Open learning spaces: What do our new students have to say?

With a few weeks of term one completed it’s been high time to gather some of our new student’s early impressions of their open learning spaces. I headed for Hub 3; It’s home to about 55 year 4-8 students.

I was interested in a couple of points; Firstly, what they identified as the main differences between their new learning hub space and the spaces they used to learn in; and secondly what they thought the impact of the space would have on their learning.

The amount of space came up quickly in student’s responses to the first question. They talked of the learning hubs being “open and big”, and they spoke of coming from schools that felt “really squashed” and of classrooms being “quite tight and under pressure”. “At my old class we had set places- you sit here, you sit here, you sit here. But here it’s nice and comfortable.”

This idea of comfort cropped up regularly; One suggested that, “On the first day of school when I stepped into the class I felt really comfortable and there were a lot of students there which made me more comfortable.” This notion of our learning spaces being comfortable is a common thread. As adults, where do we choose to learn? Will we make sure we’re comfortable first? I remember hearing Stephen Heppell suggest that if you ask children to bring in from home the seat that they’d prefer to sit on when reading, none of them would bring in an old wooden kitchen chair. Instead they’d bring bean bags, the couch, an arm chair, or their bed.

The students talked of choice in terms of having some selection over where they learned:
“I sometimes prefer some places to others. Sometimes I like the places with the light. Sometimes I prefer places that are a bit quieter. It depends on what work I'm doing. If it's really hard work sometimes I just go to a quiet place.”
“I just usually go anywhere. I don't really mind how loud, or how much people are talking. Sometimes I need a quiet space so I go to a quiet room". “Who makes that decision?” "Me".
“It's more open. Everything was set (at my old school) and there wasn't much choice. Here there are more people to help you. More people that know more information about what you're learning about.”

This theme of the people produced the most dialogue. More often than not students talked about their relationship with other learners. This is where the new students felt was the real impact of the learning hubs.

“The hubs are much bigger and you get to learn with more kids. Older kids can help you learn instead of just kids your own age.”
“If you’re in the pit, it’s a lot more useful to sit with other people so they can help you.”
“It makes me feel like I can ask more people without being told we've got to do this.”
“I feel I can ask more people, there are so many more people to ask”
“You get to see other people's ways of learning and I think you get a big choice, big opportunity to see if they're learning is quite good, you could use it, could choose to make it your way of learning.”
“Well it makes a difference because you can sit with people who are suitable to your learning environment, like they're helpful, and they'll listen to your questions.”
“Sometimes the teacher chooses where we go but I’m alright with that because everywhere we go there are people that can help you, friends everywhere.”

As a means of evaluating a learning space’s success gaining student voice in terms of satisfaction is a powerful tool. It’s one of a number of evaluative methods that can help to analyse the effectiveness of learning spaces identified by Bligh & Pearshouse (2011). Other methods include an outcomes model looking at evaluating changes in learning outcomes, a scenario provision model which looks at the relationship between the provision of the space in relation to judgements of activities within it, and a brand model evaluating spaces’ contribution to institutional image. No one evaluative model is going to give us all the answers that we’re after, So it’s a matter of triangulating models to gain a fuller picture.

The analysis tools that Bligh & Pearshouse are looking at are very much based on the higher education sector but there are some key concepts that are the same across all contexts. One point that they make about the satisfaction model is that there are many other factors that influence student satisfaction above and beyond properties of space. Also that “students may lack the confidence to project their ‘voice’ with regard to spatial experiences, and may need support to do so” (p. 9).

When I look back at what our students said about their learning space- the comfort, the choice and the relationships, it seems clear that they are able to project their ‘voice’. In fact, and as somewhat of a surprise, one group ended by suggesting that in fact the space doesn't matter, it's the people in it. Space they added “is an additional bonus.”
Student voice is an important voice and it’s one that we will return to over the course of the year.

