By Dwight Carter and Mark White
One of the hottest topics in education today is space redesign. Educators see how their operations are being buffeted by the global disruptions that are reshaping society — and they are beginning to envision new ways to design schools.
Here are four quick tips applied in the design of Clark Hall, an award-winning high school building in Gahanna, Ohio, that effectively combines space, global skills, and technology with the needs of today’s learners.
Tip 1: Think Starbucks
As educators ask how to redesign their schools, a quick answer should be: “Think Starbucks!” When we walk into Starbucks, we have lots of choices: we can drink hot or cold coffee, eat croissants or cookies, sit at the bar or a table, or perhaps in a soft chair or even outside beneath an umbrella. Starbucks is all about giving the customer options in a relaxed atmosphere.
And that’s the way learning spaces need to be designed today.
Today’s students are Gen Z. They text, swipe, connect, hangout in person and virtually, and view the world differently than their predecessors. They have been using the internet since before they began to walk, and it’s given them choices their entire lives. When they get tired of Netflix, they might change to Hulu or YouTube. When they get tired of one song they switch to another one on their streaming iTunes or Spotify. When they skim articles on their phones, they are scanning the bullet points and looking for videos to speed up their learning.
Gen Z students love options; they love Starbucks. But when they walk into schools today, they usually power off their devices and sit in classrooms designed for a 20th century industrial learning model — an era that has been replaced by the Knowledge Age and the global economy. They often sit in straight rows in square classrooms and do the assignments the teachers have designed and in the time allotted to them.
Instead, Gen Z students should be given options in:
- how they choose to complete their assignments
- how much time they need to finish their work and do a high quality job
- how their learning should be assessed
- where they sit — in student desks or beanbag chairs, at high top tables, on soft chairs or exercise balls, or even on carpet squares on the floor
Put another way, schools need to move from the Boring Age to the Starbucks Age. Learning no longer has to be a black coffee in a Styrofoam cup — it should be a venti, half-soy, double chocolate, iced vanilla Frappuccino® in an insulated mug. With whipped cream on top.
Tip 2: Teach Global Skills for a Global Economy
Seen any university libraries recently? They don’t look like the old, quiet repositories of facts any more. The traditional rows of brown bookshelves with musty books are rapidly disappearing. They are being digitized and replaced by all kinds of seating options ranging from small conference rooms to huge open areas where students can sit in natural lighting and work at their laptops. The spaces are designed to let students:
- think critically, either silently or while engaged with others
- create new products that range from papers to fully developed, multi-media projects
- work collaboratively in small groups to exchange ideas and go deeper into the assignments
- make presentations to each other and communicate via the internet with peers in their class or in other parts of the world
Many universities and corporations understand success in the 21st century will hinge upon the ability to apply information in new ways. One of the most innovative companies in the world is Google. To get ideas on learning space redesign, google a Google workspace. You’ll see games and pool tables, funky furniture, bright colors, and other features that spark creativity. The world is becoming less formal as it becomes more connected and more creative ― these are the workspaces of the future.
In contrast, most K-12 classrooms today are not designed to spark innovation; they are designed to foster a teacher-dominated environment where students sit independently and show their content mastery by using pens and pencils to write answers on paper. As teachers insert more global skills into their curriculum and move from being disseminators of information to facilitators of learning, students will need to move around the classroom, work in the hallways, find collaborative conference rooms, and make presentations in large common spaces.
In other words, schools don’t have to resemble the ones we knew in the 20th century: they need to look like the universities and work spaces where their students will be spending the rest of their lives. When global skills become just as important in schools as standardized testing, then students will move seamlessly from one stage of life to the next.
Tip 3: Make Technology the Foundation of Learning
The average American high school student spends six to nine hours per day in front of a screen of some type. Most of those hours are before school and after school, or perhaps in small increments of time during the school day when students surf their smart phones to get their technology fix. While more technology is now making its way into classrooms, too many educators still rely on textbooks that are supplemented by occasional forays onto the web.
Schools have no choice but to move to a teaching and learning system predicated on technology usage—because our students live in a technology-heavy world. As learning space is redesigned, educators should ask:
- How can the learning space foster effective technology usage? Is there room for students to comfortably use their devices alone or in groups? Can the space be designed so that groups don’t bother students who are working alone?
- Is the furniture designed so that students can sit comfortably with their laptops or tablets?
- How can social media be used to enhance instruction and communication?
- How many plugs are available for charging devices?
