School Design Studio is dedicated to engaging clients worldwide in organizational change processes that result in creative, unique, inspiring, motivational and effective community learning environments. School Design Studio facilitates collaborative interchanges in planning, design and implementation of school designs intended to empower children, youth, parents, teachers, and surrounding community.

2009.04.03

Researchers at the University of Minnesota may provide scientific evidence to help provide some justification to finally unbolt kids from their chairs in classrooms! The teacher's union leader thinks its a fad! Please!

A report from the NY TIMES in February describes a school, Marine Elementary School in Marine On St. Croix, Minnesota, as a test site for "Activity-permissive" classrooms. Dr. James A. Levine, a professor of medicine at the Mayo Clinic, advocates what he calls “activity-permissive” classrooms, including stand-up desks. “Having many children sit in a classroom isn’t the craziest idea, but look at how children have changed,” Dr. Levine said of the sedentary lives of many. “We also have to change, to meet their needs.”

Teachers in Minnesota and Wisconsin say they know from experience that the desks help give children the flexibility they need to expend energy and, at the same time, focus better on their work rather than focusing on how to keep still.

The students being studied are monitored while using traditional desks as well, as the researchers aim to look for differences in physical activity and academic achievement.“We can’t say for sure that this has an impact on those two things, but we’re hypothesizing that they may,” said Beth A. Lewis of the School of Kinesiology, or movement science, at the University of Minnesota. “I think we’re so used to the traditional classroom it’s taken a while for people to start thinking outside the box."

While adult-size workstations that allow for standing are commonplace, options for young students are not, and until now, data on the educational effect of movement in the classroom have been scant. But at Marine Elementary, the principal, Lynn Bormann, feels as if she need not wait for the research results. “We just know movement is good for kids,” Ms. Bormann said. “We can measure referrals to the office and sick days. Teachers are seeing positive things."

Marine Elementary lies in a small, fitness-minded, high-achieving school district where experimentation is encouraged. Ms. Bormann bought the desks with money from several grants awarded to the school, which is now in its second full year of using them.Ms. Brown says she got the idea for the stand-up desks after 20 years of teaching in which she watched children struggle to contain themselves at small hard desks, and after reading some of Dr. Levine’s work. “As an option,” she said, “it gives students choices, and they feel empowered. It’s not anything to force on anybody. Teachers have to do what fits their comfort level. But this makes sense to me.”

At Somerset Middle School in nearby Somerset, Wis., the children in Pam Seekel’s fifth-grade class rotate in their use of both traditional and stand-up desks. “At a stand-up desk,” Ms. Seekel said, “I’ve never seen students with their heads down, ever. It helps with being awake, if they can stand, it seems. And for me as a teacher, I can stand at their level to help them. I’m not bent over. I can’t think of one reason why a classroom teacher wouldn’t want these.”

Now that we have a few researchers and educators thinking about the value of movement (any one remember Gardner's explication of kinesthetic intelligence?) maybe we can allow them to get out of these boxes into the daylight and into breakout learning areas so they can express other intelligences not allowed expression by the present educational system!

2009.03.29

This is a short photo summary of Scotch Oakburn College in Tasmania, Australia we at FNI started working on in 2004. I am so excited to see the fruits of our labors, and those of our local architectural colleagues on this project. The school is organized into learning communities of 150 students with associated space to help them define their identity as a small community within the larger school. Integrated project-based learning is a strong part of the school's philosophy to teaching and learning.
This first space is what we call the DaVinci Studio. DaVinci was a Renaissance Man, someone who integrated the disciplines and did not think of him self as one thing of another. In the same vein, we encourage educators to think of the Studio (fully equipped for both science and art) as a studio for integrated project-based learning.
We are proponents of moving full tilt forward with wireless laptop computing across the entire campus including the outdoor spaces surrounding the building. Kids may or may not have access at home. If they do, then they take to the environment right way, if they don't, they now have access they didn't have. This allows for learning outside of the classroom and lots of communication between teacher and students outside of class time.
Bean bags are a must in all classrooms and spaces in the school! They create personal space for students when they need it. Think of this happening in a US school - forget it, such stodgy administrators I want to puke! Let kids be kids once in a while.
The revolution within classrooms are the Smart Boards that allow teachers and students to access the web from the classroom making every single classroom a potential distance learning lab. Using simple tools like Skype, that now eight million people are using for free when connecting computer to computer, kids can communicate with their peers in Japan, Indonesia, or even the United States (if you get the time zones to work out). Most teachers I've seen control this technology for lecturing, but that is a sad state of affairs! This tool, placed responsibly in the hands of students could unleash an amazing outpouring of exploration and self-directed learning!
Outdoor space is a critical must for kids (and adults for that matter). Vitamin D from the sun, fresh air to breath, and outdoor learning opportunities make it a simple no brainer. Of all the ideas we propose, indoor-outdoor connections are one of the most favorite for teachers and students.