References

Bligh, V., & Pearshouse, I. (2011). Doing Learning Space Evaluations. In A. Boddington & J. Boys (Eds.), Re-Shaping learning: A Critical Reader: The future of learning spaces in post-compulsory education. Rotterdam: Sense.

EdTalk

Here's my first go at an Edtalk. What a powerful space for self-assessment! Note to self - look at the camera! Thanks to Jane, Jedd and the team at CORE

PLG getting organised for 2012

This year has seen the start of the open learning space plg, a place for teachers to talk to teachers about collaboration, about learning and about teaching in modern learning environments. 

With many schools investigating flexible/ open/ agile/ purposeful/ innovative (there are lots of different terminologies in use!) learning spaces, what are the opportunities and challenges that they present? What can we learn from each other about what we're discovering as we seek to maximise the benefits of these new spaces? This really is the purpose of the group.

It's been an exciting journey so far with the group growing from a couple of schools to representatives of eight schools involved. We've visited three schools so far, heard some great presentations and engaged in some stimulating dialogue. And in 2012 we're really keen to grow the plg further. 

So if you know teachers and leaders who might be interested please pass the details on. They might be already teaching in a modern learning environment, or just thinking about it. They might be at a school looking at rebuilding or remodeling a part of it. Or they might be in a brand new school. Alternatively, they just might be interested in coming along to find out what the talk is all about. All are welcome.

So please pass the details on. We'll be kicking off next year with a visit to Freemans Bay School who have just completed a brand new block and have more building ahead of them. Later in the year we hope to visit three more schools including a high school and a new school.

The website is now up and running with a few details and resources on it. You'll also find a registration page, so please sign up if you’re interested in coming along.

https://sites.google.com/a/stonefields.school.nz/plgmodernlearningenvironments/home

CEFPI launches in New Zealand!

CEFPI has launched in New Zealand!

The CEFPI (Council for Educational Facility Planners International) organisation, which aims to bring together architects and educators, designers, administrators and suppliers, has for the last ten years had a strong presence in Australia. Now, after a launch event in Auckland, the organization is set to grow on this side of the Tasman too.

The launch event hosted by Stonefields School in Auckland was attended by about thirty architects, educators, suppliers and representatives of the Ministry of Education. Following an introduction from Andrew Pender, chair of the Executive Committee and a presentation from the school, there was an opportunity for a tour of the new buildings.

In 2012 the intention is to grow the organization in New Zealand in order to provide a forum and network for people interested in school building design, from both an architectural and pedagogical perspective. There will be opportunities to attend regular site visits, seminars and forums as well as the CEFPI conference to be held in May next year on the Gold Coast.

Anyone interested in becoming involved can email for further details and to be added to the database.


(Photo courtesy of Anne Knock)

Professional Learning Group: The community grows

The level of interest in open learning spaces and modern learning environments in New Zealand is really growing. This week’s professional learning group was held at Epsom Normal Primary in Auckland and saw three new schools getting involved in the dialogue.

Epsom is a great example of how schools can convert existing spaces and ‘single cell’ environments into open learning spaces that value collaboration, student empowerment and a focus on strength based learning. Much of it has been the vision of principal Jane Cavanagh-Eyre and during the meeting she shared her own journey, from open-plan to modern learning environments.

The school has really set out to celebrate the environment around them. As Rachel, one of their teachers suggested ‘you don’t need four walls to learn’. Consequently they have made excellent use of the outdoor spaces including a bank being turned into a student garden just outside the shared space. The addition of some strategically placed windows has not only lightened the learning spaces but also increased the connection with the outdoor areas and century old pohutakawa trees. They have really set out to celebrate the environment around them. The redevelopment of the library has helped turn what was once a resource room into a facility that has become very much a space shared by children and adults.

What was particularly exciting though was the level of collaboration evident among the teachers. They talked of reaching new levels of collegiality, of positivity and stronger staff relations- much as a result of opening up the space.  The team involved in teaching in the new space acknowledged that they had many questions remaining- they only moved in in April- and many of them related to collaboration. It is certainly a reoccurring theme at the PLG. There seems to be an inextricable link between these new spaces and the level of sincere collaboration required to make them work. The teachers were keen to look ahead and explore how teacher collaboration relates to student collaboration, and how the space can contribute towards it.

