The Educational Ecosystem. New ways to diversify older schools.

The Educational Ecosystem New ideas to diversify older schools

Roel Krabbendam B.Arch M.Ed Doctoral Candidate

Fielding Graduate University

When existing schools are re-organized as Communities of Practice, and teachers are supported with the space to build supportive communities and collaborate with like-minded peers, then existing classrooms are liberated from conformity. They can be radically diversified to support a far greater variety of learning experiences.

To understand the importance of this, consider the rat.

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Learning abilities are developed by access to rich experiences that stimulate the brain.

One of the earliest studies on the effect of the environment on brain development was the work of William Greenough and his colleagues (1987), who compared the brains of rats raised in “complex environments” containing toys and obstacles with those housed individually or in small cages without toys.

They found that rats raised in complex environments performed better on learning tasks, liked learning to run mazes, and had 20–25% more synapses per neuron in the visual cortex.

Many studies since have shown that brain development is experience-dependent.

(Darling-Hammond et al., 2020, p. 112)

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WhyDon’t teachers already re-arrange their private classrooms in order to offer a variety of powerful experiences?

The problem is, they don’t.

How, then, to spatially afford and support a diversity of powerful learning experiences?

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Learning spaces...remained rigid and unchanging despite the opportunity for spatial reorganization. The type of learning space did not make any difference to this rigidity as the lack of flexibility occurred in traditional classrooms, double portable spaces, open learning spaces, and in a new senior building designed with flexibility in mind.

Woodman, 2016, p.63

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Consider the many ways that spaces allow and engage and affect learning experiences:

with affordances: immersion: transporting to another world. inquiry: encouraging curiosity & questions. inspiration: offering new perspectives & possibilities. instruction: efficiently delivering information. interaction: shaping communications. introspection: encouraging contemplation. invention: linking imagination to creation.

and characteristics: itinerant: spaces that attract attention by moving. intersections: multiple uses add meaning & economy. context: the surroundings can also be rich in meaning.

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Now, consider the types of spaces that are possible under each of these categories.

Instead of a static array of identical classrooms assigned to teachers as their private domain, consider transforming these spaces using a diverse menu of possible alternatives.

This is the Educational Ecosystem.

This idea is not new to K-12 schools, but it supports the athletic curriculum, not the academic curriculum. Consider the variety of athletic venues available here: gymnasiums, baseball fields, soccer fields, field hockey fields, lacrosse fields, football fields and stadiums, tennis courts, basketball courts, handball courts, squash courts, volleyball courts, badminton courts, swimming pools, weight rooms, cross-training rooms, climbing walls, running tracks, and playgrounds in all sorts of configurations.

Should the academic environment not be as rich, supportive, and engaging as the athletic environment? Consider these space types in greater detail: 11

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Could these ideas be of service to your community?

Would you be interested in hosting a study that will radically re-imagine your existing school facility?

Could a creative and collaborative workshop engage and inspire your school community?

A number of research projects are available for participation.

Visit https://www.futureofschools.com/research for more information or contact the Principle Researcher at hkrabbendam@fielding.edu

Principle Researcher: Roel Krabbendam hkrabbendam@fielding.edu Dissertation Committee Chair: Dr. J. Edwards jedwards@fielding.edu A doctoral study reviewed and approved by the Institutional Review Board of Fielding Graduate University.

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References

Brown, D. N., & Settoducato, L. (2019, Winter/Spring). Caring for your community of practice: Collective responses to burnout. LOEX Quarterly, 45 (4), 10-12. https://commons.emich.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1346&context=loexquarterly Darling-Hammond, L., Flook, L., Cook-Harvey, C., Barron, B., & Osher D. (2020). Implications for educational practice of the science of learning and development. Applied Developmental Science, 24 (2), 97-140. DOI:10.1080/10888691.

2018.1537791. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/10888691.2018.1537791?needAccess=true Heller, A. S., Shi, T. C., Ezie, C. E. C., Reneau, T. R., Baez, L. M., Gibbons, C. J., & Hartley, C. A. (2020). Association between real-world experiential diversity and positive affect relates to hippocampal–striatal functional connectivity.

