The world is changing. The old paradigm of education is undergoing a seismic shift, and today’s students face a vastly different future than their predecessors. They are fundamentally wired differently than any generation before them; they do not know a world without Google, smartphones or instant access to the entirety of human knowledge.
Growing up in a digital world has created students with very little interest in linear thinking and conformity and instead have an expectation of instant and infinitely customizable ways of learning. To meet this expectation, we need to accommodate each and every student in real-time, down to the minute. We call this “hyper-personalized expectations,” and while it can unlock great potential in our learners, schools are only beginning to view the possibilities that come from this new perspective.
To help realize students’ full potential, schools must embrace the opportunity to shape learning around the unique needs of this new generation.
Forward-thinking educators are embracing the idea that every learner has unique talents and weaknesses and deserves the opportunity to find their own path to learning. We need to work with educators to shift the focus from teaching to learning and create spaces where every student has what he or she needs to pursue areas of interest.
Personalized learning demands spaces be set up for lectures in large groups as well as for individual work, small group work, collaboration, and presentation -- all centered around learners, not educators. A variety of spaces, diverse and flexible furniture and reconfigurable areas allow both teachers and learners to shape the environment around students’ unique learning needs.
To create student agency, we’ve begun to design a new type of educational space called a Learning Studio. It is a tapestry of spaces that grounds learners and educators in the possibility that their learning environment can be an essential tool in shaping their experience, rather than it being just the four walls that contain them. Everything, including furniture, technology and operable walls, is multi-functional in the Learning Studio and makes it flexible in every aspect. Students lead their own path to learning while teachers coach the process. The space itself functions as a tool for education rather than a room to sit in.
A typical Learning Studio is designed around a cohort of learners, typically between 125 to 200, and their instructors. Within the Learning Studio, no two spaces follow the same design. Traditionally, equity among the teaching staff was thought to be the highest priority for classroom design. In the Learning Studio, each space is instead designed around a unique need: large group, small group, independent learning, maker space, student storage, intervention, instruction support, calming, curriculum and professional office space.Each Learning Studio also incorporates A/V and technology that enhances its usefulness, and nearly every piece of furniture has wheels and can be moved based on learning needs. Learners and educators have the freedom to work within the Learning Studio and select the spaces and assets that support what’s needed at any given moment. It allows spaces to be flexible and adaptable to students’ dynamically changing needs.
While virtually every educator has started to incorporate some form of personalization into their instruction, there is a long way to go to meet all students’ needs. Programs such as special education, intervention plans, personalized learning plans and gifted and talented programs were created to reach specific subsets of the population, but these programs are targeted at a small segment of learners. Learners in the middle of these groups are still stuck in the traditional classroom model.
Learning Studios can unify students of all ages and backgrounds across the spectrum, from elementary to high school. At the elementary level, there is a need for more flexibility to adapt to different curricula throughout the day and accommodate groups of varying sizes. Learning Studios create an environment that fosters collaboration and offers ample opportunity for children to explore.
The staff and leadership at Centerview Elementary School in Blaine, Minn., wanted to embrace a progressive educational program and create spaces that were flexible, adaptable and celebrated the learning process by providing shared resources that support multiple styles of learning. By incorporating Learning Studios which featured flex learning spaces, presentation space and a “STEM” kitchenette into their design, Centerview was able to create an environment that reflects the district's philosophy and focuses on learning styles rather than teaching preferences.
While Learning Studios accomplish the same functions and goals at both the elementary and high school levels, there are still differences in execution and design. In high schools, students are typically moving from class to class every hour rather than spending most of their time in the same space. This means that Learning Studios must be easily transformed into a highly flexible, reconfigurable collection of scalable, student-focused spaces. Operable walls and thoughtful design of space allow for a combination of environments as modest as a breakout space serving six students up to large cohorts of 90 students.
At Spring Lake Park High School in Spring Lake Park, Minn., for example, implementing Learning Studios into the school’s design supported its goal of deepening personalized learning and re-imagining its science curriculum. The space encourages collaboration and innovation by providing areas that put learning on display. Flexibility plays a key design role, including movable walls, transparency between spaces, flexible furniture and technology implemented to anticipate future needs within the science wing. Learning Studios have since been incorporated in several high schools of the future, including White Bear Lake High School in White Bear Lake, Minn., Owatonna High School in Owatonna, Minn., and Prior Lake High School in Savage, Minn.
The Learning Studio is the classroom of the future. It provides the flexibility to grow and adapt for generations to come, creates an inspiring environment for learners and teachers, contributes to forward-thinking educational programs and sets the stage for truly personalized learning into the 21st century.
This piece was originally published in School Construction News in January 2022 and can be viewed here.
