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With increasing numbers of learning environments being specifically designed to accentuate the emerging focus on learning and collaboration, some fundamental principles are beginning to emerge.
1. The challenge is to make the spaces adaptable, as by their very nature, each space is designed for flexibility rather than for a specific task for a specific individual or length of time spent there.
2. Each learning space that is conceived will be inhabited by diverse groups of learners and educators that vary in ethnicity, age, learning intention, culture, gender, physicality, personality, learning history and relationship capabilities.
3. There will almost always be a continuum of educator practice that will vary, not just from one educator to another but also from one moment to the next.
4. Changes made to learning spaces will not in themselves change educator practice. The reason for this is that we have formed a set of deeply ingrained habits surrounding ‘school’ that will only change if we pursue those changes relentlessly.
5. The type of learning that takes place in any one space will vary considerably, and that rate of learning and unlearning will also vary. Learners will dynamically migrate into and out of groups and look for spaces that are contingent to their needs.
6. As educators, we are increasingly working collaboratively, watching and learning from each other. Educators and learners both need to assess on what changes work well, why we want them and how we can test their efficacy.
It is important that the words of Chris Bradbeer surrounding the criticality of the educator- educator, learner-learner and the educator-learner relationships are kept at the forefront of our planning for spaces and that the overall intent is to better meet the learning needs of learners and educators. The relational aspect of educators working collaboratively after centuries of working in a private space will take time and good communication to adapt to, the new opportunities.
A brief paper written by Mark Osborne for CORE Education, entitled ‘Modern Learning Environments’190 presents four questions that should be reflected on by everyone before schools invest in ILE’s.
1. What is your school’s vision for teaching and learning? Does everyone share this vision? How do you know? Which aspects of your school culture would you like to improve? How would you measure the improvement?
2. What are the key pedagogies required by teachers in the 21st century? Are these the ones in use in your school most days? What systems and processes are in place to help teachers reflect on their own practice and learn from each other?
3. If you were to build a new learning space that reflected your school’s vision and commitment to learning, what would it look like? What would students need to have access to over the course of a day? What activities would they engage in over the course of a day? What technology would be required to support this?
190 Osborne, M. (2013). Modern Learning Environments. Core Education. Retrieved from http://www.core-ed.org/sites/core- ed.org/files/Modern-Learning-Environments-v.1.pdf
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