If you spend much time in the educational halls of Scotland — especially if you have a focus on technology and the evolution of schools — you are probably well acquainted with Ewan McIntosh. Hoping that in the years to come, he’ll be a voice you’ll hear at school design oriented conferences. Someone who really sees where the future of learning is headed. His blog is a wonderful place to begin if you have never heard about him.

Recently, he posted a piece entitled “Rebuilding a School without Touching a Brick”. His focus? A school in Norway that was struggling to just survive…but has managed to become a true school of choice. All by re-thinking the very premise of ‘campus’ by any means necessary. Ewan writes:

Stovner Upper Secondary is a school in Norway which has come from the brink of kids running away, not appearing or being disruptive, and is now the school local parents fight to have their children attend.

A little back-story:

Five years ago Stovner was the unpopular school, with 50% of students coming from a minority language background, most of the pupils coming from a working class background. Moreover, the money from the government for running schools doesn’t go to the school - it follows the students. So if a student decides to leave the school, the school could in effect become bankrupt. Schools might be unhappy, but politicians are happy at getting rid of a ‘problem school’.

The aim of the school?

* To become the most popular school in that part of Oslo, regardless of social prejudice regarding the student groups who attended;
* To offer teaching that students will not find boring (they asked the kids, and they did find it boring, even though the teachers thought they were doing alright);
* To improve academic results;
* To make teachers’ work more rewarding.

Ewan takes us beyond the mission/goals and discusses the re-think of physical spaces, as well. We think you’ll appreciate the following:

Changing shapes of rooms: The shape of the classroom was to change, too. Students were given their own space, their own desk, their own computer. They could decorate their space, the mini booth that they now spend half their school day, if they want to, researching, working, preparing, collaborating. It is theirs. No-one else uses it.

Worth reading Ewan’s entire post. Every conceivable icon of the traditional school model was re-imagined. To amazing outcomes!