Designing Schools

There are some aspects of great learning spaces that we can’t tie to our early history as a species, at least not well.  They include:

• Effective screening to eliminate audio and visual distractions.
• Lots of different zones or the ability to easily transition from one type of learning to another—or options to move things around some to change things up (humans get bored when spaces don’t change). Spaces are needed for solo learning and processing of recently presented information and for people to chat together and come to a better understanding of materials (think: gathering around a watering hole), for instance.  Sometimes learning requires hands-on spaces like laboratories or design studios and other times, when efficient in person presentation of lots of material is key, nothing works as well as a set of chairs all facing toward the same wall (probably one with a white or black board) – just like the classrooms featured in movies from the 50’s. Spaces that seem to be “owned” by teachers and others belonging to students are also a big, big plus in learning spaces.
• Places to move. Inside, outdoors.  When we’ve had a chance to move, even just a bit, our brains work better.
• Comfortable, ergonomic seats and the option to learn standing up.
• Similar seats for all. When the goal is a sort of collaboration among learners, teachers, and anyone else present, everyone needs to be sitting on chairs whose seats are the same height of the floor (no bar stools for some and regular old seats for others).  Everyone sitting on the floor can also work, but bleachers like at sporting events are out!  When we look physically up to someone they seem more competent, skilled, and capable; the reverse is true for those being looked down at.
• The right lights. Our concentration improves under bluer, brighter lighting; we’re more creative and get along with others better and are less fidgety when we’re in warmer, slightly dimmer light.
• Situation-correct colours. Want students (and teachers) to excel analytically? Avoid even small amounts of the colour red.  Prize creativity?  Feature green shades.  Generally, use colours that are not very saturated but are relatively light, ones like sage greens with lots of white mixed in.  There is some evidence that we learn better in spaces featuring cooler colours than we do in ones where warm colours are more prevalent.
• Learning-aligned temperatures. About 72 degrees Fahrenheit is best, with 40 to 70% humidity.
• Spaces to zoom at Zooming. We talked about best practices for Zooming here.  They include making sure that the heads of all of those participating remotely are, onscreen, about the same size as those present IRL, that the scenes behind people as they speak from wherever they are send the messages about them that they want (for example, the parts of their home that can be seen by others seem neat and therefore they give the impression of being organized), and that any surfaces behind speakers have a pinkish tint—we all look better in front of a pink surface.
• Home-y design—welcoming spaces, nothing too sterile.
• Design that says “education is important.” A leftover space, one that doesn’t seem planned but like it just blew in from the prairie one day does not inspire or encourage learning.  Neither will one where people don’t feel like they belong. Many women and girls get turned off to learning about computer science, for example, because lots of learning spaces for just that are packed with stereotypical “boy stuff” such as empty cans of Mountain Dew, junk food, and posters of science fiction scenes—often they’re just plain dirty and cluttered with old wrappers, etc.