Session Information
27 SES 13 A, From Design to Practice in School Environments (Part 1)
Symposium to be continued in 27 SES 14 A
Contribution
This paper focuses on foundational teaching and learning space within schools: the 'classrooms' of traditional design and the more varied spaces of open plan design. Research demonstrates that different physical settings facilitate some pedagogical practices while hindering others with, specifically, traditional classrooms being more likely to contain teacher-centred approaches and less student collaboration (Sigurðardóttir &Hjartson, 2011) while open plan schools require teacher co-operation, collaboration and, often, team teaching (Gislason, 2010, 2015; Saltmarsh et al., 2015). The school investigated was built in the 1980s for 315 pupils to an open plan design, based on multi-purpose spaces intended for 90 children spanning two year groups, learning individually or in small groups, and less often as a class group. There are now over 400 children, and the areas within these spaces have been enclosed in an ad-hoc manner, producing classrooms of varying sizes, mainly but not all enclosed, where four classes of 30, each from a single year group are taught, with a high proportion of whole class teaching. The methodology was informed by Hargreaves and Goodson's (2006) study of educational change and continuity in a sample of secondary schools, but focused on the physical space and its relationship to practice over time. Interviews with staff, observations of current use and investigation of the history of the interior of the school were combined to provide understanding of current experiences and of changes made. Gislason's framework (2010; 2015) for understanding the distinct elements of the learning environment (Ecology/Physical Design; Organisation; Student Dynamics/Milleu and Educational/Staff culture) was used to analyse the design and use of the learning space as originally intended and as now arranged. In agreement with Gislason, and my own use of his model (Woolner & Tiplady, 2016), it is argued that the alignment of these elements is essential to successful functioning. Thus the teaching and learning spaces, as well as many organisational features, were partially adapted to reflect changes in teaching practice driven by a changed educational culture, with more whole class teaching required by teaching strategies imposed in the 2000s (DfEE, 1998, 1999). However, it is argued that this occurred reactively rather than through planning of space to match needs, and the resulting spaces now constrain teaching and learning. Suggestions are made for ways to reconfigure the space to address the immediate frustrations of the staff and students, while developing better alignment between the learning environment elements.
References
DfEE (1998) The National Literacy Strategy Framework for Teaching, London: DfEE DfEE (1999), The National Numeracy Strategy: framework for teaching mathematics from reception to Year 6, London: Gislason,N.(2010). Architectural design and the learning environment: A framework for school design research, Learning Environments Research, 13, 127–145. Gislason, N. (2015) The open plan high school: educational motivations and challenges. In P. Woolner (Ed) School Design Together Abingdon: Routledge Hargreaves, A. and Goodson, I. (2006) Educational Change Over Time? The Sustainability and Nonsustainability of Three Decades of Secondary School Change and Continuity, Educational Administration Quarterly, 42(1): 3-41 Saltmarsh, S., Chapman, A., Campbell, M. and Drew, C. (2015) Putting “structure within the space”: spatially un/responsive pedagogic practices in open-plan learning environments, Educational Review, 67(3): 315-327 Sigurðardóttir, A.K.and Hjartson,T(2011). School buildings for the 21st century. Some features of new school buildings in Iceland.CEPS Journal, 1(2):25-43. Woolner, P. and Tiplady, L. (2016) Adapting School Premises as Part of a Complex Pedagogical Change Programme In: Stadler-Altmann,U, ed. (English) Learning Environment. Educational and Architectual Views on Schoolbuildings and Classrooms. (German) Lernumgebungen. Erziehungswissenschaftliche und architekturkritische Perspektiven auf Schulgebäude und Klassenzimmer. Opladen/Berlin/Toronto: Barbara Budrich, pp.69-81. Also presented at ECER 2014, Porto.
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