The GoalAs education in the 21st century takes on different approaches to meet the skills necessary for student success it is vital to explore the strategies to meet these needs. Active learning pedagogies, student-centered learning, integration of technology, and physical learning spaces are all worth consideration. This problem brief aims to explore possible solutions to help teachers foster a culture of collaborative inquiry through utilizing and creating functional learning spaces.
The StakeholdersWhile recognizing many different stakeholders in the education process, the purpose of this brief is to provide teachers, administrators, and other education leaders with the tools, resources and knowledge imperative for designing effective learning spaces.
|
Framing the ProblemAccording to Jonassen (2000), "problem solving is not a uniform activity. Problems are not equivalent, in content, form, or process" (p. 65).
The nature of our problem proves to be ill-structured as Tobias and Duffy (2009) state "in an ill-structured domain, repeatable "procedures" do not exist to be provided to the learner. Rather procedures must be inferred to fit the situation at hand based on a fresh compilation from existing procedural fragments and other related knowledge" (p. 112), and therefore we feel a constructivist approach (design model) best fits our problem. Comparison of a traditional classroom vs. Learning Studio (Modern classroom) (Herman Miller, Inc., 2008, p. 3).
|
The Problem ResearchAs many classrooms today are set up for traditional teaching methods it is essential that our physical learning spaces support and reinforce a more interactive learning approach. We learn from Dove (2017) that, “The Learning environment becomes the structure, the tool, the community that inspires students to not only attain knowledge but the necessary 21st century skills necessary for the future”.
How does the learning space inhibit collaborative inquiry?
|
“We need spaces that let students create, not just consume”.
(Whenham, 2017)