- The only place most students use pens and pencils today is in schools; if given a choice they’d rather text on a smart phone or type on a tablet. Technology is not a luxury; it’s a necessity — and the learning space can enhance how it is used.
Tip #4: Start Small and Involve the Students
Most educators don’t have the luxury of building a new classroom or building. Luckily, space redesign can be done on a small budget in all types of buildings, even the oldest ones. Some quick, cheap fixes include:
- adding some bright paint to walls
- putting a few soft chairs or exercise balls in one corner of a classroom
- converting part of a hallway or cafeteria to a new type of space by adding new paint, furniture, rugs, or carpet squares
- turning a large storage room into a collaborative learning space
- shifting the school library, or one part of it, into a 21st century environment by adding bright, comfortable chairs
When wondering how to begin, educators can ask the ultimate authority: their students. Great starter questions are: “Which furniture is most comfortable for you? What colors do you like? What ideas do you have for how to use the space? Do you see any other things we can do to make the space more fun and to help you learn?” Students are the new partners in education; they should have a voice in how they are educated and how schools are designed.
It used to be that educators could enter the profession and teach the same way in the same types of classrooms from the beginning of their careers until they retired 30 years later, but that era is gone. Now they must be comfortable with being uncomfortable. The days of mastery have been replaced by a career of constant adaptation to new expectations, new teaching styles — and new types of learning spaces for Gen Z.
About the Authors:
Dwight Carter and Mark White have worked together for over 15 years, first in the Gahanna-Jefferson Public Schools in Gahanna, Ohio, where they were both administrators, and now as authors, speakers and consultants. Together they led the team of teachers, students, and community members in the design of Clark Hall, a high school building that was named the Best in Tech 2012 by Scholastic because of its innovative use of global skills, technology, and learning space to teach Generation Z. They recently coauthored (with Clark Hall architect Gary Sebach) What’s in Your Space? 5 Steps for Better School and Classroom Design, which is published by Corwin Press.
By Dr. Sonny Magana
I want to tell you a little story: There was once lived a pioneering designer who invented technologies to make work and life easier and more productive. He worked long hours developing and iterating until he invented something completely new and extraordinary. He promoted his new technology as transformational, even revolutionary. The technology tool transformed nearly every human endeavor into which it is applied. Billions of dollars exchanged hands and tremendous value was generated. The designer decided to market this new technology into education by highlighting the inherently transformational nature of the tool. He confidently asserted, “Books will soon be obsolete in schools; our school system will be completely changed inside of ten years!” Ten years passed. Books didn’t become obsolete. Schools didn’t change. The promising new technology had minimal impact on student achievement.
Does that story sound familiar?
It should. It should also serve as a cautionary tale, but not a modern one. The year? 1913. The pioneering designer? Thomas Alva Edison. The transformational technology? Motion pictures.
This anecdote illustrates a number of issues regarding the selling and marketing of technology tools in education, but one in particular should be taken as paramount: exploding the myth of technological determinism. Technological determinism is a kind of theoretical mindset which suggests that simply putting digital tools into educational settings will automatically transform what happens in those settings. It’s reflective of the movie Field of Dreams in which Kevin Costner’s character hears a disembodied voice imploring him, “If you build it, they will come,” The only difference is that the disembodied voice of technological determinism says, “If they [your education customers] buy it [technology], transformation will come.” The reality, for the last century, has fallen far short of that myth.
I’m an educational futurist and so my work focuses on harnessing the immense potential of digital tools to enhance what transpires in teaching and learning environments. At this risk of sounding like a heretic, I have to make a statement about technology in an educational context: Digital educational technologies have no inherent value in and of themselves. Zero. They are inert. They don’t do anything by themselves. But I also have to add a qualifier: The value of digital technologies in education is made manifest not by their presence, but by the manner in which they are used.
That should sound reasonable to you, or even self-evident. The trickier part is understanding how to reliably use technology tools to enhance instructional quality and learning productivity.
I’ve been studying the impact of digital tools in education for 34 years. That’s a long time to observe the phenomenon of digital disruptions in the realm of teaching and learning. I’ve taken a serious look at the impact of digital tools in education and have seen distinct patterns emerge over time — patterns which I’ve tested with the tools of the researcher: inquiry design, observation, data collection, analysis, interpretation, and synthesis. One common pattern I’ve witnessed for the last four decades is called the “novelty effect.”
