Beautiful Mind Learning Labs

In a typical isolated classroom, we have one teacher doing everything. In a larger, open, double classroom everyone can work together in new ways.   The larger space itself can be redefined to include specialist zones that wouldn’t normally be possible. Perhaps there is a cooking area that fosters a sense of homeliness as well as bringing maths to life? The space itself becomes more agile, allowing it to be organized in different ways. The use of furniture and having acoustic awareness give rise to areas for different learning needs - presentation, focus, collaboration…   At first, when working in a more open and connected space, staff are likely to feel exposed in an environment where any mistake is visible. Students expect this; staff do not. It may help to teach as if there is an imaginary wall within the room, using old practices in a new environment. However, over time and with effort, a new ecology evolves.   The space becomes a framework for reimagining learning and teaching in a creative process. Two teachers working together in a larger shared space means they can both take on different roles rather than each trying to do everything. The teacher does not need to be at the front and they can more frequently use skills such as observation to develop an understanding of need and learning. Some of the magic of co-teaching occurs from seeing the nuance of how each other actually works.   Why not create a space in your school where you can try this out? Dave Strudwick

Transforming learning spaces isn’t an easy mission and it does not happen on its own. It takes a village! All the major stakeholders need to be involved and that’s just what we did at Gesher School. We collaborated with Gesher School, an Ofsted Outstanding, high-quality, innovative, all-through, Jewish faith, special school for young people with language, communication and social challenges, to support staff through their transition into a new building. This case study highlights how the PLSiP team helped design flexible learning spaces, including project-based learning areas, breakout rooms for therapy, and a bespoke Makerspace. The collaboration ensured that Gesher’s new environment supports diverse learners, fostering growth and creativity. Discover more about this transformative journey! Read the full case study here- https://lnkd.in/e2EynZFE Our sincere thanks to Dave Strudwick for capturing this case study and all the staff and students at Gesher School. #planninglearningspaces #learning #learningenvironments #gratnells #teachingpractices #classrooms #classroomdesign #schooldesign #education #design #learningzones #classroomareas #pedagogy #teachers #school #schoolleaders #leadership #schooldesigners #architects #learningzones #zoning #teacher #teaching #creativity #classroomrefurbishment #schoolnewbuild #departmentofeducation

The things that define a real lab are not test tubes or lab coats but it being a space for discovery full of curiosity and criticality. Working with neuroscientist Beau Lotto have noticed his excitement connected to not knowing as something great. In the lab our ability to play with intention is what science and creativity are all about. When teachers ask ‘What if I try this?’ they recognise that our lives and needs could be improved. They know that what worked in one context will not always continue to work and must evolve. What ideas or practices could you try out? In many high performing education systems teachers have agency to experiment with their practice. What if we looked at our schools as a learning lab where discoveries about learning were valued and celebrated? As you enter the learning lab ask yourself these questions: What part of your learning space could you explore and develop? Why are you curious about this? What impact are you looking for? What might you measure? Have you the courage to try something new without knowing it will work? The power to question is the basis of all human progress – Indira Gandhi https://lnkd.in/e-6-jZAM Dave Strudwick

In this week’s episode of EY’s #InnovationRealized podcast, Beau Lotto, Professor of Neuroscience at University of London, shares how changing our perception of the unknown can help us thrive as business leaders and innovators.   Check out the episode below and hear more on why it’s critical to reframe our relationship with uncertainty.    https://bit.ly/3WGVXw3   #BetterWorkingWorld

Curation of space is usually associated with museums and galleries and is often undervalued in schools. Essentially, it involves selecting, organizing, and looking after items that are linked to learning and helps the people, products, and processes of learning become visible. Curation might scaffold learning or tell a story of the learning that young people have engaged with. Young people can be involved in this too as they engage an audience in what they have done and made and who they are. Children return home to answer the age-old question of, “what did you do at school today?” Many children will not give parents much to go on. A well curated learning space lifts the lid off the building and tells the community what is valued, so parents have the sense that they are alongside their child. Examples of curation include: 📕 Products of learning or what has been made: a poem, a poster, a story… 🎞 Processes of learning or how we went about things: a timeline, a prototype, a report, a film… ✏ A scaffold for learning: a rubric, a word bank, a working wall, models for thinking 🧪 A context for learning: turning the classroom into a museum, gallery, lab… 🎨 Authenticity of being: working with a scientist, artist etc to inspire So what are you wanting to make visible? Who is your audience and what is your story? Click on the link below to find inspiration on your journey of curation: https://lnkd.in/eyyGbmnC Dave Strudwick

