Call to Action: 

• Audit Your Current Space: Conduct a walkthrough of your current learning environment, using insights from the session to identify areas where design, time, and space can be optimized to improve learning outcomes.
• Facilitate Collaborative Design Conversations: Organize a design session with teachers, students, and administrators to explore how flexible time and spatial configurations can enhance learning experiences, drawing from the Garden City model.
• Prototype and Pilot a Change: Choose one actionable takeaway (e.g., a flexible classroom setup or a new time-blocking structure) and pilot it in a small setting, documenting its impact and iterating based on feedback.

Abstract: Join us for a hands-on, dynamic session exploring the innovative design and operation of Garden City School, a learning environment built to elevate teaching and learning. Early in the conference, participants will have watched a series of short films that document the school’s design journey, including a drone flythrough, insights into how the building enhances education, and perspectives from students and staff. This session offers a unique opportunity to go deeper, featuring an interactive discussion with Garden City’s principal, Bryan Byerlee; a teacher from the school; and Nathan Strenge from Fielding International. We will share key lessons from the school’s two-year journey—covering pre-opening planning, design implementation, and ongoing development—along with actionable strategies to apply these concepts in your own practice. Participants will have the chance to rewatch and reflect on specific films in breakout groups, discussing practical applications and innovations that can transform their own learning spaces. Walk away equipped with new insights into how time, space, and pedagogy work together to inspire meaningful change in education.

Learning Objectives:

1. Understand the Impact of Design on Learning: Explore how Garden City School’s innovative design enhances student-centered learning and supports collaborative teaching practices.
2. Examine Time-Space Integration: Learn how time and spatial configurations interact to create flexible, interdisciplinary learning environments.
3. Apply Lessons from Real-World Practice: Identify key strategies from Garden City’s planning and implementation process that can be adapted to your own school or project.
4. Develop an Action Plan: Create a personalized action plan for assessing and redesigning your learning spaces to better align with educational goals.