Room: D137-138

Audience: Architects, Engineers, Specialized Consultants, Facilities Personnel, Educators, School Administrators, Educational Policymakers, Community Stakeholders

Call to Action: Through the realization of the key focus of change, attendees will receive a vast amount of no cost or low cost actions to begin the successful transformation of their personalized journeys. The clarity of how we gather directs critical decision making for success.

Abstract: Leaning on last year’s successful conversations and interactive demonstrations surrounding the 5 personas of the learner, the core insight of how we gather in highly collaborative environments, we intend on sharing the successes of our continued research within a variety of educational environments. With this heightened knowledge of these unique insights along with a guideline for professional development of all stakeholders we are seeing a dynamic shift of success when the directive of the educator’s state… “We fully intend on changing teaching and learning in our new spaces.” In this workshop we will share a variety of our recent case studies where we push against the statis quo of physical space by the successful weaving in of the printed mission, vision, values and goals of a school community. We will discuss concepts like the hard substitution of the HOW for the WHY, understanding what the most important attributes of space are as well as the deep discoveries of how massively diverse or learners are. This hands-on workshop is a summary observational research specifically designed to explore the relationships of the critical factors that contribute to creating transformational learning environments. Moreover, this workshop will examine how agile spaces prioritize flexibility, adaptability, and collaboration, and how these principles can be integrated into the design of all educational spaces. By the end of this workshop, attendees will have a deep understanding of the relationship between the key factors that contribute to creating successful transformational learning environments. This body of work not only revolves around over 50 years of combined educational observations and research but also dives into the challenges and discoveries of the presenter’s journeys which have been enhanced with by power of a designer and an educator uniting to challenge all things school.

Learning Objectives:

1. Apply the key concepts of proxemics, cultural relevance, and agile spaces to the design of collaborative spaces in their own educational setting in order to promote student-centered learning and success for teachers in implementing student-centered practices.
2. Learn about the principles of agile spaces and their benefits in promoting engagement, productivity, and creativity as well as inclusion, agency and well-being in educational settings.
3. Describe the impact of proxemics on creativity, innovation, and teamwork in collaborative spaces.
4. Gain an understanding of the relationship between cultural relevance and proxemics in the design of inclusive and supportive learning environments.