Current and future trends in the design of school buildings - PowerPoint Presentation

Slide1

Current and future trends in the design of school buildings and classroom environment in Iceland

Anna Kristín Sigurðardóttir, University of Iceland, aks@hi.is

Tartu

City

in

Estonia

October

22, 2015Slide2

Agenda

BackgroundDesign of the school buildings – trends in the 21st centuryThe link between pedagogy and design (open plan schools and traditional schools)Pupils’ and staffs’ attitudes

MenntavísindasviðSlide3

Icelandic school system

Preschools

1 – 5

Municipalities

Compulsory schools

6 – 16

Municipalities

Upper secondary

schools

16 – 19

State

Universities

State

/ privateSlide4

Individualised learning – and student

collaboration- emphasised since 2000 in many policy documents

to deal with different tasks that suit their learning ability, increased responsibility for their own learning, to make individual plans for their learning,

to work in active collaboration with their schoolmates,different ways of working according to their own learning style or interest.to make decisions about their learning (such as choose of tasks or ways of working)

and participate in decisions about the school work.

Measurement tool for individualised learning (2005). Reykjavik City Department of Education) Slide5

The study: Teaching and learning in Icelandic schools

Sample of 20 primary and lower secondary schools (6 – 16 years old).

Six strands: student learning, teaching methods, physical learning environment, parents involvement, leadership and attitudes. Focus: Individualised learningMethods: Observations

on site including classroom observations in 1st–10th grades (N=385); photographs, screening of drawings, open descriptions and quantitative data about teaching methods

Electronic surveys

among school staff (N=823), students (N=1824) and parents (3481). Statements about different aspects of practice and attitudes

Interviews

with leaders, teachers, IT staff, school librarians and studentsSlide6

Sigurðardóttir, A. K. and Hjartarson, T. (2011).

Drawings

: ARKÍS

ehf

New wave of open plan schools

Designed for team-work, more open approach, transparency, flexibility and individualised learning.Slide7

Open plan schools were built in many countries around the world, ca. 1965 – 1975/1980.

They were changed into traditional arrangement rather quickly.Now is a new wave of open plan schools.

WHY?

What are the differences in pedagogy?Slide8

20

th

century school environment Slide9

A school with a cluster of classrooms

Home economics, natural sciences, languages,

special needs, music

Social hall

Art and crafts

Sport

facilitiesSlide10

Teachers workroom is in each cluster in order to encourage collaboration

.Slide11

Different colors are used to separate the clusters.Slide12
Slide13

Cluster of classrooms

Layout of new school

@ Studio

StrikSlide14

Open school –Open learning spaces

@ VA-

arkitektarSlide15

Social hall –

Library

-

Canteen

Group 1

Group 3

Group 2

Music and drama

Entrance

Administration

Sport

Ground floorSlide16

MenntavísindasviðSlide17
Slide18
Slide19

MenntavísindasviðSlide20

Schools in the centre of the communitySlide21

Open ways of working by

creating transparencySlide22

Open ways of working by

creating transparencySlide23
Slide24
Slide25
Slide26

Library and media centre in

the centre of the buildingSlide27
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Library and media centre in

the centre of the buildingSlide29

Library and media centre in

the centre of the buildingSlide30

School design and pedagogySlide31

Based

on descriptions from

observation, the classrooms were categorises in open plan classrooms, traditional classrooms, team-teaching in traditional classroom layout and other. Comparison were made between the open plan classrooms and traditional classrooms.

Comparison was made between those who claimed, in the survey

, that they taught only or mostly in open plan classrooms and those who taught only or mostly in traditional classrooms.

MenntavísindasviðSlide32

Classroom arrangement by student level of age classroom observation N = 383

%Slide33

I teach only or mostly in ….Teachers responses to a questionnaire N = 582

%Slide34

Teaching methods according to teachers‘ responds in twenty schoolsSlide35

Teachers working only or mostly in

open

plan

classroom

seem to use

less

direct

instruction and

more

project work,

drama

and

learning

games. Slide36

Differences between open plan classrooms and traditional, based on teachers responses (Spearman r)

Open plan

vstraditional

Individualised learning4 items alpha = 0.79

Adapt towards student’ needs

6 items alpha = 0.84

Collaboration

6 items alpha = 0.93

Satisfaction with student’ facilities

7 items alpha = 0.83

Teachers’ satisfaction

7 items alpha = 0.83

,324

**

,116

*

ns

ns

,108

*

*p<0.01; **p<0.05

In open plan classrooms are more developed individualisation, more teachers collaboration and the teachers are more satisfied with facilities for students.

