Project-based learning (PBL) is an effective approach to STEM education because it allows students to experience scientific inquiry by using their knowledge and skills in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) to solve realistic problems. PBL consists of four components: (1) posing and comprehending a driving question; (2)…

As school administrators search for empirically-based ways to facilitate student learning, their efforts are confined and constrained by decreasing budgets. In short, doing more with less is their charge. This article describes a no-cost, evidenced-based best practice to raise student achievement and engagement in the elementary grades based on…

The American Library Association says that the arrangement of library facilities should motivate students to use the materials to learn. Believing that changing the library facility can bring about important changes in the program, this author shares how she became a "decorator" and changed the library media center in an elementary K-6 school. The…

Project selection is an essential matter of design teaching. Based on observations of a specific curriculum, the author claims that a wide repertoire of subjects including offices, restaurants, hotels, and other public places are used to prepare design students, but that schools and other "learning environments/ schools" are similarly…

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to compare student achievement with three school design classifications: movement and circulation, day lighting, and views. Design/methodology/approach: From a sample of 71 schools, measures of these three school designs, taken with a ten-point Likert scale, are compared to students' outcomes defined by six…

Schools seem to be the logical place to serve the health needs of students, since children spend a majority of their time there. Design standards were not available for health clinics in Georgia elementary schools; therefore, this study examined key characteristics of an elementary school clinic in order to determine the importance of each design…

Many young people live in communities with historically interesting buildings, and tours of those historical sites can reveal much about life in the past. Something that students often overlook in the analysis of historic sites is the civic values held by the people who lived there. The ideas of architecture cannot be divorced from the people or…

Interior design, as a field of study, is a rapidly growing area of interest--particularly for teenagers in the United States. Part of this interest stems from the proliferation of design-related reality shows available through television media. Some art educators and curriculum specialists in the nation perceive the study of interior spaces as a…

The purpose of the study was to (a) determine the design features of the physical learning environment that support collaborative, project-based learning, and (b) to gain an understanding of the rationale for the selection of the features. The literature review indicated a need for changing learning expectations to prepare learners for rapidly…