As the Ministry of Education moves ahead with its School Property Strategy 2011-2021, we will see more and more of this type of conversion going ahead. It is a key part of the strategy: “modernizing classrooms and converting them into modern teaching spaces will be a high priority over the coming years” (p. 13). Epsom is certainly an excellent example of what this might look like.  

We are keen to grow the PLG further and are aware of more school starting to investigate new spaces and collaborative teacher practice. Details of the first Auckland meeting (mid March 2012) will be available on the website (just getting started!) and via Twitter @chrisbradbeer #openlearningspacesplg Please get in touch if you are interested in coming along.

Reference

Ministry of Education. (2011). The New Zealand School Property Strategy 2011-2021. Wellington. Retrieved from http://www.minedu.govt.nz/NZEducation/EducationPolicies/Schools/SchoolOperations/~/media/MinEdu/Files/EducationSectors/PrimarySecondary/PropertyToolbox/StateSchools/SchoolPropertyStrategy201121.pdf

A legacy of open-plan

Open-plan classrooms have left trailing behind them somewhat of a legacy in terms of the way we think about newer open learning spaces. One legacy in particular, I suspect, is an enculturated hesitancy for schools to open up spaces again. The collective memory of an education innovation that generally speaking did not work is a strong one and comparisons between the two are understandably inevitable.

Imagine you'd spent several years teaching in an open-plan space back in the seventies or eighties and you hadn’t enjoyed it. You'd found it a challenging experience and certainly not a professional fulfilling one. You remember the noise, the poorly designed spaces and the stress that teachers often found themselves working under...and now you see the introduction of what appears on the face of it to be similar open classroom spaces being constructed. How would you feel? Well, perhaps a slight sense of déjà vu coupled with a dose of skepticism.

It is not entirely surprising to hear then that those teachers who taught in these spaces earlier in their careers are viewing our new teaching and learning environments with some suspicion. At a recent conference our team was presenting at, the by now familiar catch cry of the return to open-plan came up again. Are these new open learning spaces, these modern learning environments, not just a re-hash of an idea that didn’t work before, one teacher questioned, recalling her own experiences three decades ago.  To all intents and purposes, she suggested, they look much the same. This is not an uncommon response to our spaces and one I believe that represents a quite deeply held belief about what a classroom should look like.

The tendency it seems is to superimpose 'open-plan' memories onto new open learning spaces and to recall all that that represents. Maybe the language is partially to blame. Perhaps it’s the word ‘open’. I think we need to focus less on the ‘open’ now and more on the ‘learning space’. I wonder if in fact calling the spaces ‘open learning spaces’ at all could be construed as misleading and setting ourselves up for failure. It’s certainly something that I’d be guilty of. Perhaps I should be using flexible or purposeful as is the vogue in Australia, agile as Stephen Heppell would prefer to call them, or Modern Learning Environments, the New Zealand Ministry’s preferred nomenclature.

Stephen Heppell on the future of education

Stephen Heppell, in this latest offering from Edtalks shares his thought on what the future of education might look like. He discusses how online learning spaces he was developing fifteen years ago have essentially become prototypes for what the physical buildings now need to look like. They offer students the chance to work with each other, to talk with others globally, to have peer support and affirmation, to exhibit and celebrate their learning, and to be totally absorbed and immersed in the environment. Stephen believes that “'structures and strictures of education will be swept aside by the engagement, seduction, delight, passion and astonishment of a new learning world”. It’s an exciting prospect.

Stephen is a real visionary and it was great to be able to hear him talk at this year’s Ulearn conference. I’m always struck by his passion, energy and firm belief in keeping the learners at the very heart of what he does. The video is well worth a look.

Video from http://edtalks.org/video/stephen-heppell