Learning space or learning setting is a physical setting for a learning environment, a place in which teaching and learning occur. It may be an indoor or outdoor location, either actual or virtual. Learning spaces are highly diverse in use, configuration, location, and educational institution. They support a variety of pedagogies, including quiet study, passive or active learning, kinesthetic or physical learning, vocational learning, experiential learning, and others. As the design of a learning space impacts the learning process, it is deemed important to design a learning space with the learning process in mind.
History The word school derives from Greek (), originally meaning "leisure" and also "that in which leisure is employed", and later "a group to whom lectures were given, school"., on Oxford Dictionariesσχολή, Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon, on Perseus The Japanese word for school, gakuen, means "learning garden" or "garden of learning".Tanabata the star festival, 2013. Retrieved 2016-04-06 Kindergarten is a German word whose literal meaning is "garden for the children", however the term was coined in the metaphorical sense of a "place where children can grow in a natural way".
Over time different methods of instruction have led to different types of learning spaces. Direct instruction is perhaps civilization's oldest method of formal, structured education and continues to be a dominant form throughout the world. In its essence it involves the transfer of information from one who possesses more knowledge to one who has less knowledge, either in general or in relation to a particular subject or idea. This method is commonly used in traditional classrooms. The Socratic method was developed over two millennia ago in response to direct instruction in the scholae of Ancient Greece. Its dialectic, questioning form continues to be an important form of learning in western schools of law. This method is commonly used in seminar rooms and smaller lecture halls. Hands-on learning, a form of active and experiential learning, predates language and the ability to convey knowledge by means other than demonstration, and has been shown to be one of the more effective means of learning and over the past two decades has been given an increasingly important role in education. This method is used in outdoor learning spaces, specialty labs, studios, vocational shops, maker spaces, and in physical education facilities.
Institutions Institutions that provide learning spaces can be categorized in several ways, including: Student age: kindergarten, elementary or primary school, middle school, secondary or high school Academic level: school, college, university, graduate school Physical, mental, or social development: special education, school for the deaf, school for the blind, etc. Pedagogy: traditional education, progressive education, Montessori, Reggio Emilia approach, Waldorf schools, etc. Subject or focus: STEM, magnet school, vocational or trades school, flight school, sailing school, dive shops, finishing school, etc. Organizational, institutional, or philosophical type: public or state school, private school, independent school, community school, military school, parochial school Location: neighborhood, distance learning, online or virtual school or classroom, outdoor school or classroom
Organizational models
Learning environments are frequently organized into six pedagogical and physical models: Departmental model Integrative model Project-based learning model Academy model Small learning communities model School-within-a-school model
Significance
The physical, and/or virtual, characteristics of learning spaces play a strong role in their effectiveness and, by impacting student learning, on society. As Winston Churchill stated: "we shape our buildings and afterwards our buildings shape us."Churchill and the Commons Chamber, Architecture of the Palace. Retrieved 2016-04-03
The importance of interactions between individuals and their environment have long been established by Kurt Lewin's field theory and life space, Urie Bronfenbrenner's concept of microsystem, Jean Lave and Etienne Wenger's situated learning theory, and others.Learning Styles and Learning Spaces: Enhancing Experiential Learning in Higher Education, Alice Y. Kolb and David A. Kolb, Academy of Management Learning & Education, Vol. 4, No. 2 (Jun., 2005), pp. 193-212. Retrieved 2016-04-08 Rearch continues to show us that active learning, and learning spaces configured to support active learning, contribute to more effective learning and encourage different methods of instruction.Space and consequences: The impact of different formal learning spaces on instructor and student behavior, D. Christopher Brooks, University of Minnesota, 2012. Retrieved 2016-04-10
Spatial characteristics Learning spaces extend well beyond real-world, "brick and mortar" educational institutions.Learning Beyond the Classroom, introduction, Tom Bentley, Routledge, Dec 6, 2012. Retrieved 2015-04-07 They are increasingly varied in style, configuration, and location. Their physical characteristics include many variables, including size, form, and shape; environmental; technological; space type and appropriateness for its intended activity and users; location; and numerous others. A basic tenet of learning spaces housed in buildings is to provide shelter, although many facilities from campuses to portable classrooms, do not provide shelter between individual spaces. Outdoor learning spaces rely on clothing and personal items to maintain comfort. The location of the learning space affects both its functional and operational interrelationships with other spaces, student and instructor cohorts, learning programs, and support spaces. The proportion of a space's height-width-length can affect the ability of learners to see instructional or demonstration material or the presenter. The orientation of the space towards adjacent spaces or the outdoor environment can affect activities, thermal comfort, as well as daylight penetration (if any) at different times of the day. Increased demand for flexibility and adaptability have seen greater use of (operable partition walls) to combine and separate spaces. Safety and security in schools, including major incidents of violence, bullying, and vandalism have led to increased use of security monitoring systems, strategies such crime prevention through environmental design (CPTED), and sometimes competing discussions of transparency versus visible lockdown of learning spaces.
