inside room2learn: a chat with jane & grace
Last week, our founders Jane and Grace sat down with TREPI to talk about the what, how, and, most importantly, the why behind room2learn. Here are some highlights from their conversation.
What’s the philosophy behind the room-sharing platform?
We wanted to simulate the natural convening between teachers — a place dedicated to talking about space and having this lead into conversations about learning.
Design is so much more than aesthetic. We fear putting up pretty pictures online and having people say “I want that” without understanding the intent. Instead, we’re trying to build the infrastructure around “this is the problem I’m facing” and “here’s how I use my materials to meet this need”.
As a result, we also work one-on-one with schools to custom-tailor their spaces to learning and teaching needs. We understand that design is important and schools run on tight budgets, so we make good design affordable.
How does spatial design impact learning?
The starting point shouldn’t be the objects (furniture, color, etc). Those come after. When we think about learning, we ask “how are learners engaging with the content and with each other?” You understand what you’re learning and building, and design an environment around that.
As educators are shifting to new paradigms and pedagogies, the way they’re interacting with students is changing, and static spaces just don’t work for that. It’s hard for students to learn collaboration, for example, when everyone is looking at the back of another person’s head.
All of these different learnings and skills require different spaces, and right now our cookie-cutter boxes don’t meet those needs.
What excites you most about this work?
We are experiencing a time of rapid change in schools. We are preparing students for jobs that we don’t even know what they will be or look like. We think that’s leading to major shifts in the way we teach, the way we learn, and the science behind the way we learn. Students need environments that feel and function like they were built for them. Too often, our neediest schools look a bit like prisons.
In times of change, we need divergent thinking, which is exactly what design and the creative fields bring. We think design is paving the way for future solutions. As spaces start to look and feel differently, students can start to take ownership over their learning experiences.
At the end of our interview, TREPI looks around the Harvard Innovation Lab and makes the apt observation: “we are working in spaces built for ownership and collaboration. Why aren’t our kids?”
You can watch the full interview below!