Teachers are equally satisfied with the environment and claim it is equally easy or difficult to

adapt

it towards students needs. Slide37

Proportions of teachers who claimed it easy (totally, very or rather) to adapt different environment conditions towards individual students’ needs (n = 401 – 411).

%Slide38

How often or rarely are students in your class allowed to choose tasks/ subjects?

%Slide39

Workstations

in open plan classrooms

“a carousel“Slide40

Pupils choice

In all schools a „carousel“ was used to increase variety in pupils tasks.

T: It is the carousel that I called pupils‘ choice.Q: Yes.T: Which is of course no choice because they are not choosing anything. Q: No

T: They just go to the workstations in groups.Q: Can they choose between tasks within the stations?

T: No, it is totally under our control.

(Teacher in grade 4 in school C)Slide41

I

work with colleagues daily or many times per day about: Slide42

Those who agree to the statements

%Slide43

About team teaching

We have been team teaching for about one year .. . I was sceptical in the beginning … but now I like it very much … easier, less stress and much more fun.

Teacher in grade 2 in school A Slide44

Teachers satisfaction or dissatisfaction with the acoustic

in open plan classroom and traditional classrooms. (χ2(1, N = 442) = 5,3,

p < 0,05). Slide45

How well does the current classroom environment, which you work in most of the time, suit your ideal teaching methods? Slide46
Slide47

Pupils voice (grades 5 – 7)

Pupils are in general satisfied with the building.

Just, it is simple, easy to know where you are

.

It is open but still closed. Also not too big. One can always get some peace but at the same time one can see everything. One can see if someone is there or there. Then it is also two floors.Slide48
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Where is the best place to be? Pupils voice

They liked most their (base) classrooms but the must fun was were their favorite subject was taught. They liked to be able to go to more peaceful and quiet spaces once in a while, warm and cozy with plants and sofas. They also wanted to be able to sometimes, choose how they work.

Menntavísindasvið

Second best (after the library) is the art room, so many items and it is good to think there, also colorful, but still clean.Slide50

Computers are rarely used in their study – pupils voice

The computers are extremely slow, it takes about half an hour to get in.

If we know nothing and the teacher do not know it, then we google it. Slide51

Students in upper secondary schools (Anna Kristín Sigurðardóttir, 2015)

Students value learning environment that gives them to some kind of flexibility. They

like to sit in groups where they can choose to work or consult with other students or not. They also like environment as e.g. in libraries where they can expect a quiet area and various working conditions. They do not value rigid environment for learning, that is crowded, hot and lack flexibility, such as in computer rooms and in traditional classrooms where everyone sit in rows, facing same direction.

There seems to be a big gap between student preferences for a good place for learning

and existing environment in upper secondary schools. Slide52

Proportion of pupils (

N = 1824), staff (N-823) and parents (N = 3481) that were totally, very or rather satisfied with facilities for pupils.

MenntavísindasviðSlide53

Some final remarks

Teachers working only or mostly in open plan classroom seem to use less direct instruction and more project work, drama and learning games. Students are allowed more choice in open plan classroom indicating higher level of individualised learning and also a promising conditions for student centred learning environment

Teachers working in open plan classrooms do collaborate more than those working in traditional classrooms. Slide54

Physical design:

Building design, technology and other material elements.

Organisation:

Structure of staff, schedule, and administrative and district support

Educational culture:

Assumptions and values regarding

educational goals

and methods.

Student dynamics:

Academic motivation and focus, and behaviour.

School environment model

Owens

and

Valesky

(2007

), adopted by Gislason (

2010)Slide55

Thank youSlide56

Referneces

Gislason, N. (2010). Architectural design and the learning environment: A framework for school design research. Learning Environment Research, 13, 127–145.Land

, S., Hannafin, M. J. & Oliver, K. (2012). Student-centred learning environments: Foundations, assumptions and design. Í Jonasson og Land (

eds), Theoretical foundations of learning environments, (2.ed. , p. 3–25). New York: Routledge.

Reykjavík City. 2005). Measurement

tool for individualised learning (2005). Reykjavik City Department of Education)

Sigurðardóttir

, A. K. and Hjartarson, T. (2011).

School

buildings for the 21

st

century. Some

features of

new school buildings in Iceland.

CEPS

Journal, 1

(2), 25–43

.

Sigurðardóttir, A.K. & Hjartarson, T. (in press).

The

idea and reality of an innovative school

From inventive

d

esign

to

established

p

ractice

in a

new

s

chool building.

Sigurðardóttir, A.K., Sigurgeirsson, I. & Sigþórsson, R. (in press).

Teaching Practice in Open Plan and Traditional

Classrooms.