Report says classroom walls and industrial-age schooling can go
As reported at eSchool News recently, a new white paper from the Partnership for 21st Century Skills (P21) says that while changing the curriculum, using digital pedagogies and training teachers are all important, it is the physical environment in which learning takes place that also needs urgent adjustment if the full advantages of the digital age are to be harnessed by schools. How far along the path to this kind of physically changing learning spaces is your school/ classroom/ campus? If its a new idea for you, don't fret - all it takes is to read up on some universal design for learning (UDL) principles (which while coming originally from a disabilities/ learning styles perspective, does now give relevant underlying strategies for transforming learning spaces), and then start experimenting.
From the article:
"Educators can't truly deliver 21st-century instruction in schools that reflect Industrial-Age designs, with rigid schedules, inflexible facilities, and fixed boundaries between grades, disciplines, and classrooms, according to a new white paper from the Partnership for 21st Century Skills (P21).
Sponsored by Cisco Systems, the paper--titled "21st Century Learning Environments"--describes the kinds of school structures that have been shown to facilitate successful 21st-century teaching and learning: from flexible learning spaces that can be rearranged to fit different class sizes and subjects, to more malleable units of time than the typical 50-minute class period."
READ THE REST:
http://www.eschoolnews.com/news/top-news/index.cfm?i=56922