I first saw evidence of the novelty effect in 1984 while studying the impact on student engagement of the Apple IIe and a software program called “The Oregon Trail.” The sample was a group of inner city middle school students in Camden, New Jersey. At first, students’ engagement levels were very high as they learned to interact with the computer program, and each other, to make decisions, plan ahead, and respond to the consequences of their decisions. Then something strange happened — or not so strange, really, if you’ve ever spent any time around middle school students — they got bored…and then disruptive. Quickly. The level of engagement dropped like a wagon train careening off a cliff. There are only so many times one can die from a snake bite or drown in the Blue River before one’s attention starts to strain.
Unfortunately, when it comes to digital tools for schools, education has been on a novelty effect roller coaster. Student engagement goes up at first, and then almost always comes back down as the novelty of the tool wears off. One new technology tool after another has been purchased based on the digital promise of increasing student engagement — which may indeed occur in the short run. But in time that high level of engagement will almost always drop off.
Here’s one implication of the novelty effect: If your sales and marketing messaging to schools only focuses on the attributes of your product and how it will increase student engagement, then over time you run the risk of losing the trust of your customers. However, if you focus on presenting the technology tools you are selling in a manner that is reflective of high impact use of your tool, then over time you will earn the reputation as a trusted advisor. So, how can you know what is reflective of high impact use?
Here is another pattern I’ve observed from compounding evidence: When technology tools are used to replace teachers, on average, one can expect very small to small gains in student achievement. When digital tools are used to supplement teachers’ current instructional practices, one can expect modest gains in student achievement. But when technology tools are used to enhance instructional and learning practices that are well grounded in sound research and theory, one can expect large to very large gains in student achievement.
I recently synthesized my life’s work on solving the wicked problem of technology integration into my latest book, Disruptive Classroom Technologies: A Framework for Innovation in Education. My hope is to disrupt the long-standing narrative about technology in education by providing an evidence-based framework that increments technology use into three distinct domains: Translational, Transformational, and Transcendent. While each stage is important, the impact of translational technology tool use — that is, simply translating teaching and learning tasks from an analogue to a digital realm — is anemic. However, the strategies associated with transformational and transcendent technology tool use, as I’ve defined and identified in Disruptive Classroom Technologies, have an impact on student learning that is equivalent to three or more additional years of student achievement in a single academic year, perhaps even more. That is clearly an idea worth pursuing and sharing with your customers.
As a nation, we would all benefit by learning more about and sharing transformational and transcendent technology use in schools. For folks serving schools in the educational technology industry, doing so will bring benefits that are both immediate and sustainable. So now I have a question: Are you willing to help shatter the myth of technological determinism? Let’s have a catch and find out…
About the Author:
Dr. Anthony J. “Sonny” Magana III is an award-winning educational futurist, best-selling author, and pioneering educational technology researcher. Sonny is a highly sought-after leadership consultant, speaker, and instructional coach with more than thirty years’ experience helping educational systems around the world realize the power of transcendent learning. The author of numerous research studies and articles, Sonny’s newest book, Disruptive Classroom Technologies: A Framework for Innovation in Education, was recently published through Corwin Press to wide international acclaim. Sonny can be reached via Twitter @sonnymagana or at www.maganaeduction.com.
Communal spaces at Central Valley Early Learning Center
enable teachers to observe the activities from a distance, while allowing
students to exercise choice, build independence, and create a sense of
ownership. — NAC Architecture
by Melissa A. McFadgen, Principal, AIA LEED AP and Helena L. Jubany, Principal, FAIA LEED AP
As the body of research on the effectiveness of early learning centers continues to grow, the value in designing more of these institutions has become increasingly apparent. Recent research estimates that the brain grows the most in the first five years of life, thus programs directed at this age demographic have proved to yield astonishing results.1,2
When the design of early learning centers is grounded in the science of developmental psychology and education, these educational environments can address multiple domains of development that positively stimulate young children's physical and cognitive growth. These high-quality early childhood programs and centers produce lasting increases in positive academic achievement that set the students up for success as they move into the K-12 educational environment and beyond. They are also more likely to develop students' social competence traits—such as sharing, cooperating, or helping other kids—competencies that lead to a higher likelihood of attaining higher education and well-paying jobs in adulthood.3
Why are ELCs so important?
