Giving Compass' Take:

• Tom Vander Ark at Getting Smart interviews Randy Fielding, who shares his ideas on the future of learning environments. 

• How will some of these environmental components drive progress in student achievement?

• Read more about the significance of flexible learning environments. 

Wandering the north shore of Long Island as a boy, Randy loved being outside and building things. He wondered why teachers made him sit in rows and told him where to look and when to talk. That made the five-year-old think there might be a better way to learn.

It was the horror of watching aging but vital communities destroyed and suburban malls being erected that peaked Randy Fielding’s interest in architecture—that and an art class that sparked what became a public exhibition. Randy went on to found Fielding Nair International a global leader in designing learning communities. Having designed an innovative portfolio of schools, Fielding developed a set of big ideas about learning spaces. I recently sat down with Randy and recorded a podcast where you can also listen to his experiences and thoughts on learning environments.

Inclusive Listening. Design principle number one for Fielding is listening to the people who will use the spaces and connecting to place and community. An effective discovery and visioning process include walking and talking with students and teachers.

Vistas. Eyes and brains need a periodic change of scenery, a change in focal length of at least 50 feet away.

Learning Communities. Many teams describe the desire to learn in community.  Collaborative learning environments include large and small spaces, small “nest-like” spaces, and active, wet and messy lab-like spaces with a variety of seating options.

Pilots. To help communities experience these new spaces, Fielding Nair often helps clients develop pilot learning communities, achieved through low-cost renovations, modeling the new learning environment.

Read the full article about the future of learning environments by Tom Vander Ark at Getting Smart.