Grammar Gazette- Issue 2, 2011

grammar gazette SPRING 2011

Contemporary learning places

As the School plans for its future in this veritable blitzkreig of communications technology, there is a refined appreciation of form and function in designing learning places that will enhance educational practice, as Fisher (2007) in his article, Pedagogy and Architecture , explained: In the knowledge-age era ─ where students are engaged through technology-rich and collaborative learning . …the classroom requires a rethinking of the egg-crate model that has been extant since the industrial revolution. Wireless and mobile computing devices have at last provided the means to liberate teachers from the constraints of the bounded classroom… On our Brisbane campus, the Cherrell Hirst Creative Learning Centre completed in 2007 is a clear expression of the sort of architectural features that seek to: … promote individualised learning, create settings for innovative teaching, realise the potential that new technologies bring to learning, be environmentally sustainable … (Kosky, 2006) Similarly, the recent regeneration of the School’s Gehrmann Building incorporated more flexible classrooms, versatile furniture configurations, advanced technology and a serious consideration of aesthetics. The operation of both these structures encourages fluid movement of staff and students, collaborative teaching practice, trans-disciplinary investigations and comfortable intellectual and social spaces for the exchange of ideas, reflection and relaxation.

raditionally, schools have provided places for learning that have reflected a frugal and utilitarian approach in the design and fabric of their spaces and buildings. The mass elementary education that emerged in the late nineteenth century in Western Europe was served by buildings and furnishings similar in shape and scope to the contemporary factories with little natural light, crowded conditions and children placed in ordered rows. Memorisation and recitation, arithmetic and tables were the substance of teaching. Obedience, learning your place in the social hierarchy, diligence, punctuality, routine and conformity were demanded as these were the qualities fundamental to the new industrial economies. Across the twentieth century and especially after World War II, social and economic developments produced significant educational reforms that transformed curriculum. It is in the last two decades however that a significant change has occurred in our understanding of learning. This has occurred partially through an improved understanding of neuroscience and has been driven by the accessibility of dynamic information and communications technology. Educators must now consider the implications of the ways in which the production of knowledge has become more fluid and horizontal through the agency of ‘social media’. The reality of the digital revolution is that it demands more sophisticated teaching strategies and a fresh approach to learning places. In this School, our understanding of exceptional scholarship requires the cultivation of self-agency, imaginative and original thinking, research, reflection, project management, strategic problem solving and the ability to collaborate in teams—skills which will enable our students to thrive in the world as it exists today and to create their futures with unflagging curiosity and confidence.

Of course, contemporary learning places are not just about the clever design and use of buildings, they encompass the virtual world of information and communications technology—especially those flexible and powerful portable devices that provide immediate access to global repositories of information and data. With such powerful technology, places for learning are boundless—in homes, on trains, in cafés, shopping centres, local libraries—available anywhere, anytime, whenever an individual seeks information, or wishes to communicate or exchange ideas. As educational experiences seek to connect with the local and global community, schools are becoming permeable, innovative and exciting places of learning not isolated, static bastions reworking yesterday’s axioms. Overseas developments have, in fact, advocated ‘place-based’ learning: ...student-driven, project-based explorations of local environmental issues, social questions, cultural heritage or civic leadership. Students...apply their learning to solve ‘real’ problems, catalyse change... (Vital Venture, 2011)

This philosophy not only resonates with the concept of ‘authentic’ learning advocated by the Australian Curriculum but with educational practice in this School and our new Strategic Design. The rich possibilities of what may constitute contemporary learning places are central to our plans for the future ensuring our young women are positioned to engage optimally in their learning, with each other and the world. While buildings can enable and enhance the educational experience it is always the quality of the human interactions within the walls and spaces (real and virtual) that is most important. Schools will retain the traditional roles of custodial care, skills building and credentialing while strengthening the creative impulse and the ability to deal with the complexity and ambiguity of contemporary living.

MISS FELICITY WILLIAMS, DEPUTY PRINCIPAL EMERITA

REFERENCES Fisher, K. Pedagogy and Architecture in Architecture Australia , Sept/Oct 07, pp55.

Kosky, L (2006) in foreword to Building Futures: Caring for Your Child , Dept of Education and Training, Victoria http://vitalventure.gmri.org/in-the-classroom/instructional/methods/placed-based-learning/ Retrieved 30 August, 2011.

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