Student Centered Learning - Implications for Design

In Oklahoma these days much is being discussed about the "Common Core" and its impact on students, teachers, parents and the community. Much of that discussion is beyond the scope of this blog; however everyone agrees that teaching and learning must be student centered and focused on preparing students for success.

But what does a "student centered" school look like and how are those facilities different than schools that used industrial age planning and design principals?

Design Characteristics of a Student Centered Model:

• Students have a home base or workstation to call home. This may be a work station, or similar private area for quiet thought and personal work.
• Classrooms are more limited and specialized with more learning and mentoring happening outside the classroom in collaborative group and/or flexible team areas. 
• "Learning Commons" include areas that were traditionally dedicated as circulation only. Corridors become functional, flexible, open areas with soft seating, tables, sofas and  wireless collaboration and productivity tools for team and individual learning. 
• Teachers are not isolated from each other in classrooms but share central work areas with dedicated work stations, conference areas and tools for collaboration, sharing of best practice techniques and accountability. By removing barriers for student and teachers shared goals, expectations and creative problem solving can be reached.  
• Flexible "lab" areas for Project Based learning. Areas contain varying work areas with resources for a wide variety of projects, construction, exploration,  brainstorming, presentations, etc. 
• The traditional media center space is redistributed across the facility in more dynamic ways to encourage the use of portable laptops, smart phones and interactive displays. 
• All areas are designed to include the latest advancements in efficiency and resourcefulness including natural lighting, insulation, ventilation, building security and maintenance.  
• Spaces are designed to encourage exploration, research, interaction, creativity and connections to others and the world.   

School districts around the country are increasingly turning to 21st century practices to better prepare students for their futures and to accommodate the realities of school funding and high expectations of the community. Student expectations are also changing due to the rapid advancement of information and communications over the Internet and the portability of access. A Student-Centered model may hold great potential to transform school environments for the future.
                                                                                                                                              
Darrell McAllister, AIA is the founding Principal of McAllister and Associates Architects. For more information he can be reached at darrell@mcallister-arch.com. 

Planning Guidelines for Safe Room Design

How Much Room Do We Need?

Many factors influence the size and capacity of safe rooms or areas within a school. FEMA 391 standards  recommend a minimum S.F. per person. Our recommendation is 7 to 10 S.F. per person. If the school has a actual occupancy of 720 students and 76 teachers / administrators then the total design occupancy would be 796 occupants. This yields a total area of need for safe rooms of 5572 S.F.  or roughly 7 classroom size areas. These areas are often found as pods of 4 classrooms or paired classrooms with other areas near offices and support spaces for smaller groups.  

The table below outlines the area needed for safe rooms in various size schools: 

           Occupants                Area / S.F.             Total Area            Equivalent Classrooms

              400                             10                     4000 S.F.                     5.3

              500                             10                     5000 S.F.                     6.6

              600                             10                     6000 S.F.                     8.0

              700                             10                     7000 S.F.                     9.3

              800                             10                     8000 S.F.                   10.6

            1200                             10                   12000 S.F.                   16.0

The number of classrooms calculated uses 750 S.F. as a standard size classroom. 

Additionally, consideration should be given to accessibility needs by some students, locating portions of the total required area throughout the school to reduce time to get to the shelter and reduce the number of occupants in each area.  Areas with more than 50 occupants are required to have a restroom to meet FEMA  361 standards. 

How long will it take ? 

The FEMA grant funding process can be lengthy and take up to 18-24 months. That assumes your district gets funding. Some districts elect to meet the FEMA 361 standards and others chose to construct hardened buildings or areas that meet a majority of the design criteria, but cannot be called a “safe room”.  These "safe rooms" can be built more economically and in less time. 

The number of options you have relate to many factors including existing building, new construction, renovation, hardened or FEMA standard, budget and funding sources and several others. We will work with your leadership team to help simplify the process. We can evaluate your unique situation, propose options and help you and your community find the best solution for your school and your community.  

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6 Key Attributes of High Performing Learning Spaces

DESIGNING LEARNING SPACES THAT PERFORM
Over the last several years we have identified 6 key attributes that learning and teaching spaces need to deliver. Together these attributes form the corner stone of our Learning Environments Studio (L.E.S.). These attributes also remind us of our mission and help us stay focused on the future of teaching and learning.


1. MOTIVATING: Education is a forward motion. We must create spaces that encourage and propel minds and deliver a sense of optimism. Every room should have features that work to elevate and accelerate the spirit of teaching, learning and discovery.

2. FLEXIBLE:  Rigidity is an opponent of enlightenment and discovery. The physical spaces need to account for dynamic teaching and learning styles. Fixed and unmovable elements should be minimized, keeping spaces flexible for now and how we want to use them today and even more flexible because we don’t know how they will be used in the future. 

3. COLLABORATIVE:  Shared inspiration is what fuels healthy group environments. We will design spaces that enable all parties to easily connect, communicate and collaborate with each other.  

4. REFLECTIVE: Reflection is the silent narrative of an engaged mind. All participants in the teaching and learning experience should be provided with spaces that facilitate “thinking” time. There needs to be spaces that are free of distractions, places where participants can unplug and simply delve into the wonder of thought. 

5. COMMUNITY CENTRIC: This isn’t a prison or monastery. As part of our mission, we  invite and connect the extended community to share the opportunities of education. To become more aware of each persons value and place in the world.  Open doors that open doors.  

6. PERFORMANCE FOCUSED: Just like “achieve” and “work”, “learn” is a verb. We must create spaces that help educators and students realize their true potential and perform at the highest level.  Beyond creating a building where teaching and learning merely happen, we must focus on integrating curriculum, technology and sustainable design elements to create a building and all of it’s features as “built-in” learning tools.  

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