Learning Environments: A Place or a Learning Experience?

This was a real moment of educational innovation. We (students; teachers and parents) hadn’t experienced such a shift in the educational landscape or in our pedagogical practice for decades and although it was a tough start, many schools and educators used this new learning environment to the best of their ability, many skillfully designing learning to suit the new virtual spaces.

It is also true that many educators continue to argue that real innovation happens outside of the building called school and its traditional spaces called classrooms. The questions that have been asked for a while are as follows: What is the impact of the physical environment on learning? How can we organize our learning spaces to stimulate and enhance learning? How can we provide authentic spaces for our students to learn? How can we shape the learning environments to support our learners’ experiences?

“Aside from sleeping, and perhaps playing, there is no other activity which occupies as much of a child’s time as that involved in attending school. Apart from the bedroom where he has his eyes closed (most of the time) there is no single enclosure in which he spends a longer time than he does in the classroom” [1]

Previously, research undertaken on learning environments revealed a number of key aspects believed to support the learning experience of the students. Sanoff (2001) [2] created a classroom rating system highlighting pedagogical elements that play a significant role such as space so students can move freely; flexible areas that can be easily identified; opportunities to work both independently and collaboratively; areas designed to specifically promote collaboration; team- teaching (more than one expert in the room – a guide on the side) all of which combine to enhance learning.

Wolff (2002) [3] similarly identified 22 design features that appeared to have a positive impact on learning and more specifically project-based learning, similar to those previously identified by Sanof.

These are:

•    A variety of learning zones for individual and group work

•    Presentation areas

•    ‘Cave’ Spaces

•    Galleries •    Labs

•    Display areas

•    Access to technology

The research also intimated that financial investment in the physical environment and making visible improvements made that learners feel ‘valued’; that they were being invested in and their learning and what they were doing had significance. This is particularly true where learning environments are viewed as contemporary or cutting edge, it signals a change for the better and that ‘something new, different or unique is happening here.’  The study by Price Waterhouse Cooper (2000) [4] confirmed that there is a relationship between capital investment and student performance.

‘For potential truants, a comparison can be made between the comfort and quality of the school surroundings and those of the local shopping mall – all too often the mall was far superior.’(p162; OECD) [5]