1 The Influence of Design on Learning Outcomes Peter C. Lippman, AIA, REFP, and Associate Director, EIW Architects, Perth, Western Australia
John Dewey believed that children learn best by doing, a concept extended in the Reggio Emilia and Montessori approaches, both of which recognize the role of the physical environment in shaping how young children acquire knowledge. To create preschools and kindergartens in which the physical environment is closely integrated with pedagogy and assists both teaching and learning, architects must consult educational theory and practices, study learning environments, and examine architectural precedents to understand which architectural features of schools best encourage children’s engagement and which are counterproductive. Understanding how the physical environment influences and shapes learning requires a comprehensive approach to the programming, planning, and design of schools—an approach in which research plays an integral part. Research can inform the designer about the “transactional nature” of the learning environment—that is, how the physical environment affects the learner. Examples of such research include Barker and Gump (1964), Lippman (1997), and Kennedy and Moore (1998). Before designers create a preschool or kindergarten, they must understand the social and emotional advancements that children are making during these years. In addition, they must understand how influential pedagogical theories—such as constructivist theory and practice theory (Lippman 2011)—describe the role of the physical environment 3