the two placement students with their aspirations and fears, along with any extra ideas they had.

Throughout the two days the students also had brainstorming sessions in smaller groups; they made 3D models of their ideas and sketched out their thoughts. This information, along with the letters, formed the basis of the brief for the two placement students so that they could develop the project during their placement week.

Placement pupils: Our Brief

The space would have to be a multi task room, somewhere that could be easily converted from one type of room to another fairly quickly. It needed to combine a social space with a dining room and also a pass way between classes. Our aim for the social space is to provide a place for pupils to feel relaxed and to hang out in at lunch hours and breaks and be proud of and to enjoy being in. We also aimed for the room to be a pleasant place to move around in and be in, whilst others moved around.

The main thing was lighting. Surprisingly people were really interested in seeing new lighting within the area. Modern lighting was a particular specification, focusing on spotlight effects and hanging lighting from the ceiling, but there was also a high demand for lights in the flooring and for natural lighting. Of course nobody wanted our new school to be over run with electric lights, so many people requested natural lighting achieved by big windows and skylights.

We also found a high demand for brightly coloured walls with comfortable modern furniture and plenty of plants. The plants conceal from view the car park and other less interesting features and create the feel of being surrounded by plants inside and out. After some further investigation, pupils requested an extremely environmentally friendly school. Of course there was demand for other things within our control but the above were the commonly occurring issues.

TOILET DESIGN

Moray Council were starting to prepare for a PPP project at Elgin High School. They were keen to investigate how they could improve the experience of pupils moving to the school from primary schools. It is common to many schools that this transition period shows a decline in pupil morale and learning. The consultation involved pupils from Greenward Primary School and Elgin High School. They investigated their own and each other’s schools, decided on the area that affected them the most, (the toilets), and created a design brief for One Foot Taller. These designs will now inform the brief for the new school and Moray Council will continue to undertake consultation with pupils.

Issues to be considered regarding the design of the new school toilets:

General feelings regarding the current problems with the toilets were pulled together from work with two groups of pupils. The main issues were that the toilets were too dirty, smelly, dull and dark and there was too much graffiti. A number of them were broken and the cubicles were not private enough. What pupils wanted was a social space and greater comfort.

These issues were then tested throughout the school via surveys and by converting one toilet room to the new design to initiate feedback.

Suggestions made during design work:

In addition to design requirements, suggestions were made that would assist the process of maintaining cleanliness and a better environment. These suggestions included:

• That the implementation of high quality products and a high material specification could be accepted if the higher cost was balanced by saved maintenance costs.• A cleaning regime would be implemented, requiring new equipment (power hoses) and additional cleaning times (three times per day rather than one). Cleaning should, however, be easier than before, given the simple surfaces.• A message board would be introduced and maintained by staff and students (possibly via a rota system).

Maintenance and spatial design choices:

There were many suggestions put forward regarding design choices and maintenance of the finalised space, all of which were focused on resolving the main issues the pupils had identified at the beginning of the project.

Cleaning suggestions:• Clean three times per day (using antibacterial cleaners) after breaks and after school. • Jet wash once per month, cleaning all surfaces, including ceilings and walls (remove toilet rolls, towels etc).• Don’t have freestanding objects on the floor, or individual legs for fixed furniture, as they become obstacles to cleaning. If loose furniture is required, make sure it’s light, and have convenient hooks where these can be stored when cleaning.

Design suggestions:

• Shared toilets for students and staff, encouraging shared concern for maintenance, shared pride and informal monitoring by all.• Toilets and fittings should be the right size for the pupils, especially important in primary.• Full height doors (15mm above floor height, for water drainage) with sturdy locks, which have key operated emergency release. This necessitates ventilation in each cubicle, not just the general room.• Put mirrors near to, but not directly above sinks. (Preening above sinks can lead to drains blocked with hair and queues for sinks).• Hanging space for coats and bags in toilet rooms.

Building Regulations require a toilet room with more than four cubicles to have a cubicle for those with limited ability. This must have adequate space, rails, hoist and easy to operate fittings.

