Page 45 - 21st Century Competencies: Foundation Document for Discussion

Physical Space: Research supports the notion that where we learn affects the quality of how we learn.
Georgetown University researchers have found that improving a school’s physical environment can increase test scores by up to 11 per cent (cited in P21, 2009, p. 7).
Researchers have identified the features of physical space that effectively support the teaching and learning of 21st century competencies. Schools need to:
• design for flexibility: “Since no one can predict how educational technologies and teaching modalities will evolve, learning spaces must adapt to whatever changes the future may hold. . . . To achieve this flexibility, architects are designing classrooms . . . with moveable furniture and walls that can easily be reconfigured for different class sizes and subjects” (P21, 2009, p. 7). “Maker-spaces” provide space and tools
(e.g., 3D printers, robotics, design software) to enable student creation. Technologies are increasingly mobile, with access provided through wireless broadband. Some thought leaders (e.g., Fielding, Nair, & Lackney, 2005) are creating a new language of school spaces in order to change the mental model, using terms such as “learning studios”, “learning plazas”, “collaboration zones”, and “project-planning rooms”. Flexibility should also be thought of in terms of more “malleable units of time” (P21, 2009, p. 13);
• design to facilitate constructive relationships: School spaces should be designed to promote “cooperation and interaction and reduce the tensions that can lead to inattentiveness, acting up, and bullying. . . . Educators need tools and spaces that enable collaborative planning and information sharing” (P21, 2009, p. 8);
• reconfigure the library as a “hub” of learning: The library should offer places for “formal learning in which large groups can gather”; places for “social learning where teams can collaborate”; and places for “individual learning” (P21, 2009, p. 11). It becomes a place to connect students to the wider world by providing “audio and video communication technologies that build bridges between people and places all over the globe” (P21, 2009, p. 12). Some school libraries are transforming themselves into “learning commons” (an idea pioneered in higher education) that “support learners by providing library resources, IT tools and support, tutoring, and other academic support services all in one central location” while at the same time becoming a “design studio to spur creativity and collaboration” (P21, 2009, p. 12);
Section Four: Implications for Practice 43