What to look for in a teaching and learning space

A smooth, effective, comfortable session is enabled by spaces that allow us to achieve the following acts during the phases of the session. When designing your use of a space (or designing a new space), consider how these goals will be achieved.

• arrive at the room on time, without undue effort and difficulty, ready to enage;
• access and prepare the room in time, calmly, without excessive effort;
• easily adjust the layout, lighting, mood, temperature as needed;
• know in advance how the space and the session will work, be ready to enter and make the most of it;
• wait outside of the room, in comfort, and using the time productively;
• create orderly, welcoming, pleasant, enaging, inlcusive transitions into learning together in a timetabled session, in which everyone knows where to go, what will happen, and what they need to do;
• close doors and control privacy;
• sit comfortably in a manner that promotes wellbeing;
• hear and see clearly from wherever they are sitting;
• move around the space as needed;
• use personal adaptive technologies as needed;
• efficiently access resources used/created in previous sessions or through online collaboration, including whiteboard content;
• alternate smoothly between activities of different types and scales, moving between whole-class sessions, appropriately-sized group work, and individual work, mixing things up efficiently as required;
• alternate smoothly in and out of the space as required (e.g. for breaks), with equipment and personal possessions secured;
• teachers support individuals, groups and the whole class as needed;
• notice important non-verbal cues and social dynamics;
• interact with each other, and online participants as needed, without inappropriately disturbing the rest of the class;
• use physical and digital artefacts with the whole class or with groups;
• collaborate on creating and editing digital artefacts live, with every student able to participate;
• gather feedback from every student in the room;
• include input from and collaboration with people who are not physically present (e.g. an expert in another country);
• create and share hi-fidelity accurate recordings of activities as required;
• access food and drink when required;
• use personal computing equipment and stationery to take notes and collaborate;
• access power sources for charging equipment without disrupting the flow of activities;
• save resouces created/edited in the session, for use in further sessions or outside of timetabled teaching space;
• transition out of the space and the timetabled session in an orderly way;
• ensure the room is clear, resources saved/stored, and ready to reuse.