2009.03.18

Every year, magazines in our field come out with Top 10 lists. I've written and presented a few myself. In presentations I usually use the drum roll for effect. Most lists provide more of the same straight line thinking into the future, or are trends directed towards decision makers in the field who are looking at making immediate short term decisions about facilities. Such is the case with our field's friend and leader Bill DeJong in a recent School Construction News report in this March/April 09 (p12) addition. In all fairness, its hard to get 10 juicy trends in a single page of a magazine dedicated to advertising tables, chairs and exterior brick for schools, but here are his solid short-term trends:

1. Declining Enrollments

2. Life Beyond No Child Left Behind

3. Anyplace, Anytime Learning

4. Flexible buildings

5. Global Focus

6. Modernizing Democracy

7. Green and Sustainability

8. Geographic Information Systems

9. Safety and Security

10, Replacement and Modernization.

Nothing here to write home about really, but these are the real short term trends for school administrative decision makers, things right in front of their noses.

Now for my extended thoughts:

Declining Enrollments: what is left unstated is how we transform how we think about "school facilities". Can we think beyond "the school" to thinking of a multi-generational learning center? One that is open to all? Yes we can! and some of us are. Often this flies in the face of No. 9 Safety and Security. So care needs to be taking in how the building is zoned, yet another part of the mix almost always left out of these safety discussions: how can adults that share such as facility be seen as caring adults rather than potential pedophiles? Yes we can! It just takes some clear thinking about how to create flexible, small communities within the building to support security for all, not just kids.

Anyplace, anytime learning: nothing new. DeJong states that in 15 years half of course work will be on-line, but doesn't have column space to explore implications for school planning (and design). Why do students have to be in the building all day long then? Can we imagine young people with some responsibility to get their work done in a self-directed manner, either in a more causal space within the building (another trend not discussed), or outside the building entirely? Yes we can! It means educators would have to work hard (as if they don't already) to help students of the 21st Century become self-directed learners such that when they reach high school age, they have developed sophisticated self-management skills. Easier said then done, but critically important for their success in the newly forming economy/market/multi-cultural world.

We can't understate the Sustainability angle. Again, left unstated by Bill is the ethical imperative of schools to take the lead in sustainability. They are teaching our young about the world, and it could be a rough ride not just for the planet, but also for human societies.

Global focus: clearly, the US is declining, but still out in front. Global competition is nothing new either. But, global cooperation and mutual understanding is so badly needed. Lets link up our schools directly to schools around the world more proactively like many schools have already begun to do. Lets share our experiences while learning science, math and cultural studies. Lets allow students to build relationships across the globe and make is a natural activity of schools. Distance education on steroids.

What trends have Bill and I missed? I'm sure there are several. Feel free to comment and add!

2009.02.17

Technology is
changing so radically, we can't plan for it anymore, there is no time to reflect, no time to create technology standards, and fit it into our curriculum, says our friend Stephen Heppell. He encourages teachers to let kids just use stuff and see what happens. Start little experiments.

Well, here is a great example from MIT grad David Merrill of how the human-computer interface is radicalizing learning right before our eyes! I am totally amazed at how simple and elegant these tools are, and you will be too. David Merrill demonstrates his Shiftables- cookie-sized, computerized tiles you can stack and shuffle in your hands. These future-toys can do math, play music, talk with their friends too. Is this the next thing in hands-on learning? Imagine the power of these tools for child development. What do you think are the implications of this new form of tech?

2009.01.31

I have recently published a new peer-reviewed article academically entitled, "Teacher Environmental Competence in Elementary School Environments", for Children, Youth and Environments. Download TeacherEnvCompetence

AbstractTeacher environmental competence, the ability to understand and effectively use physical instructional space for a pedagogical advantage, continues to receive limited attention in education. Exploring the perceptions of 20 teachers at five urban elementary schools, this study investigates teachers’ understanding and effective use of the physical environment to meet instructional goals. It examines organizational factors that contribute to poor environmental competence in school environments. The action research approach employed in this study includes a set of interconnected training, research and action activities. Once teachers were introduced to a means of communicating their environmental experience through the training component, they were able to articulate specific environmental concerns, see their interrelationship, and make judgments of priority. The paper suggests avenues for raising the environmental competence of educators within the context of educational reforms advocating for collaborative, learner-centered environments.