Temperature
Thermal comfort of a learning space is important for student comfort, and therefore learning. This is affected by several factors: ambient room temperature, air movement (via open windows, mechanical ventilation, drafts across cold surfaces, and room fans), and solar exposure. Insulating windows, shaded windows, and careful placement of ventilation ducts can all affect the comfort.Thermal Comfort, Green Education Foundation. Retrieved 2016-04-08The Importance of Thermal Comfort in the Classroom, Patrick Sullivan and Allen Trujillo, United States Military Academy, West Point, 2015. Retrieved 2016-04-08
Ventilation
Appropriate levels of ventilation is critical to occupant health, comfort, and cognitive functions, all required for effective learning. Recent studies at Harvard University and Syracuse University reported significant cognitive impairment from impurities in the air. Significant cognitive deficits were observed in performance scores in environments with increasing concentrations of either volatile organic compounds (VOCs) or carbon dioxide. The highest impurity levels reached in the study are not uncommon in some classroom or office environments. Filtering the air to reduce dust and pollen can be important to help prevent allergic reactions in students.
Views Theories that views out of windows cause distractions were one of the prime motivations for the windowless classroom of the 1960s and 70s. More recent studies have demonstrated that views of nature potentially improve health and well-being and that more stimulating environments foster improvements in learning and retention. Ophthalmologists have stressed the importance of distant views to help relax the eye engaged in close work, such as on a video or computer monitor. Attention Restoration Theory suggests that views of natural scenes have the potential to restore a person's ability to focus and concentrate after intense cognitive activity.Windows and Classrooms: A Study of Student Performance and the Indoor Environment, Technical Report, California Energy Commission, October 2003 . Retrieved 2016-04-10
Natural light
Natural light in any space can be provided through windows, doors, or skylights. Providing natural light has been shown to be highly impactful on a learning space. Properly controlled and located, it has been demonstrated to have measurably positive impacts on student academic performance and behavior. If not properly controlled and located, it can interfere with abilities to read, view demonstration materials, or cause physical discomfort. Control methods include fixed or adjustable window coverings, exterior sunshades, interior light shelves, or dimmable "Smart glass".
Light
For those learning spaces that don't have access to adequate natural light, artificial light is required to support effective learning. Lighting levels, type, color rendition, and fixture type are all important components for different learning styles and activities. Classrooms with direct instruction require different levels of illumination than those using computer or video monitors. Specific task lighting may be required to supplement general room lighting in science labs, vocational shops, or gymnasia. Color rendition and color temperature (the perceived color of light) can affect student moods and the educational content or project (e.g. art project). As with natural light, personalizing the lighting through manual occupant controls can provide the greatest flexibility and user satisfaction.
Acoustics
Research has shown that children require much quieter learning spaces with less reverberation to hear and understand spoken words than do adults. Even normal, healthy listeners younger than 13 have a much more difficult time distinguishing verbal signals from background noise. Students who have hearing loss (e.g. from ear infections), who are learning a new language, or have auditory or attention problems required even more favorable acoustics in order to understand speech. In response, acceptable limits of background noise in classrooms have been reduced to 35 dBA and 55 dBC by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI).
Finishes The finishes of walls, floors, ceilings, and furniture can have significant effects on the functionality, durability, and effectiveness of the learning space. Light levels, glare, mood, and color rendition are affected by reflectance of surfaces. Acoustics are affected by the absorptive properties of ceilings, walls, and floors; carpet reduces footfall impact noise and reverberation; painted drywall or plaster ceilings increase reverberance and clarity of speech. Durability, which affects aesthetics over time, can determine the longer term usefulness and effectiveness of the space, including possible long-term health impacts on students. Cleanliness is also a factor in maintaining a healthy environment, in particular for young students who tend to be in greater physical contact with floor and wall surfaces than others.Classroom Design Guide, Arizona State University, 2011 . Retrieved 2016-04-09
Furniture