Flexible Learning Environments: Carving Out Space for a Learning Commons

As curriculum shifts toward active learning and collaboration, schools question how to adapt to the new standards within their existing facilities. It is hard to imagine how a school laid out with an ‘egg crate’ plan or grade-level pod design can modify their physical space to incorporate a flexible learning commons without expanding the building’s footprint with an expensive addition.

Because of our background in educational design, renovation, and historic preservation, BVH’s designers and architects have found creative ways to re-think even the most challenging of floor plans. The following are a few strategies to consider:

REMOVE LOCKERS

Now that most students have a laptop and fewer books, many schools are finding that they need very few lockers, if any. In schools where lockers are grouped, this can provide a substantial amount of space for flexible learning. Sometimes even corridors lined with lockers will have enough extra square footage to add narrow work areas. Classrooms that line these areas can also be opened up with overhead doors to expand classroom space.

RECONSIDER THE LIBRARY

A recent middle school client recognized that their facility was no longer receiving enough value out of the large amount of square footage allocated to book storage in their library. BVH redesigned the space into a grade-level learning commons and classrooms. After some additional shifting of spaces, the renovated school had a total of three learning commons supporting the core classrooms for each grade. The former library now has a smaller presence in each commons with stored books available on request. Books are curated depending on what students are currently studying and recirculated to keep the selection fresh and appealing.

For school districts that are not ready to transition to a decentralized library, there are other options. Meeting rooms for group projects or specialized work (i.e. 3-d printing) can be added. Flexible furniture that can be configured into “us, me or we” workspaces can replace heavier, traditional furniture. Also, focusing on acoustics is critical. By using acoustical materials on the ceiling and walls, it is possible to have group interaction co-exist alongside quiet, individual work. Not only does this shift give the school more flexibility in how the library is used, it also better reflects the workplaces students will be experiencing when they graduate.

ACTIVATE THE CAFETERIA 

Like libraries, dining areas take up square footage that could be used for learning when they aren’t being used for lunch. A toe in the water approach could be as simple as changing the furniture. Instead of the typical round tables with eight seats, tables of varying heights and sizes could be used. Add casters and you have the ability to reconfigure the cafeteria into a number of dining, learning or special event options. Next steps might be to add power, data and wall-mounted monitors throughout the cafeteria, so that it is a welcome place for laptop use and presentations. In a more extensive renovation, schools could consider opening up perimeter classrooms with overhead doors to make the cafeteria easily accessible for use as a commons.

REMOVE THE EGG FROM THE EGG CRATE

When schools are laid out with classrooms double-loaded along a corridor, known as the ‘egg crate’ floor plan, adding a learning commons can be particularly challenging. One solution is opening up key classrooms to serve as a commons for the surrounding spaces. In schools that are seeing demographic shifts toward lower enrollment, this may be an easy transition. However, schools that are already using every square inch of teaching space may have to examine their facility utilization more carefully. Instead of classrooms belonging to individual teachers, could the classrooms belong to the grade level and the commons be used for part of the day, everyday? Imagine a space with softer seating, writable walls, mini libraries and larger display monitors. The space could transition throughout the year to be used for hands-on science experiments or a research zone to prepare for a social studies presentation. The good news is that even with the most inflexible floor plans, a design team can find ways to re-configure space to meet the learning goals at your school.

At BVH, we know that adding flexible spaces to schools takes more than a renovation project. The re-design requires change management for everyone, which isn’t easy. However, the outcome is worth the effort. After adding flexible learning spaces, our clients have reported better collaboration among students and teachers, and improved student engagement without compromising test scores.

 

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