In the past ten years, there has been a shift from traditional classrooms towards open learning spaces all around Europe. The purpose of the new learning environments is to promote learning that encounters educational needs of 21^stcentury. The economical world requires higher level of education in the Western society to meet the needs of the global work market. Countries invest on schools and students’ learning but it is not reflecting to the student achievement (OECD, 2017). Current situation requires educational researchers to study new models for school learning and teaching activities suitable for the new learning environments. Charteris and Smardon (2018) argue that we should think about different types of learner agency, when we speak about new generation learning environments. These learning environments enable students and teachers be active agents in the environment, but are they willing and ready for the new framework?

In the current study, the aim is to tackle the issue of large learning environments (40-75 students) and the effects on students’ well-being, learning and motivation. The purpose is to discover which practices in the 21^st century classroom enhance both students’ and teachers’ well-being. In previous research, there has appeared a need to study effective learning designs to help students learn seamlessly despite the context (Hwang, Lai & Wang, 2015). This research targets to create new practices and solve the challenges faced by learners and teachers. The project focuses on teachers' skills, development of learning, teamwork and school well-being.

The first phase of the research was conducted within normal schoolwork in the beginning of 2019 in two target comprehensive schools (with large learning environments) and 5 control schools ( with traditional classrooms) in the metropolitan area of Helsinki, Finland. Students (grades 1, 4, 5, 7 and 8, n ≈ 2 000) took part to cognitive tests that measure reading skills and mathematical skills and filled a questionnaire concerning learning, motivation and well-being. In addition, teachers answered a questionnaire concerning grouping, assessment, learning and well-being. We also measured teacher recovery by actigraphy-based sleep duration and sleep quality. The research design comprises pre-post study during 2019.

This approach will prove useful in expanding our understanding of how learning and well-being develop in large learning areas. Descriptive statistics, t-tests and structural equation modeling will be used in the analysis of the quantitative data. These findings contribute in several ways to our understanding of new learning environments and provide a basis of knowledge for teachers, parents and stakeholders how to enhance classroom engagement and school well-being.

Charteris, J., & Smardon, D. (2018). A typology of agency in new generation learning environments: emerging relational, ecological and new material considerations. Pedagogy, Culture & Society, 26(1), 51-68. Hwang, G. J., Lai, C. L., & Wang, S. Y. (2015). Seamless flipped learning: a mobile technology-enhanced flipped classroom with effective learning strategies. Journal of Computers in Education, 2(4), 449-473. OECD (2017). The OECD Handbook for Innovative Learning Environments, Educational Research and Innovation. OECD Publishing, Paris. https://doi.org/10.1787/9789264277274-en.