The development of space provides an amazing opportunity to catalyze culture. Culture, or the way we do things, emerges through our interactions as a group. Designing and developing a school is a provocation for culture. What cultural elements do you wish to evolve in your school or classroom? Inclusivity, academic excellence, creativity, being playful… And what are the fundamental principles that underpin these cultural elements? Are we explicit about why a principle matters to us? We need to be explicit about what the space will look like and align, as a team, over the intentional meaning of any development. We are making the future we will live in. What meanings might be unclear about current spaces in your school? Language is a vital ingredient of culture. Changes in language contribute to how culture evolves. Calling a classroom a studio or learning lab creates a different context. Educators and children can explore what happens in a studio or inside a lab in the world of work. What might this suggest that we do differently inside our school? Are we makers, inventors and scientists making discoveries? Language also supports us in telling the story of our school and the difference we make. What story will you be telling? Dave Strudwick

Celebrating Canada First on Canada Day with i,scientist! As we celebrate Canada Day, it is the time to highlight the achievement in education and science, made possible by the support of the mining industry. Since June 2023, the i,scientist program was successfully deployed across Canada, reaching, high, middle and elementary school teachers and inspiring young minds. CIM | Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum Impact Highlights: 1- NWT Indigenous schools including principals,teachers and students from high and middle schools. Feedback from participants:     “I’d like to take with me the courage that I gained from this experience, and the curiosity got me thinking in different ways of doing things” - STUDENT – “Participating in this programme led to the most student participation I have seen in this class all year” - EDUCATOR - 2- Leaders of Indigenous Summer Camps  3- Ottawa schools including teachers and over 100 students from elementary schools. See the book created by the 4th grade students: https://lnkd.in/gGzY7s_j 4- One more event in BC in the fall of 2024. The impact has been transformative. Significant changes in thinking and a positive shift among teachers and students regarding science have been observed. The result was that teachers and students were empowered to embrace the role of scientists, fostering original scientific discoveries. Even elementary school students were conducting original experiments. They: Overcame the fear of not knowing the answer. Learned to ask insightful questions. Created and tested their own hypothesis. Analyzed their findings. Shared their discoveries through posters, books and films. Through experiential learning, the program ignited a passion for science, transforming students into curious, caring and courageous individuals ready to take risks. They were not just learning science; they were living it. After piloting the program in Canada, it has now been deployed in Australia, Ukraine, Spain with plans to build a school in the UK. Now that the program is set up, teachers from anywhere in the world can benefit from it virtually. Beau Lotto Dave Strudwick Let’s celebrate this achievement and the ongoing journey of inspiring the next generation of scientists and the educators guiding them. Happy Canada Day.

Our ecology, the relationships and the space around us, matters. Spaces carry meaning. Try wrestling in a library to test this. So, what are the meanings of space for young people in school? There are human emotional needs such as attention, social connection, security, autonomy, fun, purpose, and achievement. When these needs are not met healthily we seek to meet them in other ways. A need like autonomy has links to our ecology. In a classroom that suggests an influence on our space and our learning experience. Perhaps it relates to an ability to decide if I sit, stand or lie down to work or how I access resources. How many schools are designed to meet emotional needs?   Enriching a space with art and plants improves productivity in offices. How are schools testing this? Research shows the benefits to our health and learning through movement and being outside. How many children are mostly still and inside? Understanding the science of being human in relation to space and learning gives us insight for changing the Victorian boxes we so often see. Change itself can drive unhelpful responses as we are wired by evolution to avoid uncertainty. When significant change is initiated, such as changing schools, perceived security can be threatened and we are likely to want to control. How do you address this? Try making a part of your approach a playful inquiry and your school a Learning Lab. What could your team experiment with? Dave Strudwick