Where Do You Do Your Best Work?

Where do you do your best work?  I pondered this question as I sat down to write this blog post.  For me, and I am sure for many of you as well, it depends on what type of "work" I need to do.  When I wrote my book, I was most productive and inspired when I was writing at various hole-in-the-wall neighborhood coffee shops.  I wanted the quiet solitude of the study rooms at my local library when I needed to study for a grad school exam.  A brightly lit group fitness studio with loud music is most energizing to me when I am working on my physical fitness.  I realize, however, that others may have totally different preferences when it comes to creating the ideal learning and working environment.

Trung Le talks to D107 staff
about learning spaces on 8/22/17.

As educators, we must acknowledge the need for flexibility in our learning spaces as well, which is why Building Learning Environments is one of our three goal areas on our District 107 Strategic Blueprint.  Building flexible learning spaces means providing environments that can easily transform and shift based on the needs of the learners and the type of work that needs to be done.  At our district's opening institute day, one of the speakers we were lucky to learn with was Trung Le of Wonder Design Studio.  One of the key takeaways from his presentation was "making sure there are choices, and new choices, in learning spaces."  I also wrote about this in a post last year when I compared the thought process for designing learning spaces in our schools to designing our daughter's nursery.  Our learning spaces need to allow for flexibility as our learners grow and their needs change.  Learners should have space to collaborate, to work independently, to listen, and to speak.  They should have space to work with their hands, to work with technology, to move, and to be still.

Mrs. Georganas's Classroom

We have a few teachers exploring this in their own classrooms already this year, providing a variety of seating options and tablespaces.  As a school, we are also investigating other options for maximizing the potential of our learning spaces.  One idea is to re-purpose our computer lab into a more flexible learning space for innovation.  Since students have one-to-one devices, they no longer need to come to the computer lab to access such tools.  Possible ideas for this space include having a portable green screen, space to work with our two programmable Raspberry Pis and our Sphero, and movable furniture options to allow for collaboration.  Similarly, we are planning to transform one of our small classroom spaces to meet the needs of some of our students who may need a distraction-free environment for productively working or, conversely, may need a space to develop their senses through physical activity, lighting, and/or sound.

We are looking forward to investigating the possibilities that lie within our learning spaces in more detail this year and welcome ideas from our community of learners as we strive to create optimal learning spaces for all!