5 Learnings from SXSWEDU Genius Bar

By room2learn

Our panel of Geniuses, K-12 architects and educational planners from across the country.

At SXSWEDU 2018, we met over 50 of you at the Learning Space Genius Bar! Educators came from as far as Paris and as close as Dallas, bringing questions about everything from makerspaces, engaging community in the design process, and the perennial question about storage — where do my kids store all their stuff!? Today we’re sharing some of the common themes and ideas that came out of the conversations. Stay tuned for future guest blogs from the Geniuses themselves!

Let’s take a closer look at what we did and and what we learned!

What We Did

In our first iteration of the Learning Space Genius Bar, we brought together a panel of K-12 Learning Space experts — architects, educators, and educational planners — for a 3-hour summit dedicated to educators and their space challenges. In each 20-minute appointment, participants worked with the Geniuses on solving learning space challenges. In many conversations, the Geniuses helped educators problem-find rather than problem-solve, as the first step is determining what problem we are addressing with a design solution.

Our CEO & co-founder Jane Zhang working through a makerspace design with an educator.

What We Learned

At the end of each conversation, participants were asked to summarize their one key takeaway on a Post-It, and add it to our community harvest map. Below, our team summarized some key themes that arose.

Students and flexibility were just some of the key themes from participant takeaways.

Here are some of the main themes that stuck with us from this experience.

1. Rethinking the Classroom

“[think] about the function of the space before making decisions on what to buy.”

If we could stand behind one big take-home message, it would be this sticky. This is especially important as working in school often means working with a shoestring budget, so it’s important that each dollar is worth the investment. On room2learn, you’ll find hundreds of low-cost hack ideas for effective learning spaces.

Many participants agreed with us that classrooms nowadays should not “look like a 1980’s office or classroom.” In fact, educators voiced their desires for incorporating more creative thinking when it comes to redesigning learning spaces.

A student makes her own pinball machine at Inner-City Arts LA.

One participant said “A classroom should be a studio” and another said classrooms should incorporate “graphic, visuals, [and] flexible spaces.” What that looks like can be different for every community! At the core, learning spaces should support and empower students in their learning, whether that’s in the form of access to resources of inspiring graphics. A few good examples to check out are Inner-City Arts’ creativity lab and how this group of teachers from Chicago Tech Academy redesigned their art studio.

2. Student-Centered Spaces

According to NCES, students spend on average of 180 days in school and average of 6.6 hours per day in school. That’s a lot of time in a school building! As educators, it is important to help students feel a sense of belonging and provide them with “the freedom to make, create and design.”

Students co-designing their own classroom space.

One way to do this could be giving students choice in their learning environment; in other words, give students the opportunity to be co-creators in the classroom. With the shared classroom space, try giving students ways to experiment with “audio, lights and digital images.” Need help with a particular theme such as coloring your classroom or flexible seating? Check out our treasure trove of blog pieces for some hands-on inspiration!

3. Makerspaces

Makerspaces are all the rage these days! But before you fundraise for that new 3D printer and laser cutter — think first, who is going to teach and activate this space? What kinds of things do you want your students to be making and learning from? Are you building this because the students and teachers want it, or because you want a shiny lab space to show parents and funders?

Our participants talked about types of shared maker materials and resources that teachers need and currently lack in their own classrooms. This could be solved by having mini makerspaces in each classroom, or having mobile maker carts or kits. But the key question first: why a makerspace?

Check out this post on project-based learning and how Design Tech High and Sycamore School they infuse design and maker education in many aspects of learning.

Human-sized chess is just one of the many wonders of the Design Tech High Garage space.

4. Flexibility

One participant learned that “Change is inevitable. Flexibility is critical.” It’s important for teachers to be flexible with how they teach as well as how they structure their classroom space. But what does flexibility mean? For one, you may want to start thinking about how to zone your classroom rather than have the whole space as one setup.

Are you a principal or district leader looking to start the design process? Read our piece on Architecture 101 for educators.

5. Design Process

Redesigning a learning space can be an overwhelming process! Who do you engage? Where do you start? You might have great ideas or solutions in mind already, but lack the tools to implement them. As our participants have learned, and as we always emphasize, process is key. It takes a community to build a makerspace (or new learning space), so organize the time to gather input and get the right people on board.

And of course, we’re here to help! Get inspired by school designs from around the world, find layouts that have worked for other educators, and try out a new space hack or two!

If you have a specific design challenge in mind, email our design team at team@room2learn.org and we will either help you out or connect you to someone who can.