Earlier this summer, the 6th grade math and science teachers in my STEM magnet program came to me, excited about their plans for the new school year. They were going to be teaching right next to each other. While they are used to collaborating on interdisciplinary units of study, they were talking on this day about the interdisciplinary use of space. The math teacher pointed out the floor space in front of their classrooms. She said, "We can have our doors open, and the students can flow from room to room and out into the halls to work on projects." She and the science teacher were super excited about this idea of free-flowing learning space and the learning possibilities it opened up. You know how when the bell rings in a middle school or a high school, there are a few minutes of chaos, then usually, serious quiet? I really hate that! I don't like hallways that are silent. What if the doors were open? What if students were encouraged to go out into the hallways and non-traditional learning spaces in their schools and work alone or collaboratively to solve problems or create something to show what they have learned? Maybe they would get the message that a learning space doesn't have to have four walls and a board. What if classrooms of different disciplines were open simultaneously so that students could go into the classroom that might have the resources they need to learn in order to complete the project or assignment they had, and they had the freedom to go from room to room to take advantage of those resources? Maybe kids would get the point that the world doesn't compartmentalize. Problems usually have many facets that need to be understood before they can be solved. Taking it up a notch, what if schedules were flexible enough to allow this kind of free-flowing learning to take place; flexible in such a way that students could have the time they needed to work on bigger projects that require deeper learning for a particular class or interdisciplinary project? Administrators and who ever does the master schedule might literally freak out! I am blessed to have teachers in my program who try to find new ways to use their learning spaces and time. With all the technology we have available now, and especially in a 1 to 1 environment, there is no reason to tie students to the room. They can carry the tools with them! I intend to explore the idea of free flowing learning space and flexible scheduling this year. Here are some resources I have been looking at to get started. Please feel free to add links and ideas in the comments if this interests you as well. Let's help our students fearlessly open the doors to their learning!
Designing Learning Spaces
Scheduling
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