I would characterize this paper as a reinterpretation and extension of my action research dissertation. Since practicing, the action research component has had to go underground a bit, and my reflective practice side has emerged. Out of this new work, I have rediscovered the critical importance of training teachers to more effectively use their teaching and learning environments, especially when sheparding a school into considering the impact of 21st Century learning on school design. From our stop/starts in bringing teachers along with the ideas of learning studios over classrooms, and collaborative learning settings over direct instructional space, I have realized the importance of spending quality time with staff to both tailor space to their immediate understandings, while designing space in such as way as to encourage positive progressive change. My answer has been to propose the concept of educational commissioning, an idea I first articulated on designshare a few years ago.

Phorecast had the opportunity to interview Randy Fielding of Fielding Nair International the other day on their blog. He is a renowned architect and educator who has developed award winning schools all over the world.. The short audio focuses on one of Randy's favorite topics of creative and interactive 21st century learning spaces. In this interview, Randy discusses what the problems are with todays school system and environment and how we can engage and create innovative schools to prepare kids for the new requirements of the knowledge age.

In an effort to find a vehicle for translating my research on learning environments into practice, I have found myself working successfully with Randy on a along with Prakash Nair variety of projects since 2005.

2008.10.30

The goals of the conference include professional development for educators; opportunities for collaboration among green schools, environmental scientists, and eco-organizations; and public education regarding green charter schools.

As the conference site states, "Charter schools are innovative public schools that provide educational choices for families and school-site accountability for results. Today, more than 1.2 million children in 40 states and the District of Columbia attend one of more than 4,300 public charter schools. By enacting charter school laws, states have created the capacity for change, expanded educational opportunities for young people and opened a new-schools sector in public education.

Among the innovative charter schools emerging in public education are a growing number of green charter schools with environment-focused educational programs and practices. The Green Charter Schools Network, a new national non-profit organization, was launched in February 2008. With a vision of every person being environmentally literate and practicing sustainability in their community, the Network supports the establishment, enhancement and advancement of public charter schools with environment-focused educational programs and practices."

I am lucky to be among the dozens of speakers at the conference where I plan on talking about using the school building itself as a three-dimensional textbook.

Tia Nelson, daughter of Governor Gaylord Nelson who launched the first Earth Day on April 22, 1970, is set to host the conference. She states in a Capital Times opinion article, "As a result of impassioned summertime conversations about the present urgency of my father's words, environmental scientists, educators and other citizens from throughout the United States will travel to storied central Wisconsin in November for a seminal discussion of the dual imperative for public schools to recognize sustainable "green" values as a critical aspect of citizenship and to use charter-school operating arrangements to research and develop the comprehensive environmental education and conservation curricula we need to dramatically change our culture, preserve natural capital and enjoy a good life that does not deprive future generations.

It has become clear to many of us who have been focused on environmental issues that it is now critical for our nation to rethink the ways public education serves its crucial role in the development of a sustainable society."

2008.10.27

In an article by Michelle Davis, in Education Week, entitled GoinGreen, green technology is quickly becoming a standard part of the school curriculum and planning.

"In California, schools are downloading satellite data to predict the weather and better control how much water they use to maintain their fields and other outdoor landscaping. In Georgia, a district is selling its old computers to a recycler as long as that company agrees to refurbish and resell them cheaply in the community. And in one district in Colorado, school computers are put in “hibernation” every evening to cut down on energy consumption and costs.

Schools around the country are tapping new technology to be more environmentally friendly, sometimes saving money in the long run, and showing students how to take a leadership role in “green” initiatives.
“A few years ago, when you mentioned green techniques in schools, people would say, ‘It’s too expensive; it’s not practical,’?” says Ying Wang, the program manager for the Collaborative for High Performance Schools’ new-facilities program in the 708,000-student Los Angeles Unified School District. “Now, it’s quite a movement.”

As Tiffany Green reports in her Design Share commentary, "Hazelwood caters to 60 students with multiple disabilities, aged from 2 to 19. Each student has a combination of two or more of the following impairments: visual, hearing, mobility or cognitive. The design focused on creating a safe, stimulating environment for pupils and staff. The architect set out to eliminate any institutional feel and worked to avoid conventional details, creating a tailored design that incorporates visual, aural and tactile clues. The school is set within a landscaped green adjacent to a large public park, as is surrounded by mature lime and beach trees . The building snakes through the site, curving around the existing trees, creating a series of small garden spaces and maximizing the potential for more intimate outdoor teaching (learning?) environments. The choice of materials was of great importance. The architect developed a palette of highly textured natural materials that are stimulating to touch and smell. Naturally weathering timber, reclaimed slate tiles and zinc were used on the exterior.

The school’s head teacher says: “When our children leave this school, they will not go into jobs or go and live in their own flat or house- they will always need to be supported. Adults who are blind and have learning difficulties can lead passive lives. But the more independence they have, the more choices they will be able to make and the more stimulating their lives will be.”