Nature Neuroscience. 23, 800–804. https://doi-org.fgul.idm.oclc.org/10.1038/s41593-020-0636-4 Ingersoll, R. M., Merrill, E., Stuckey, D., & Collins, G. (2018). Seven trends: The transformation of the teaching force – updated October 2018. CPRE Research Reports. https://repository.upenn.edu/cpre_researchreports/108 Kanayama, M., Suzuki, M., & Yuma, Y. (2016, June 14). Longitudinal burnout-collaboration patterns in Japanese medical care workers at special needs schools: A latent class growth analysis. Psychology Research and Behavior Management, 9, 139-146 https://www.dovepress.com/longitudinal-burnout-collaboration-patterns-in-japanese-medical-care-w-peerreviewed-fulltext-article-PRBM# Koch, A., & Adler, M. (2018). Emotional exhaustion and innovation in the workplace: a longitudinal study. Industrial Health, 56 (6). DOI: 10.2486/indhealth.2017-0095 https://www.researchgate.net/publication/326302877_Emotional_exhaustion_and_innovation_in_the_workplace_a_ longitudinal_study Lave, J. (1991). Situating learning in communities of practice. In, L. B. Resnick, J. M. Levine, & S. D. Teasley (Eds.).

Perspectives on socially shared cognition (pp. 63-82). American Psychological Association.

McCarthy, M., Pretty, G. M. H., & Catano, V. (1990, May). Psychological sense of community and burnout, Journal of College Student Development, 31 (3), 211-216. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/232559885_Psychological_sense_of_community_and_burnout McCarthy, L. P., Siegel, J. L., & Ware, O. D. (2022). Supporting socialwork field instructors: Empowerment as a strategy for preventing burnout. Journal of Social Work 22 (5) 1153–1169. https://journals-sagepub-com.fgul.idm.oclc.org/doi/epub/10.1177/14680173211056817 Podolsky, A., & Sutcher, L. (2016). California teacher shortages: A persistent problem [brief]. Learning Policy Institute. https://learningpolicyinstitute.org/sites/default/files/product-files/California_Teacher_Shortages_Persistent_ Problem_BRIEF.pdf

Privette, G. (1985). Experience as a component of personality theory. Psychological Reports, 56, 263-266. https://journals-sagepub-com.fgul.idm.oclc.org/doi/epdf/10.2466/pr0.1985.56.1.263 Sutcher, L., Darling-Hammond, L., & Carver-Thomas, D. (2016, September). A coming crisis in teaching? Teacher supply, demand, and shortages in the U.S. Learning Policy Institute. https://learningpolicyinstitute.org/product/ coming-crisis-teaching Taie, S., Lewis, L., & Merlin, J. (2023). Teacher attrition and mobility; Results from the 2021-22 teacher follow-up survey to the National Teacher and Principal Survey. Institute of Education Science, US Department of Education. https://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2024039 USAfacts. (2023, October). How often do teacher strikes happen? [web page]. https://usafacts.org/articles/howoften-do-teacher-strikes-happen/ Wenger-Trayner, E., & Wenger-Trayner, B. (2015, June). Introduction to communities of practice: A brief overview of the concept and its uses. https://www.wenger-trayner.com/communities-of-practice/ Woodman, K. (2016). Replacing flexibility; Flexibility in learning spaces and learning. In: K. Fisher (Ed.), The translational design of schools, pp.51-79.

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Roel Krabbendam B.Arch M.Ed LEED NCARB Doctoral Candidate, Fielding Graduate School

I am an architect focused on education, the author of a book on learning environments and an advocate for more joyful, more emotionally fulfilling schools. I am also a doctoral candidate at Fielding Graduate University, with a dissertation that investigates ways to help school districts with legacy buildings and limited resources to re-invigorate their schools.

Born in the Netherlands, but raised in the United States, I have always felt comfortable traveling the world, and it is those adventures that I turn to in thinking about education. Experiences in the Amazon Jungle of Peru and the Sahara Desert of Algeria and the Himalayan foothills of Bhutan have made it hard for me to accept that sequestering students for long periods in a single room is the best we have to offer our children... ...even if distant adventures do not scale well as a K-12 educational strategy.

I believe schools can provide an environment that offers more profound, visceral learning experiences. Is it so far-fetched to imagine that three months in school could be as daunting, diverse, exciting, rewarding and educational as my bicycle trip across the Sahara Desert? Challenging students to work hard in school is important but not enough: we must match that challenge with profound emotional experiences that justify the effort. It is up to us to clear a path through all that hard work and perseverance to self-actualization, flow, and joy.

The environment has a profound effect on our experience, and this is why the design of schools matters to me so much.

If we get schools right, we can offer teachers and students more diverse, more profound experiences, more opportunities to find fulfillment, and more reasons to believe in the future. Teaching and learning will improve, along with the quality of life for all concerned. I invite you to consider the ideas presented here with an eye to your own school, your students and your teachers. No matter what you teach in school, this is one approach to teaching it more viscerally, more memorably, and more powerfully.

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© Roel Krabbendam 2024