Friday, 25 May 2007

Understanding of Physical Environmnet of Learning Space

STOP -> GO -> IDEAL

  • Open, sunny, airy - rethink design of new schools to exploit natural energy use.
  • Visually mentally stimulating - aesthetically pleasing, CLEAN environment.
  • Each student connected to wireless.
  • Individual space for each student (own workspace) as well as opportunity for group / collaborative work and social interaction.
  • Physical arrangement of classroom – no longer teacher centred; ‘desks facing the blackboard’ etc. Circular, or cluster desks (Vygotsky; Zone of Proximal Development)
  • Expand the use of resources - why confine learning to the classroom? Wireless is your blackboard – take lessons outside on a nice day. Go on virtual excursions.
  • Ideal learning space would be environmentally sustainable. We need to rethink design for example; lights in the middle of the day are often not necessary. Solar power – schools are relatively large blocks of land – find somewhere for solar panels and storage of energy. Likewise with water collection and storage.

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