Knocking Down the Walls? No!

It’s not about knocking down the walls; rather it’s how you use the existing structure to remove the old classroom set up with rows of desks which usually make collaborative learning harder. We know many learning set ups today do not support the kind of learning our learners would be engaged in by collaborating with one another in solving real world problems. Then what do we need to do?

(i)           Replace desks with tables to cluster the learners around it.

(ii)          Leave bigger spaces in between tables for them to freely move around safely.

(iii)         Organize field trips (go in for a walk not by bus) to bring the natural world in the classroom, use technology like skype, it gets you outside the classroom.

(iv)         Break down computer labs by taking the computers to classrooms where the learners need them.

In achieving all those listed above, I had a brief speech to the Principal to share with him our consensus; I will share it with you here:

Mr. Principal Sir,

Today schools must not only be designed by the engineers who build them, but as well as the teachers and learners who possess them and spend their entire life in these schools. A well established school must move far from the inflexibility of the static working spaces to an environment that will include collaborations, innovativeness, open spaces while enjoying the teaching/learning process. However, a majority of the learning in our schools as of now is determined by an obsolete pedagogy, a thing that should eventually be forsaken.

It is therefore, imperative to re-strategize and adjust the learning spaces, reshape schools to speak to genuine Learning Buildings, and to show new and more effective rationalities of learning by figuring out how to transform learning environments. This with no doubt will provide an opportunity to grasp contemporary intuition from the learning sciences, brain sciences and neuroscience, a thing that is needed by all.

The major consensus on innovative learning spaces is no longer a basic but a building block for all schools that will meet the demands of the 21^st century learning skills. The pictures below demystify the schools with favorable learning spaces.

Ciao!