Embodying an Educational Vision in

School Architecture:

Untangling the Messy Business of

Collaborative Translational Design

Richard Leonard Hayball Architects

Lisa Horton Hayball Architects

Ben Cleveland University of Melbourne

24 August 2017

Embodying an Educational Vision in School Architecture: Untangling the Messy Business of Collaborative Translational Design

The role that ‘translational design’ and

cross-disciplinary collaboration can play

in pursuing new ‘imaginings’ of

educational experience

Caulfield Grammar SchoolMelbourne, Australia

Traditional, Single Cell

Open Plan, Single Space

Connected Cells

Connected Settings

School Spatial Typologies

Adapted from: “School Spatial Typologies” Mary Featherston

Classrooms opening off long corridors

Open, flexible andundifferentiated space

Classroom spaces linked to large breakout space

Diverse, discrete but connected spaces

“The design of school spaces is intrinsically tied to education philosophies, as built pedagogies”

Monahan, 2001

Camberwell High School, Enterprise Centre, Hayball Architects

PedagogyLearning

environment

Resources/ICT

Furniture

Interior design

Building structure

Behaviours

Activities

Practices

Philosophy

Aligning pedagogy and learning environments

What do you want to be able to do?

How can the environment be designed to support that?

Cleveland, B., & Soccio, P. (2013). Research report. Development and pilot testing of the School Spaces Evaluation Instrument (SSEI): Module 2 – Technical Performance Evaluation/Indoor Environment Quality (IEQ) & Module 3 – Alignment of Pedagogy and Learning Environments (Catholic Education Office Melbourne). Melbourne: The University of Melbourne.

Source: “Approaching spatio-pedagogical projects” – Cleveland, 2011

Educators and Designerscommon ground

What do we mean by space?

Carey Baptist Grammar School, C4L&I

Adapted From: “How Buildings Learn” - Stewart Brand

What do we mean by space?

“Over 50 years, the changes within a building cost 3 times more than the original building”

Frank Duffy, DEGW

Layers of Space1. The Building Shell

The 3 Layers of SpaceSource: Mary Featherston

Layers of Space2. Fit-Out & Furniture

The 3 Layers of SpaceSource: Mary Featherston

The 3 Layers of SpaceSource: Mary Featherston

Layers of Space3. Loose Items & Artefacts

10

Learning

Settings

1

Learning Activity

2

Group Size

3

Spatial Layout

4

Acoustics

5

Visibility

6

Fitout

Functional RequirementsFor learning settings designed to support varied activities

Source: “PPP-2 Brief, Victoria” – DET + Dr Julia Atkin

Caulfield Grammar School, The Learning Project

Taxonomy of Learning Settings

Caulfield Grammar School, The Learning Project

Case StudyCaulfield Grammar SchoolMelbourne, Australia

Caulfield Grammar Campuses

Malvern

15.6km

Wheelers HillCaulfield

4.9km

Project DriversWhat did the school want to achieve?

• Learning MUST be a social experience

• Learning spaces are about what the student gets, not what we (the teachers) get

• The most important thing that can move in a classroom is a student, not furniture

The Learning Project

Project DriversWhat pedagogy did the school seek?

• Our biggest challenge, especially for reluctant staff

• Easier for staff to think in the context of what works for them, and on their terms,

rather than what the student needs

• New learning spaces require new pedagogical thinking and approaches

• Need to make pedagogy work in the space provided rather than make the space do

something it was not intended to do

• Don’t get caught up in technology, spend time thinking about pedagogy

• New settings = new pedagogical approaches apply

• Potentially the biggest challenge for staff

Aligning Space and PedagogyCan the Environment Facilitate Change?

1. Launch Pad(briefing & brainstorming)

2. Studio(Researching & inquiring)

3. Workshop(making & doing)

4. Hub(meeting and sharing)

Exploring Learning ActivitiesDefining Learning Settings

• Making and doing• Media production• Presentation and Performance

• “Sticky Spaces”• Meeting and Mentoring• Independent Study

• Research and Inquiry• Individual and Small Groups• Technology Rich / Virtual Spaces

• Research and Inquiry• Individual and Small Groups• Technology Rich / Virtual Space

WORKSHOP

HUB

STUDIO

LAUNCH PAD

Caulfield Grammar School, The Learning Project

Caulfield Grammar School, The Learning Project

Caulfield Grammar School, The Learning Project

The Lounge

Staff Setdown

The Launching Pad

Interconnected Settings

Pit Stop

Workshop

Courtyard

The Kitchen Table

Presentation Nook

Collaborative Studio

Project OutcomesWhat the researchers found:

1. Space does have an impact

2. Students enjoyed learning more in the new environments (but “new” effect?)

3. Disparity of effective student use (students need to learn spatial literacy too?)

4. Impact on teacher practice…..identified by students

5. General positive trend in higher student performance (but statistically small)

6. Increased instance of collaboration, differentiation and student movement

7. Teachers felt that “students had a wider choice of autonomy”….”students were

able to move to and work with working buddies”

8. Staff need more time to plan project-based learning

9. No effect on use of digital technologies

10. “the change in space required a mind-shift change in how teachers plan, devise

assessment and co-operate within the POD”

Project OutcomesWhat the school said:

1. Multi-modal learning and changed teaching pedagogy improve student ownership

of learning

2. True Multi-modal learning needs more space than traditional classrooms

3. Immersion is the experience that works best in producing changed pedagogy

4. Once you have taught this way “you can’t go back”

5. Parent engagement and culture change are the keys

6. The learning project is “culture changer”

7. Middle managers have taken ownership and delivered further improvements

8. Spending 2 – 3 years on pedagogical change before the learning project was

essential

9. The buildings project cultural change that is the whole package – but pedagogy

must be different

10. Teachers are challenged by the area as are parents….but adults are following children…and they can change quickly!

This research is supported under Australian Research Council's Linkage Projects funding scheme (project LP150100022). The views expressed

herein are those of the authors and are not necessarily those of the Australian Research Council.