There is an incredible amount of recent research in brain development and early learning. Studies show the earlier kids are enrolled in early education the chances of them dropping out of high school diminishes and enrollment in higher education increases. Children who participate in quality preschool programs are:
· 18 percent more likely to be employed
· 24 percent more likely to own a house
· 53 percent less likely to have multiple arrests
· More likely to make higher earnings than those who do not participate4
A 20-year retrospective study found that for every one-point increase in a child's social competency score in kindergarten, they were twice as likely to obtain a college degree, and 46% more likely to have a full-time job by age 25. And, for every one-point decrease in a child's social skill score in kindergarten, he or she had a 67% higher chance of having been arrested in early adulthood, a 52% higher rate of binge drinking and an 82% higher chance of being in or on a waiting list for public housing.1
However, leveraging what we are learning from science and ensuring positive brain development is not the only appeal to instituting early learning centers. The Childcare Quality & Early Learning Center for Research and Professional Development (CQEL) is one of the many programs leading the way with early childhood research, examining how to improve and support existing early learning standards and programs in an effort to ensure truly equal access to education. Low family income, low parent education, and language barriers can all be factors in preventing a child's academic success but CQEL is committed to mitigating these obstacles and closing the achievement gap. Research continues to emphasize the importance of early intervention as the most predictable tool to redirect a student's educational career.
Children facing challenges from lower income, to immigrant families, to children with development delays likely experience the greatest benefit from this educational experience. We've seen it first-hand at the Central Valley Early Learning Center. We started with a vacant grocery store and transformed it into a school that supports a wide variety of pre-K students, primarily underserved students and their families. Their incredible journey is documented in this video.
10 Essential Characteristics of High Quality Early Learning Environments
An early learning center is not simply a 'scaled down' elementary school. It needs to be designed to reflect the unique needs of children under the age of five, their families, and the wide array of professionals housed in an ELC.
1. Higher staff to student ratios. At the early learning level, particularly for those qualifying for the Early Childhood Education and Assistance Program (ECEAP) or Head Start programs, it's not only about educating the student; it's about educating the whole family. Providing resources and support to navigate supplemental assistance programs for the improvement of the entire family are core principles of early childhood education programs.This increased staff-to-student ratio and the promotion of family engagement in the facility translates to the need for additional parking on the site compared to most elementary schools.
2. Increased Office/Conference Room Space. The administrative suite has two separate functions: running the school (similar to an elementary school) and a family support component (not typically in an elementary school). In addition to the typical office and meeting space within an elementary school, the family support staff and increased therapy specialists in an ELC require additional office space and conference rooms for working with students and meeting with each family.
3. Curriculum Mandates and Spatial Organization. The facility design is part of the scoring process for many curriculum requirements mandated by various licensing jurisdictions such as the Department of Early Learning and, if designed well, will contribute to the score. At Central Valley Early Learning Center, most of their curriculum is delivered in their classrooms and licensing requires students have the choice of a minimum of nine activities during free choice time. These activities also must vary throughout the year, with the classroom designed to support this wide array of activities, from areas for quiet reading, to sensory activities with water or sand, to dramatic play, to building blocks. As early learning experts, our role is not only to design the facilities to accommodate multiple activities, but also to work with the teacher on how the design of the classroom can enhance their ability to work with each student.
4. Storage, Storage, Storage. With all the required activities in the classroom you need room to store all the supplies, furniture, mats, etc. Personal items like coats and backpacks are stored outside the classroom. That way, cubbies can be eliminated from inside of the classrooms allowing more space for educational activities.
5. Toilet/Sink versus Student/Staff Ratios. One of the primary drivers to the number of students allowed within each classroom is the number of toilet and sink fixtures: 1 water closet and hand wash station per 15 kids. This is out of sync with most adult-to-student ratios of 1 adult per 10 kids, with a typical classroom targeting between 15-18 kids. Understanding these differing ratios is critical to maximizing fixture count to serve the targeted number of students, and avoid limiting a classroom capacity because these numbers are not in alignment.
Small children need more supervision, so having a bathroom accessed directly from their space is an important consideration. Efficient toilet and sink layout allows for more time to be spent on educational activities and less time standing in line waiting for a turn to wash hands.
6. Outdoor Play and Connection to Nature. Access to the outdoors is essential because at this age children learn through playing. Introducing a variety of interactive, sensory-rich activities in an outdoor learning environment provides access to the outdoors that many of the students may not have at home. Early experiences with the natural world have been positively linked with the development of imagination and the sense of wonder, not just gross motor skill development, so outdoor play is especially important for children with special needs.
