Often, the most inspired learning environments embrace the ‘tension of opposites’ in the design process. For example, creating quiet spaces for thoughtful reflection while also allowing a great deal of transparency to permeate the spaces, or allowing spaces to be traditional enough for the teacher to be in charge but also to allow for student-driven learning to take place at the same time. When done well, they are not only support ‘architectural’ tensions, but more importantly they support ‘human’ tensions and varying relationships/needs over time.

This brings us to a wonderful book that is often used in ‘teaching’ circles only. But we think it has much to tell us as a school designing community.

While we’re not sure how widely read Parker Palmer’s classic book The Courage to Teach is within the school design community, we can guarantee that it is a widely embraced book within the educator’s camp. Much of the book — to give a very quick overview — discusses the tension faced by teachers in terms of their public vs. private lives. Needless to say, given the state of education throughout the world and the challenge of keeping teachers in the profession, we may be well served to consider more often the ‘human’ experience of those who spend their day living/working in school buildings.

There is a point in Palmer’s book (pp. 73-77) when he discusses a series of 6 paradoxes that define learning spaces. We were reminded of this again recently while reading the “Higher Edison” blog in which the following was highlighted:

The space should be bounded and open. Without limits it is difficult to see how learning can occur. Explorations need a focus. However, spaces need to be open as well - open to the many paths down which discovery may take us. ‘If boundaries remind us that our journey has a destination, openness reminds us that there are many ways to reach that end’. More than that, openness allows us to find other destinations.

The space should be hospitable and “charged”. We may find the experience of space strange and fear that we may get lost. Learning spaces need to be hospitable - ‘inviting as well as open, safe and trustworthy as well as free’. When exploring we need places to rest and find nourishment. But if we feel too safe, then we may stay on the surface of things. Space needs to be charged so that we may know the risks involved in looking at the deeper things of life.

The space should invite the voice of the individual and the voice of the group. Learning spaces should invite people to speak truly and honestly. People need to be able to express their thoughts and feelings. This involves building environments both so that individuals can speak and where groups can gather and give voice to their concerns and passions.

The space should honour the “little” stories of those involved and the “big” stories of the disciplines and tradition. Learning spaces should honour people’s experiences, give room to stories about everyday life. At the same time, we need to connect these stories with the larger picture. We need to be able to explore how our personal experiences fit in with those of others; and how they may relate to more general ’stories’ and understandings about life.

The space should support solitude and surround it with the resources of community. Learning demands both solitude and community. People need time alone to reflect and absorb. Their experiences and struggles need to be respected. At the same time, they need to be able to call upon and be with others. We need conversations in which our ideas are tested and biases challenged.

The space should welcome both silence and speech. Silence gives us the chance to reflect on things. It can be a sort of speech ‘emerging from the deepest part of ourselves, of others, of the world’. At the same time we need to be able to put things into words so that we gain a greater understanding and to make concrete what we may share in silence.

What does such a space look like?

What does this suggest for us as we consider our role as designers for the future of learning?

And how do we keep on the table the ‘human’ experience throughout the design process?

Your thoughts?