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. 

Optimizing or Innovating? Re-thinking the Role of Schools in our Community

To help us answer that question I looked back at my 25 year career in architecture and evaluated school facilities from the 1980's, 1990's and 2000's. In each decade most of those schools had unique features that were improvements from the decade before.
1980's - Education was in a time of reflection and economic decline. Little national investment was made in schools and what was made often was in the form of renovations or remodels. Much of the experimentation of the 1950's thru 1970's had stopped. Schools were conservative, simple, efficient, traditional and local governments had to supplement national energy conservation programs to keep those initiatives moving. For our firm it was an era of common areas, pods of classrooms, team teaching and all design decisions related to durability and low cost.
1990's  thru 2000's - During this period the idea of green-building became more prevalent. LEEDS standards were adopted in 1998 and became prevalent through the 2000's to be the most influential movement to shape school design. High performance buildings promote the responsible use of natural resources while providing a healthy indoor environment.
While these changes and improvements in schools have yielded largely positive results, they tend to focus on a fairly narrow set of challenges that are the "building" systems. Designing and building a better container for teaching and learning.  In tomorrows context larger questions that we are asking are:

1.) What is a school?

2.) Can schools better reflect and connect to our communities to improve student mastery, purpose and autonomy?

3.) What are the common "Connection Points" for purposeful learning? 

a. Family

b. Social Purpose

c. Work

d. Politics

e. Arts

f. Recreation

g. Health

h. Worship

4.) How can technology add value and enhance those connection points? 

Old Learning Model

New Learning Model

In today's information age people are in control. Big business models are expiring and new more contextual and personal models are evolving that put people in control of their own destiny. Education must create something new to remain valuable in students lives. New analytical tools combined with the evaluation and recognition of social, political, technological and personal opportunities will yield new and innovative results.

Have school facilities improved in the past century? In some ways, they certainly have. But in other ways, especially in the craft and science of natural lighting and conditioning, we may have simply circled back to where we started. These patterns are largely reflections of the greater societal and technological trends of the 20th and early 21st century, but they have also represented the sincere dedication of education leaders to improve the quality of learning environments for children in America. It is our mission and desire to see continued questioning, evaluation of new contexts, multiple iterations of innovation and subsequent integration of new techniques and solutions that improve student outcomes.
                                                                                                                                              
Darrell L. McAllister, A.I.A. is the Founding Principal of McAllister and Associates Architects. 

Tornado Safety and Facility Design Options

After driving away from the storms of May 20th and 31st ( we don't have a storm shelter) I have been ask by many friends and family  - Can we build tornado safe schools in Oklahoma?  The answer is yes. There are many ways to construct a school to withstand the forces of a large tornado. There are also many challenges including costs, how to retrofit existing schools, disruption of existing school operations, temporary facilities during construction, site restraints, political pressures and more. 

Since the primary source of funding for public schools is tax dollars, school leaders are obligated and responsible for careful prioritization and use of those funds. The following information is presented to help school leaders, citizens and parents understand the variety of issues and options that may be available to them as they plan for storm safety in their district.  

New School Options

A new school designed to be storm safe may cost $400.00 per S.F. for a poured in place or tilt-up concrete structure with impact resistant glass and all necessary lift and lateral load construction details to withstand up to 300 mph winds. The average size elementary school of 50,000 - 70,000 S.F. could cost  between $20,000,000 and $28,000,000.  Compare that to a elementary school with standard steel and masonry construction and able to withstand 90-120 mph winds and the cost for the same school of $175.00 per S.F.  or  $8,750,000 to $12,250,000.  A increase of $11,250,000 to $15,750,000.  Most would not consider that a viable option. In the same new elementary school, storm safe areas of 7 to 10 S.F. per student or 5000 S.F. may add from $500,000 to $800,000 to the initial costs of construction.  The use of storm safe areas in new schools that also serve as computer rooms, music rooms, storage rooms and corridors are the most common approach for new school construction in Oklahoma.   

Concrete Storm Shelter in Classroom of New Construction

Existing School Options 

a.) Many older schools have structural systems of concrete block, steel and / or brick. 

The challenge is to brace these for the wind loads and impact resistance that often come with large tornados.

It can be done to varying levels of performance with improved roof deck and edge lift resistance, additional diagonal steel bracing, foundation connection improvements, window glass replacement and many other items. The work may require extensive removal of interior and exterior walls, windows, floors and associated mechanical and electrical systems. These elements would typically be upgraded and/or replaced. It may also take several months which could affect school operations and seasonal need.      

b.) New safe rooms adjacent to existing school facilities are another alternative. These can range from small reinforced concrete units to large multi-purpose buildings capable of housing all students and staff. Each school site may have area, access and adjacency limitations that could affect this option. 

Modular Concrete Units on School Site

Evaluation-

The key to improving storm safety starts with thorough evaluation of each school. Working closely with local school administrators; architects and structural engineers can review the storm safety plan, evaluate existing spaces, structural systems and other elements to determine the relative safety of the existing building. The team can then recommend various degrees of improvement strategies appropriate to the specific sites and help the district establish budget requirements and prioritize a improvement plan.

The value of a child's life is immeasurable and it's tragic that many children lost their lives on May 20, 2013. It our responsibility as community leaders to balance many competing influences and do the  things that protect our children, families and loved ones in the future.  

Photos Credits: Regency Steel Inc., thetennessean.com 




    

Conditions for Learning - Can Architecture Support and Enhance These?

Over the last few years there has been much research and discussions about the most important elements found in schools that positively affect student performance.  Often called conditions of learning or C.O.L.  There may be others, but four of the most common are:

• the presence of clear behavioral expectations

• the generation of abundant opportunities to build skills through practice

• the provision of rewards and recognition for students meeting expectations

• the cultivation of positive relationships between teachers and students built on trust and esteem

Most would agree that there is a statistical correlation between the presence of these conditions and student success at end of term testing.  

One of the challenges in our Learning Environments Studio is to explore the influence and impact of these conditions on the physical environment.  Can we enhance, integrate and improve any or all of these conditions in the physical environment thru the use of technology, graphics, games, lessons, shapes, materials and concepts to improve student performance? We think it can and should be done.  Below are simple and cost effective examples of how these ideas may manifest themselves in a gym. Your thoughts? 

Length, Width, Distance, Movement, Addition concepts enhanced in gymnasium design 

Length, Width, Distance, Movement, Addition concepts enhanced in gymnasium design

Is It Expensive to Transform Schools into Learning Tools?

A school designed to be an interactive learning tool sounds like it would cost much more than the generic traditional school. This doesn't have to be the case. Every school building has the potential to be a powerful learning tool. Transforming a standard learning environment into a dynamic teaching tool can be as simple as a bit of paint marking the length and height of walls.

Replacing a standard ceiling tile with a piece of transparent plastic is another way to create a learning opportunity. There are numerous potential lessons above our heads. A teacher could design a lesson around the insulation or heating and air conditioning that would be visible were a ceiling tile to be made transparent.

In the cafeteria area, simple design tweaks could create an opportunity to teach the students about safe food preparation and proper nutrition. When an architect sees the design of a school as a potential teaching tool, the possibilities become endless.