7. Food Service. Students eat within their room, family style. Learning how to navigate meals in a group setting is critical to social development.
8. Special Needs. You should design the entire center with special needs in mind and consider lighting quality, acoustics, and materials for safety. The types of materials used in spaces are extremely important for creating emotional and physical interaction. Kids learn through all their senses, but touch is considered the most influential for children under the age of three. Thus thoughtful selection of materials that children can interact with while also holding up over time is imperative.
9. Multi-use Spaces, Shared Spaces, and Flexibility. Many ELCs are co-located at the same campus as elementary schools allowing for shared facilities. Others have 'wrap around care' which means they accept children from 0-3. For this age group, additional spaces are needed to change diapers, crib rooms, storage for sleeping mats, etc. Classrooms can potentially serve multiple age groups, but there are distinct differences for licensing and building code restrictions for children under the age of three versus children between ages 3-6.
Flexibility of space, an essential feature in any ELC, is exemplified in the 680-student Central Valley Early Learning Center which is housed in a former vacant grocery store along with a 300-student alternative high school, Mica Peak—representing both ends of the PK-12 educational spectrum. Intentional crossover spaces encourage the two programs to build off each other. High school students get credit for working with ELC students. High school art students paint murals for the early learning students and together they build gardens that develop confidence for all students. The symbiotic relationship of these programs is facilitated by the building design, creating opportunities that previously did not exist.
10. The three "S's"… Safety, Security and Scale. ELCs must instill the foundational knowledge that schools are safe and secure places by creating warm, cozy spaces in addition to group activity areas. Within a stable environment, the students will be able to flourish without inhibiting emotions such as fear or uncertainty, interfering with their education. Since these students are not yet literate, the building design must speak to them and assure them these spaces are truly made for them to grow, learn and succeed.
Summary
Early learning is a big deal! There are only 2,000 days between when a child is born and when they begin kindergarten. And as research shows, it is during this time that their most crucial development occurs, forming a solid foundation for the years that follow. Our brains are built based on the environment in which we grow up, and quality learning experiences that begin at birth are the key to a child's success later in life. At NAC, we understand that a well-designed physical environment is a critical component to realizing the full benefits of early learning programming. Whether it's strategic placement of windows and fixtures at a child's level, interactive sensory furnishings that encourage cognitive social development, or the integration of the classroom with outdoor play space that sparks curiosity about nature, we are dedicated to creating enriching environments that support each child's development, instills a sense of safety and security, and is warm and welcoming for the families they serve.
References:
1Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University (2016). From Best Practices to Breakthrough Impacts: A Science-Based Approach to Building a More Promising Future for Young Children and Families. http://www.developingchild.harvard.edu
2First 5 California. (n.d.). Child's Brain Development. Retrieved September 25, 2017, from First 5 California: http://www.developingchild.harvard.edu
3Jones D. E., Greenberg M., Crowley M. (2015). Early social-emotional functioning and public health: The relationship between kindergarten social competence and future wellness. American Journal of Public Health, 105(11), 2283–2290.
4Schweinhart, L. J., & Weikart, D. P. (1993). Success by Empowerment: The High/Scope Perry Preschool Study through Age 27. Young Children, 49(1), 54-58.
5Jones D. E., Greenberg M., Crowley M. (2015). Early social-emotional functioning and public health: The relationship between kindergarten social competence and future wellness. American Journal of Public Health, 105(11), 2283–2290
About the Authors:
Melissa McFadgen, AIA, LEED AP is a Principal with NAC Architecture and has dedicated her 17-year career to designing educational facilities. She has been involved in over 25 Pre-K through 12 school designs, including several early childhood facilities such as the new Central Valley Early Learning Center.
With more than a dozen of her projects having received design awards, Melissa was recently honored as one of the Inland Northwest's "20 Under 40." Melissa holds a Bachelors of Environmental Design and a Masters of Architecture from Montana State University. She has been a licensed architect since 2002 and has focused her career on creating spaces that truly impact the communities in which they reside.
Helena Jubany, FAIA, LEED AP is the Managing Principal of NAC Architecture’s Los Angeles office. Throughout her 30-year career, Helena has advanced her practice by developing a collaborative process that promotes diversity and advocating for outstanding design with a focus on educational facilities that results in award winning projects. Helena’s leadership in K-12 public school projects resulted in an invitation by the World Bank to set design guidelines with the Brazilian Ministry of Education for the development of schools in 19 Brazilian States.
