Recent research has been examining the connection between learning environments and learning outcomes: A team consisting of a pioneering designer, a design educator, and a researcher have worked to ‘prove’ that the design of learning places matter. Mounting...
Research surrounding how we interact with the spaces we spend time in is not a new concept. In recent years, studies have shown that the work environment can impact certain factors like stress levels. Similar studies are beginning to examine educational environments,...
EDspaces is the conference advancing the conversation about the future of learning environments. It is where innovations are unveiled and collaborations form, bringing together education's creative change agents who plan, design and manage innovative...
Educators face a daunting task—preparing the next generation with the knowledge, skills, and attitudes necessary to work toward a more sustainable way of life. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), a collection of seventeen global goals set...
Teachers give us so much. A boost of confidence when we really need one. Extra help when we’re having trouble. A welcoming presence when everything else seems out of control. And though we know we can’t ever thank them enough, we can take a moment during...
Tomorrow’s work environments will likely bear little resemblance to the office spaces of yesterday and today. Open floor plans, co-op workspaces, and remote work are becoming the norm, and more employees are leaving the corporate world to freelance. The rise of the...
Creating change at the school district level is hard. Systemic changes need to be implemented. Educational programs and teaching and learning focus needs to be shifted. Culture needs to be created and supported. These efforts require careful coordination...
In a much celebrated article entitled, Twelve Places to Intervene in a System, Donella Meadows wrote that the power to transcend mindsets or paradigms is the most upstream place to intervene in a system to make positive systemic...
Learning and moving inside and outside the classroom – seems like a simple idea that is easy to do – but we know from research and everyday life that ‘moving’ for well-being is easier said than done. Daily physical activity and movement in schools is a topic that has...
Those of us who are engaged in environmental and sustainability literacy talk a lot about developing a “sense of place,” or a better understanding and appreciation for our immediate environment. This is not an easy task within the confines of a classroom environment....
Odyssey Charter Schools opened their second charter school, OCS-South, in Pasadena, California, last year. Their community presently includes transitional kindergarten through to 4th grade, with the goal of adding an additional grade each year until they...
“We should be focusing on the youngest amongst us” was a statement a friend and experienced educational building architect said to me recently, and it really stuck with me. We were discussing the importance of early learning through the lens of the learning...
For students to thrive now and in their future they need to learn how to become adaptable lifelong learners. Their future will most likely entail having multiple jobs or careers, not one employment stream for life and we need to prepare them for that. In fact they may...
Across diverse contexts, I regularly meet students who are taking action to build a more sustainable future. Whether it’s first-graders designing a rain garden for their playground, middle schoolers educating adults about composting, or high school students advocating...
There’s been a lot of emphasis about creating student centered learning environments for a while now. Here we’re taking a deeper dive into how these environments are the gateway to student-led learning, why that's important, what the intended goals are,...
With all the global climate strikes that have been happening over the last few weeks, it feels like the perfect time to speak up about a sensitive and related issue. First, I’d like to acknowledge the incredible mobilization of nearly 7 million young people and...
Our design team and account managers are spreading their wings over the next week as they attend and present at two very different education and thought leadership conferences.First stop is the EdSpaces conference, held this year in Milwaukee, WI. This is one of the...
In education we talk a lot about 21st Century learning, and this term is linked to acknowledging we are now in a new era, ‘the Innovation Age’. It seems to be generally accepted that we are now moving on from the Information Age that's governed the last 40...
What is One Stone? One Stone launched in 2008 as a nonprofit supporting after school experiential service opportunities for high school students (grades 9-12) seeking deep involvement in sustainable outcomes to improve the greater Boise, Idaho...
Bridgitte, Natural Pods CEO, and Shannon, Director of Operations, recently returned from the LearningScapes conference that took place in California this year. Speaking with them post-conference, they shared they found it incredibly impactful. This is what Bridgitte...