Portrays the Madelyn Chafin Learning Center in DeSoto, Texas, which has an architectural design that creates a facility with five finger-like projections that are intended to blend into the natural surroundings, while providing abundant natural light and varied views of the outdoors. Includes photographs and a floor plan. (GR)

Senior-center learning opportunities must adapt, as new retirees are better educated than their predecessors. We examined 3 multipurpose senior centers using 120 hours of observations and 30 participant interviews. Variation existed in the ability to maximize synomorphic relationships, where the physical environment supported educational…

This article reports that the facilities arms race in college sports has a new frontier: academic-services buildings. Over the past decade, a dozen major college programs have built stand-alone academic centers, most of them for the exclusive use of athletes. At least seven more colleges are planning new buildings or major renovations in coming…

Well-designed university buildings and physical environments have a documented positive impact on student participation, engagement, and feelings of support and belonging. These factors are known to improve learning; however, it is hard to document the direct impact architecture has on student learning outcomes. Information on how specific design…

Occupational safety and health (OSH) in Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) is being considered as an important program to measure employee and student welfare and well-being. During academic session, apart from attending lectures, laboratory works, tutorial and library search, majority of students spend most of their time in residential…

The National Research Council's "National Science Education Standards" call for science education to be "developmentally appropriate, interesting, and relevant to students' lives, emphasize student understanding through inquiry, and be connected with other school subjects." This description captures the three major trends in science education…

As the pressure on schools to meet higher and higher expectations with less and less resources increases, educators seek to explore school models which are centered on reforms that increased the likelihood of meeting this challenge. One reform initiative which has received much attention is the utilization of teacher leadership to improve school…

Public education is one of the central tasks of a democratic society, and the buildings that house this important task not only shape the way one teaches, but provide icons and symbols for the values people hold common as a society. Perhaps unsurprisingly, this context has placed school buildings squarely in a position of debate and innovation…

Sooner or later, every teacher and administrator fantasizes about starting a school of their own. Few, however, move from off-the-cuff theory to the practical steps required to open the school house doors to real students and teachers. Fewer still manage to start an urban high school of their own while only in their mid-30s, a school that manages…

Using the past 3 years of data, for 2003 to 2005, from the National Fire Incident Reporting System (NFIRS) database, the yearly national fire loss for fires on nonadult school properties is estimated at $85 million. Such losses are the result of an estimated annual average of 14,700 fires that required a fire department response. Fires on school…

Most facilities renovation projects occur because someone at the executive or board level has lobbied successfully for them. Often in public schools, the voters have agreed to the project as well via a building referendum. Therefore, facilities projects are highly visible to the community. Unlike many other issues in schools, facilities projects…

Could it be that in our excitement about e-learning we forgot about buildings? With the advent of the personal computer and ubiquitous networks were we enticed into thinking that they would suffice and learning would follow removing the need for places and communities for learners? We now seem to have woken up, however, as there is an enormous…

Purpose: To explore the barriers and motivations to the construction of green buildings at the University of Waterloo (UW) by documenting and analysing the UW building process. Design/methodology/approach: The authors conducted 13 semi-structured in-depth interviews with key UW individuals as well as analyzing numerous internal reports in order to…

Brisbane Girls Grammar School's new Creative Learning Centre was conceived to group arts studies which were previously scattered across the campus and to serve all students as a meeting place and technology hub. The building is specifically designed to provide the most flexible and innovative environment for teenaged girls, having special regard…

Many schools are almost entirely reliant on alarms and sprinklers for their fire protection. As these devices need to be triggered and supplied with power or water to work properly, they are vulnerable to errors. To provide adequate safety, a good fire-protection program must have three primary elements: fire protection and suppression, and…