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. 

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.

Personal Learning Environments - Fiction or Future?

Personal Learning Module

Personal Learning Module - Can existing schools adapt to become laboratories for personal learning? 

With the increasing availability of portable lessons and educational opportunities outside the classroom, one of the challenges that communities face is how to transform traditional schools into exciting personal learning laboratories.

The study module picture was designed for middle and high school students and can be located in what was once a traditional media center. The media center can be transformed into a interactive, collaborative space that has the opportunity for various levels of engagement with students and teachers, from large groups to individual "pods" that can be customized to each students emotions (color changing LED) , learning styles and interests.

The Learning Environments Studio (LES) at McAllister & Associates Architecture is committed to exploring new solutions for schools to be transformed into dynamic learning labs for tomorrows students.

Schools As Learning Tools

The world we live in is full of  educational opportunities. School facilities have the potential to be potent learning tools when designed properly. Most architects choose to follow the traditional school design prescription, failing to utilize the possible math and science lessons inherent in building construction.

For example, how many students know the dimensions of their classroom? A standard classroom wall can be turned into an informative learning tool when the room is designed to include markers indicating the measurement of the wall. One classroom wall could be measured in feet while the opposite wall could be marked in meters to teach the students the difference between the English and metric systems of measurement. A teacher could design a lesson based on the measurements in which the students find the area of the room using the measurements on the walls.

Another example of potential teaching opportunities in school design is the presentation of the electrical system. What if portions of a school's electrical system were left visible by being encased in glass? This could be a springboard for learning not only about watts and amps, but also how the school is connected to the cities electrical grid.

Schools are full of learning opportunities when the architect chooses to view the school building as having the potential to function as an interactive museum in addition to its normal functions. At McAllister and Associates we strive to design every school to be a teaching aid to the teachers.

It's in the the Money! Tips for Passing School Bonds

Tips for Passing a School Bond Issue

Passage of school bond issues is often vital to the growth and sustainability of school districts. Though specific battle plans for informing a community about the importance of passing your bond issue vary greatly, there are several points to keep in mind while working on your bond issue.

1.      The passage of a bond issue often hinges on the public’s perception of your school district. It is important for schools to keep the citizens informed and to maintain an outstanding reputation within the community.

2.      When you are deciding what to include in the bond issue, it is important to keep in mind those projects which the electorate is willing to pay for as well as the district’s most pressing needs. The best way to get a gauge of the public’s support for specific items in the bond issue is to conduct polls of the electorate. Sometimes it is best to drop a couple of items from the bond issue if those items will cause the bond issue to fail to pass.

3.      A school district’s financial responsibility should be a major point in your marketing. The electorate is much more likely to vote yes on a bond issue if your school district has a history of sound financial practices.

4.      Avoid in-fighting among schools at all costs. The best way to do this is to make sure each school knows exactly how much money they will get before the bond issue is being considered

5.      Focus on those who support the bond issue rather than those who oppose it. Studies have shown that it is very difficult to change someone’s mind about the benefits of more money for schools. One of the keys to passing a school bond issue is to make sure your supporters turn out on election day. Conventional wisdom say to try to connect with your supports three to four times before election day to insure they will show up at the polls.

Can you Hear Me? Classroom Acoustics Improve Learning

School Acoustics

The acoustics of a school are an often overlooked, but vitally important aspect of school design. A large portion of communication between teacher and student is done verbally. Recent studies have shown that inappropriate levels of reverberation and/or background noise negatively affect a student's ability to learn and can cause lifelong auditory perception problems for the student. Because of this, a proper understanding of how to minimize reverberation and background noise is crucial to the maximizing a classroom's efficiency.

A simple way for architects to minimize reverberation is to use more sound-absorbing materials. This entails using less of the hard, smooth surfaces that dominate current classrooms and replacing them with new materials that are specifically designed to minimize reverberation. Something as small as designing a classroom with sound-absorbing materials can make a huge difference in the learning of the students.

Another way to decrease unwanted noise in a classroom is by separating sound-sensitive areas such as classrooms and offices from areas that are generally noisy such as gymnasiums and playgrounds. This can be simple as designing the school to have a hallway in between the two areas to act as a noise buffer.

Acoustics play a massive role in the practical functionality of a school. At McAllister and Associates strive to design school buildings that best help students learn and minimizing reverberations and background noise is one of the ways we address this issue.