What is the secret of great learning environments and how can we avoid building the same schools over and over again? Well, we might have look at Maslow.
We all know the basic traits of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs: how our human needs progress from Physiological needs via Safety, Love/Belonging and Esteem to Self-actualization. Maslow's theory came to my mind as I compared different learning environment projects. Many of them appeared to have started tend the far ends of the hierarchy and they lacked qualities in the middle. -Well, Love perhaps, but in my middle we find Pedagogy...
Many, if not most, projects focus on Basic needs, in capacity and technical requirements. The driving forces behind these projects are often a strong need to build, and build fast. There is nothing wrong with these basic requirements, on the contrary, they are necessary in order to create healthy and functional environments. The most notable in the projects professionals in property management, planners, engineers and builders, rather than principals, teachers or designers.
There is just one major flaw with this approach: it doesn’t create any incentives for development or raised pedagogical standards. The final result of projects with this approach: We build the same school as we did last time, with some modifications at slightly higher costs.
There is just one major flaw with this approach: it doesn’t create any incentives for development or raised pedagogical standards. The final result of projects with this approach: We build the same school as we did last time, with some modifications at slightly higher costs.
Some projects come from the other end of the hierarchy: Projects motivated by visions or ambitions to design and create a statement. Behind these projects you often find ambitious institutions or municipalities coached by equally ambitious designers or architects. There is nothing wrong with this approach either, schools need visions and should have great design.
There is only one major flaw with the approach: it will not result in sustainable learning environments. There hasn’t been any real translation from the ambitions and vision to pedagogical practice and leadership. These schools are like fancy ocean liners with a crew lost in translation... These are the kind of schools we tend to rebuild in 2-5 years after their creation, often blaming either designers or teachers (too ”bold” design or ”lack of flexibility/leadership”).
There is only one major flaw with the approach: it will not result in sustainable learning environments. There hasn’t been any real translation from the ambitions and vision to pedagogical practice and leadership. These schools are like fancy ocean liners with a crew lost in translation... These are the kind of schools we tend to rebuild in 2-5 years after their creation, often blaming either designers or teachers (too ”bold” design or ”lack of flexibility/leadership”).
Great projects (and there are lots of them) seem to have their starting point in the middle of the hierarchy: In pedagogy and ideas of a didactic flow, in concrete ideas about strategies and methods for learning and cooperation. The behind in these project are often a mix: teachers, students, politicians, engineers and designers working together. The challenge is to express the conditions for learning in such a way that it is possible to translate them into basic needs and design. There is often a commitment to some principles or guidelines that make priorities and decisions more coherent.
There is only one major flaw with this approach: it requires something of us that we mostly don’t do: we we have to express our professional beliefs in a way that makes sense to other professionals and we need to cooperate across disciplines. Other than that, it’s easy!
There is only one major flaw with this approach: it requires something of us that we mostly don’t do: we we have to express our professional beliefs in a way that makes sense to other professionals and we need to cooperate across disciplines. Other than that, it’s easy!
So, just have a look in your neighborhood, in your city or country: What kind of projects are going on? Or, if you’re in the middle of your own project. where did it start? -Knowing that you might guess where you will end up!
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