Privacy suggestions:

• Full solid walls between toilets.• Full height doors.• Urinals should not be visible from outside the room.• Mirrors should not allow vision into cubicles or urinals.• Windows should be opaque.• Urinals should be individually screened.• If windows are opened, they should not allow a view into toilet cubicles / urinals.

Sight, Sound and Smell:

Improving the general environment of the toilets focused on tackling the smell and creating a more pleasant ambiance, while addressing health and safety issues. Suggestions included:

• Installing a sound system and piping music or sounds into the toilets, e.g. one day classical music, another day pupil’s compositions, another bird sounds…. This was felt to be useful for privacy and also to provide variation. The sounds/music could also be used in other parts of the school, if speakers were installed throughout, and then the system could be used for announcements / class ‘bells’ etc.

• If there is no natural fresh air (via open windows) air freshener will probably be necessary. Automatic timed dispensers are available but they could also be connected to the flush switches, providing a more relevantly timed spray.

• Smoke alarms. Some schools may have a lot of smoking in toilets and some may have none, but most will have some, and smoke alarms will discourage this.

• Vision into wash rooms was required to strike a balance between the need for personal privacy and the need to prevent the toilets from becoming hide-outs, which would increase the likelihood of vandalism and bullying.

Materials and products:

Using the right products and materials was considered important to ensure durability, safety and a hygienic environment. Again there were a number of suggestions made including the following:

Durability:• Create long lasting, simple surfaces without corners, reducing the need to replace them frequently and making them easy to clean.• Use stainless steel surfaces and products as these resist chipping and can be washed easily.• Tile surfaces, create non-slip floors and use epoxy grout for jet wash.• Use integrated splashbacks which minimise the use of silicone sealant which is not hardy enough against vandalism and jet washing.

Safety/Hygiene:• Introduce sealed lighting to withstand jet wash cleaning• Ensure the lighting is strong, to withstand vandalism.• Use wall mounted sensor taps (single tap over each sink bowl, with limited temperature) as these reduce bacteria transfer and wasted water. Mounting on wall or splashback reduces water pooling (and resulting mould).• Use sensor flushes (which reduce bacteria transfer and encourage flushing for smaller children who find it hard to use a lever flush).• Sensor soap (single soap tap over each sink bowl). • Position drinking water outside the toilet area • Cubicles for girls aged eight and over should contain sanitary disposal units and each set of group toilets for girls should have a sanitary dispenser.

In our second year at Kilsyth Academy we continued to focus on using the major refurbishment as an opportunity to consider the impact on the school of their proposal to become an expressive arts comprehensive. In the first year pupils had been consulted on creating the outline designs.

DETAIL DESIGNPupils with an interest in the expressive arts and members of the pupil council worked to detail the outline designs. Malcolm Fraser Architects worked in partnership with North Lanarkshire Council to ensure that rigorous design thinking continued to be applied to the outcomes of pupil consultation. This project is now being built.

DESIGN PROPOSALS

PUPILS INPUT INTO DETAILING OF DESIGN

conclusion ...

Project Evaluator’s Statement

The Design for Learning programme has generated a range of valuable outcomes and outputs; from better informed design briefs for architects and designers working in Scotland’s schools to enhanced learning and teaching processes; from consultative approaches to problem solving to taking creative responsibility for design solutions. However, one critically important gain, and one that might easily be overlooked, has been the partnership working that the programme has fostered across the country.

Partnership and collaboration are increasingly recognised as processes fundamental to effective learning and successful design processes. Partnership working provides an important means of addressing complex problems and challenges by utilising a range of expertise and insights that would simply not be available through a single-focus approach.

The critical importance of helping young people learn how to work collaboratively is recognised in the priority it is given within the national educational priorities and in Curriculum for Excellence, the recently published framework for learning in all Scotland’s schools. Teaching methodologies that require young people to work collaboratively provide powerful means of enhancing and extending learning. Through partnership we come to better understand the multifaceted nature of society and many of today’s challenges. Equally, it helps us appreciate the capabilities of others. But partnership working is not easy. It requires patience, a willingness to be open to new ideas and a capacity for diplomacy and negotiation. It demands respect for others’ views and voices and an ability to compromise in order to achieve shared aims and ideas.

