In response to the challenges of reopening safely amid the COVID-19 pandemic, The Bradley Projects, in partnership with The Bradley Development Group and Certified Construction Services, worked with the Linden Waldorf School in Nashville to design pavilions that allowed classes to meet outdoors. The pavilions were designed to support the school's…

Multiage, child-size, and accessible, the Montessori classroom provides a prepared environment that maximizes self-regulated activity. Designed to be intuitive and conducive to children's development at multiple developmental planes, the classroom nurtures each child's growing independence. Ideally, the principles underlying the Montessori…

In this article, the authors start with a description of the learner-centered paradigm of education. The key tenets of the paradigm are outlined as: Competency-based student progress, competency-based student assessment and records, personal learning plans, project-based learning, just-in-time instructional support, student as self-directed…

When new learning environments are built, numerous variables are taken into consideration. For example, school systems consider the instructional needs of the students they serve, enrollment, and whether to replace or remodel an old building. The concept of "going green" encourages school system planners to consider the natural…

Like professional photographers, early childhood teachers can reframe their perspectives to create innovative and inspiring spaces for young children by concentrating on reframing two design elements: color and texture. When thinking about designing spaces for young children, one of the first considerations is the equipment and its arrangement.…

The "sage on a stage" is looking increasingly like a potted plant. While there will always be a role for a great teacher who can command a room, colleges and universities today are putting greater emphasis on student collaboration, small work groups, and interactive learning. Unfortunately, the classrooms of yesterday, with their focus on a single…

Universal design (UD) can play a role in many aspects of academic life and is often thought of in the context of learning. However, this chapter focuses on the impact of UD on the design of facilities in a university or campus setting. Universal design has the potential for transforming universities into truly egalitarian institutions that…

Classroom design for the 21st-century learning environment should accommodate a variety of learning skills and needs. The space should be large enough so it can be configured to accommodate a number of learning activities. This also includes furniture that provides flexibility and accommodates collaboration and interactive work among students and…

The Seaford School District, Seaford, Delaware, determined that a component of their "reinvention" of Seaford High School would be the creation of a New Tech Academy, affiliated with the New Tech Network and housed in an addition to that building. The New Tech Network, headquartered in Napa, California, is a rapidly growing association…

The paper explores important issues in today's education, not by analyses and statistics, but by projecting readers into the future and then asking them to look back on today's schools and to act like archaeologists--to surmise from all sorts of things they can observe, what was really important to us, what we really valued, how we treated kids,…

In an increasingly global world, where events in one corner of the world simultaneously affect other remote areas of the planet, global competition is becoming a continuously evolving phenomenon. Competition is also increasingly becoming an individual endeavor. Individual's own knowledge and skills will be the differentiators in a global economy.…

Responsibility for support of technology in teaching and learning at the University of Missouri-St. Louis (UMSL) falls within the Information Technology Services (ITS) unit. Notwithstanding funding challenges, the university has been systematically renovating classrooms to meet the demands of increasing campus use of technology in teaching.…

A new pedagogy is emerging, placing students at the centre of the learning process and encouraging teachers to draw from a larger repertoire of strategies and skills to lead interdisciplinary and project-based work. The best learning is authentic--engaging students in their own learning in practical and real-life contexts that demonstrate the…

What should a campus do when it needs more learning spaces but can't construct new buildings? Dr. Benjamin Sill's first task when he became the director of Clemson University's general engineering program was to find space for classrooms and for the advising program. His search ended in the old YMCA building (Holtzendorff Hall), where space was…

The bricks-and-mortar infrastructure of community colleges has not nearly kept pace with increases in student enrollments. Not only are colleges bursting at the proverbial seams, but, according to the American Graduation Initiative, many two-year institutions "face large needs due to deferred maintenance or lack the modern facilities and…