Learning habits and habitats
The curiosities that lie within and beyond classroom walls
This piece was originally written for and published by Non Architecture Publications, for series on Learning, in July 2019.
Learning is timeless. Once initiated, it carries on beyond the boundaries of time and space. It lives and transforms itself, never losing its value, until eventually accelerating towards a new learner.
For centuries, learning has been a critical aid for our survival and development. We made a leap from tribal to civilized living with the collective knowledge that was passed from generation to generation. In today’s highly globalized world, knowledge is no longer preserved merely within a family or even a nation. On the contrary, it finds its way to a new receiver on the other end of the vast cyberspace, anytime and anywhere. Yet, somehow, formal education is still centralised at appropriate institutions — schools, universities, academies — and its walls and spaces.
The learning context is the defining force in learning processes that supports the principle that form must follow function. In other words, it is there to provide necessary space, social setting, and tools for the learning to result as effective — a greatly important yet demanding task to achieve. It is the primary focus of any learning process to guide learners towards their final goals, whatever those might be. If an educator provides a realistic, high-utility setting to master the subject, the chances of an adequate learning increase.
One fascinating thing to observe is that learning spaces became ever more flexible. We come across foldable walls, easy-to-move or transform furniture, technological devices that are an integrated part of a learning experience, and more. The modern context seems to shape around the needs of the learner. Yet, there are numerous forces that impact how flexible the classroom becomes, in which case some contextual needs appear neglected.
When given a choice, a student selects the context which would work best for achieving her study goals.
The learning spaces are moulded by the ecosystem, in particular by cultural, societal, and technological forces. That’s why we see democratic classrooms where the students are placed equal to one another and are encouraged to actively participate in discussions and activities, as opposed to the auditoriums that are built in appreciation to authoritarianism, where students are seated in a traditional lecture hall, facing a teacher — a single fountain of knowledge. That’s why we see a growing number of students taking online courses or join lectures remotely, and use devices during class hours.
When given a choice, a student selects the context which would work best for achieving her study goals. Hence, if used correctly, technology enhances the learning process and assists the endeavours of an educator.
The wide-open e-learning opportunities might paint a radical picture where classrooms struggle to exist, but educators & architects alike should not despair. A classroom is a natural booster for proximity, and with that for co-creation, communication, and interaction. It is argued that the social setting plays an important part in learning. We must remember though that the classroom will create a suitable context for some student’s goals and possibly deter others’. That being said, the classroom isn’t a one size fits all solution, so online, “no-classroom” context shouldn’t be feared but encouraged instead.
The modern school promotes equity and respect to its students, and so learning spaces must conform accordingly.
With the rise of today’s events — environmental changes, strong urbanisation, immigration and globalisation — the learning spaces must adapt and face these megatrends with dignity. That means using as much natural light and green energy as possible and establish a waste-reduction habit in students. That means providing enough utilities to a big number of learners for resting, eating, parking, and alternative spaces while taking into account special needs — handicapped or those that have religious and other national rituals in their daily agenda. The modern school promotes equity and respect to its students, and so learning spaces must conform accordingly.
However, even when major societal, cultural, and technological forces are embraced, one might find that low learning efficiency levels remain. In that case, the learning process needs to be reinforced to maintain the very function of learning — aid memorisation of information and strengthen neural connections in the human brain. There are three things that help to strengthen any learning experience: focus, sensory experience, and rest.
An ability to focus defines the result of learning because it stimulates the memory centre of our brain, the hippocampus. Besides from retaining new knowledge temporarily, the hippocampus is also responsible for sorting these learnings out by relevance: recording some and discarding others. This is why sensory cues are powerful in retaining fresh learning.
The more sensory parts of the brain are stimulated, the more new learning connects to the existing network within a brain, which ultimately ensures the longevity of learning. Thus diverse environmental, visual, and auditory sensors should be used and allowed by learning context, though all in good balance to not interfere with student’s ability to focus.
And lastly, the hippocampus sorts out learnings during the REM cycle in our sleep. With that in mind, all learners should be encouraged to get enough rest and sleep, and the educational space could provide a designated lounge space, where students could catch up on their rest and further regain the ability to focus between classes.
With all prior experience and research in learning spaces, one is only left to wonder what might follow. The views on this question are controversial.
Even though today the function of learning is known and is easy enough to maintain, only a century ago things were quite different. An Industrial Era classroom was made to integrate a large number of students, and often lacked natural light and commodities that could naturally enhance learning. The key function of a classroom at a time was to accommodate learning for another generation of factory workforce, in which it succeeded. The following Progressive Era emphasised the importance of natural light and windows in general. Later during the same century, we’d learn that natural light helps us produce cortisol, a hormone critical to learning as it increases the ability to focus and with that vitalizes learning. One might only wonder what could have come out of the Progressive Era developments, but World War II broke out next, and affordability and fast speed of school designs were prioritised above anything else. The Post-War Boom and Impulsive Eras that followed attempted to standardise school design and provided a glimpse at what a classroom should be, which included scientific research insight to confirm key assumptions. From this era, we acquired the necessity to handle the flow of natural light along with other indoor controls, such as temperature and acoustics, in order to incorporate technology and create a suitable learning context.
With all prior experience and research in learning spaces, one is only left to wonder what might follow. The views on this question are controversial. On one side of the debate, we have those who believe that classrooms should disappear, especially considering that anyone can learn online, anywhere and anytime. This side stands for the positive results of the elimination of sorting students into homogenous learning groups. The other faction believes that the classroom is necessary for engagement and fun. There is a tendency for classroom arrangement to return to traditional style, and while there is no clear reason why it happens, it is claimed that this format serves both learners and teachers better. The point where both sides find a compromise is at accepting that learning context should fit the purpose. The form must follow function.
Learning is a highly complex process. It revolutionises itself until completely transparent to our perception, the only remaining footprint visible in the alternation of our behaviour and thinking. Perhaps, one day, we will be able to think about a learning context that is so extremely flexible and adaptive to the learning needs that we can observe the timelessness of the learning space. Until that happens, we mustn’t stop our journey to an exploration of the new possibilities in design, architecture, and engineering alike.
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References:
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