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. 

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

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.  

Personal Learning Module Concept

Moore Norman Technology Center
Business Training Center Commons

School Culture Change - Influences and the Future

How does the rapid development of digital learning tools, digital content and digital culture influence the way teachers teach,  children learn and schools change? 

That's the fundamental question that I am committed to helping answer thru this series of blog posts and your feedback. School and community leaders, teachers, parents and children will benefit from a open discussion. We will review the financial implications, past solutions and evaluate current  influences. Then we will explore new ideas in design and planning from all over the world.

The research and statistics (primarily about Oklahoma) will attempt to frame the cultural, financial and organizational issues facing our PK-12 educational system today. We are interested in hearing from educators, architects and anyone that has insight and ideas about how learning environments may change to better engage students, be more flexible, more efficient and improve student outcomes.

The financial pressure, digital and cultural influences on our current system have never been greater. The opportunities for new PK-5, 6-8 and High School planning models are exciting. As creative leaders,  architects are in a good position to team with local school officials and community leaders to establish a clear vision and lay the foundation for our children's futures.

I would like to invite all people interested in this important question to share and comment. There are never enough ideas to benefit our children's future.

Counting the Costs

Districts Information: 

School Districts in Oklahoma -                          539                      
District Education Expenditures 2012/13           $2,200,000,000 (billion)
Number of Students -                                       666,150
Avg. expenditure per student-                           $7,878.76
Enrollment Growth 2010-2011                         .009% (less than 1%)
Oklahoma Education Spending Rank -              44th

Facilities Construction Spending : (Nationwide)

Median Cost per S.F. -                               Elementary:    $181.00/S.F.

                                                                   Middle:          $195.31/S.F.

                                                                   High School:  $219.18/S.F.

Median Square Feet per Student -                Elementary:     129 S.F.

                                                                    Middle:           138 S.F.

                                                                    High School:   165 S.F.

Oklahoma's facilities costs average 10-15% less than national averages. 

February 2013 Oklahoma School Facilities Bond Projects 

Total Facilities Bond Requests -                   $302,465,000 (million)
Requesting Districts:                                     13
Requesting Districts Enrollment:                    57,590
Spending Request per Student:                     $5,252


 At the time of this writing it is not know which districts will receive a 60% majority approval and pass the bond propositions. Bond figures are from the Oklahoman at http://newsok.com/oklahoma-voters-to-make-school-board-bond-issue-decisions-today/article/3754434. District Information is from statistics published from the U.S. Department of Education and posted at www.teachade.com. Facilities construction statistics are from the National Clearinghouse for Educational Facilities.