Whatever the extra challenges that partnership working brings, it also brings significant benefits. Collaborative projects usually add value to what might have been more limited outcomes had the partnership not taken place and they can certainly be a useful means for securing additional resources and funding, since such projects will be addressing the aims and targets of more than one interest group. Partnership working is often a good start for truly creative and imaginative thinking.

It should be recognised that working collaboratively is working strategically: ensuring all involved share a sense of ownership, identifying opportunities from a variety of perspectives and thus reducing the likelihood of hitting unforeseen problems and difficulties. Equally, partnership working can significantly increase the creative possibilities that will be generated in the planning and development process.

Effective partnership working is about co-ordination and that requires a specific set of skills. Good people skills, effective communication, the ability to enthuse individuals and groups, particularly the ability to develop speculative ideas, are all necessary parts of the effective partner. The partnership role is a creative one; developing and using contacts and networks, knowing how to manage diverse project strands, being sensitive to alternative possibilities, and, of course, keeping in mind strategic aims and priorities.

Before starting on a partnership project, the following questions and pointers might be helpful in ensuring you know what you’re letting yourself in for.

• Why do you want to work on this particular project?

• What is it offering the school, and why is it an attractive option?

• What will be the scope of our involvement?

• Is our involvement likely to be a one-off event or part of a longer-term relationship?

• Specifically, how does this work address our strategic objectives?

Last, but by no means least, it is essential to remember that if partnership working is to be successful there needs to be good communication between and among all of those involved. Good communications help ensure everyone knows what’s going on, allow progress to be monitored, act as an early warning system for potential problems and difficulties and help ensure the project is a team effort. Good communications help build project coherence and consolidate teamwork. They help build projects into ventures that everyone is supportive of and happy to be partners in.

At source it’s really all about relationships. And while it might seem obvious to say so, it’s important to remember that good personal and working relationships are the key to productive and stimulating partnership projects.

Ian BarrProject Evaluator

CreditsEditor: Anne Cunningham

Contributors:Introductions: Stuart MacDonald, Julia Fenby, Keir Bloomer, Henry McKeown,Karen Anderson, Jean Kerr.

Viewpoints: Richard Donald, Gordon MacDonald, Christine Lannigan, Joe McAvoy, Christine Dyer, Katty Barac, Lisa MacKenzie; pupils from: Dunblane High School, Greenwards Primary School and Sir E Scott School.

‘How to Guides’: Anne Cunningham

Exemplars: Lisa MacKenzie, Craig Dunn, Katty Barac, Neil Mochrie, Gordon Kidd, Anne Cunningham

Conclusion: Ian Barr

The Scottish Executive:Ian Gilzean, Principal Architect, Architecture Policy Unit.Eileen Gill, Head of School Estate BranchFuture Learning and Teaching, New Educational Developments Division.

Project Teams:Dunblane High School, Stirling Council partnered with JM Architects, working with the pupil council.

Elgin High School, Greenwards Primary School and Moray Council with One Foot Taller, working with pupils from S2 and P6.

Sir E Scott School, Isle of Harris and Comhairle nan Siar with Lisa MacKenzie, working with all S1 pupils.

Kilsyth Academy with North Lanarkshire Council with Malcolm Fraser Architects, working with pupils from the pupil council and/or an interest in the development of their school as an expressive arts academy.

The Lighthouse: Anne Cunningham, Design for Learning Project Co-ordinatorJulia Fenby, Education DirectorStuart MacDonald, Director

Project consultants:Ian Barr, Project evaluatorChristine Myers, workshop supportmjs communications, publication editing

Publication design:www.skratchdesign.co.uk

Published by:The LighthouseScotland’s Centre for Architecture, Design and the City56 Mitchell StreetGlasgowG1 3LX

Email enquiries: [email protected]

ISBN: 1-905061-06-4Copyright 2005, all rights reservedText the authorsImages the listed bodiesThe publication the publishersNo part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or an other information storage and retrieval system, without prior permission in writing from Julia Fenby at The Lighthouse.

designs on my learning: a guide to involving young people in school design

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