Page 43 - LearningSCAPES 2021

SESSIONABSTRACTS continued...
Taryn Kinney, AIA, K-12 Education Leader, Principal, DLR Group
Taryn is a native Texan who has successfully led the strategy, visioning, planning, and design of more than two million SF of learning space nationally and internationally. She enjoys sharing knowledge from her experiences and creating connections
to implement exceptional learning environments. During Taryn’s 18 years of developing facilities to support new educational models she has seen her clients face increasingly complex challenges. Taryn joins her clients in their journey to define unique responses to external and internal challenges through evidence-based practice. She incorporates current developmental research, environmental psychology, and organizational psychology to design facilities that respond to human learning and behavior.
Anton Blewett, K-12 Education Planner, Senior Associate, DLR Group
In a strained education system where innovation is often reserved for those with the means to afford it, Anton works to level the playing field on which students establish the foundations of their lives. Having been raised in Silicon Valley, Anton knows firsthand that progress can often leave the majority behind; his work in partnership with school districts seeks a genuine transformation in both spaces and methods of K-12 education. By touching on design for inclusivity and equity, Anton’s work yields community-driven schools which support social and emotional learning, as well as the health and wellbeing of our teachers.
Friday, October 15, 2021 - 2:15 pm – 3:15 pm
I Belong. I’m Secure. I’m Inspired. A Conversation About the Future Classroom
1 LU
Design and learning are intertwined. It is more important than ever (after the COVID-19 disruption and amidst a transition back into in-person learning) that we consider the needs of students and staff in the context of the spaces where learning takes place. Designing learning environments that embrace our students’ psychological, physical, physiological, and cognitive needs will be critical as we plan for today and prepare for tomorrow. This session will look at the needs of future education spaces, highlighting the requirement to create spaces where students can say “I belong”, “I’m secure” and “I’m inspired”. Presenters will discuss design strategies that will influence the learning environment and how these can impact our students’ educational experience.
Learning Objectives:
• Review how the pandemic is giving us the opportunity to rethink how we “do school” with a critical eye on students’ social emotional well-being.
• Define 3 interior design strategies that will influence the materials, functions, and features of the future classroom.
• Connect the dots between these design strategies and student learning and outcomes.
• Evaluate spaces for inclusivity (I belong), accessibility (I’m secure) and functionality (I’m inspired).
Patricia Cadigan, M.Ed., Director of Learning Environments
As a veteran teacher and school administrator, Patricia is passionate about learning. From young children to adults, she believes we are learning every day and we need to make the most of it.
She is passionate about providing the best opportunities for students. Working in public schools for 28 years, she observed and supported the many ways students learn. As each year clicked along, it was apparent that there was a growing divide between student engagement and the delivery of content and relevant resources. As a school bond director, she was asked to transform learning environments to meet the needs of students and teachers. She had to connect the dots between teaching, learning, and resources in the classroom. Even though the work was challenging, she learned first-hand that the design of a classroom makes a difference in how teachers teach and how students learn. In the past 18 months, she has researched and written continuously about the need to rethink our classrooms for the future.