Educational Sessions

Sunday, October 25, 2015, 2:30 PM – 3:30 PM

Electronic Access Control Impacts on LEED and Sustainability

Amy Vigneux, ASSA ABLOY

Marina 6

Learning Objectives:

Understand the requirements of LEED v4
Understand the life cycle impacts of building security systems
Understand energy savings potential of typical building security systems and how to use life cycle thinking to optimize these systems
Describe how electronic access control (EAC) can help building owners gain Materials & Resources (MR) credits in LEED v4

1 HSW

1 CE

Emerging Technologies and Their Impact on Learning Space Design

David Jakes, David Jakes Design

Nautilus 4

How are physical spaces designed to support an increasingly virtual education? How are digital spaces in the cloud designed for learning? And, how are emerging technologies reshaped teaching and learning and what are the implications for learning space design? In this session, we'll explore those questions as well as discuss the landscape of current and emerging technology and how schools are addressing the disruptive influence of ubiquitous access to ideas, conversations, resources, and people. You'll learn about the latest and greatest technology, the disruptive trends that are impacting how schools educate students, and how a new ecology of learning space, featuring both physical and digital spaces, is creating new opportunities to learn anytime, anywhere, with anyone, and with any device. Don't miss this opportunity to ramp-up your understanding of contemporary technology and how it is impacting learning and learning space design.

Learning Objectives:

Participants will be able to describe and identify the emerging technologies that are impacting education.
Participants will be able to discuss at least four impacts of ubiquitous technology on teaching and learning.
Participants will be able to describe a model for a digital learning space.
Participants will be able to discuss the implications of increased access and use of digital technologies on learning space design.

1 LU

1 CE

Experiential Learning Connections: A Look at the Relationship Between Experiential Learning Environments in School and Project Development Spaces in Professional Settings

Rebecca Baibak, AIA, LEED AP, REFP, Integrus Architecture P.S.
Caroline Lemay, Bassetti Architects
Michael Davis, Bassetti Architects
Kim Herzog

Nautilus 5

This session will review the history of experiential learning environments from the 1960’s wood shops to today’s maker-spaces, showcasing high school projects featuring innovative project-based learning spaces, and engage participants in exploring the future of experiential learning spaces through an analysis of real-world professional environments. The team will present an overview of current work environments, and the Educational Evolution of CTE spaces to integrated STEM curriculum. Through this evolution a variety of approaches on how to integrate “Hands on Learning” has developed. Case studies highlight the range of options available to districts from specialized facilities as seen at Raisbeck Aviation HS, to a fully integrated STEM Curriculum within the Comprehensive HS at Sammamish HS, in Bellevue, WA. Exploration of real-world Research and Design spaces and futuristic approaches to collaboration and life-long learning in the present and future work environments will be presented. Attendees will engage in Experiential Learning as they apply concepts in developing approaches to prepare students for tomorrow’s professional opportunities. Groups will be challenged to consider the impacts of experiential learning.

Learning Objectives:

Understand the Evolution of CTE spaces to integrated STEM curriculum.
Explore the diversity of approaches to integrate “hands-on learning” into educational environments.
Explore how schools and communities can create stronger ties through the experiential learning curriculum.
Develop critical analysis through the evaluation of real world hands-on learning spaces, utilizing inquiry based learning techniques.

1 LU

1 CE

Going Beyond Mere School Capacity Assessments by Conducting Suitability Analyses with the School Utilization Inquiry Tool (SUIT™)

Tatia Prieto, Prismatic Services
Tom Martineau, Prismatic Services

Nautilus 2

Explanation of the Problem: Standard facilities management practices include periodic building capacity assessments. In our K-12 schools facility management practice, this capacity assessment consists largely of the number of pupils each school facility can hold. Buildings occupied by more pupils than the official capacity are rated as “over capacity,” and those with fewer pupils as “under capacity.” Such a routine examination lacks crucial information: how well are the spaces and outdoor facilities suited to the activities and functions for which they are used? Approach: After conducting dozens of individual, exhaustive capacity analyses, Prismatic researchers have developed a straightforward, transparent and scientifically honest tool to look more deeply and with greater specificity into the suitability of existing school buildings for specific academic programs and other future uses. SUIT™, the Space Utilization Inquiry Tool, uses a survey of building users and decision-makers to assess their responses to positively-worded issue statements. Each issue statement is evaluated by district stakeholders on two 5-point Likert scales:

actuality of the statement from the viewpoint of the respondent; and
significance of the statement from the respondent’s perspective.

The actuality scale ranges from 1 to 5, with 1 being “not at all true” to 5 being “very true.” The significance scale ranges from 1 to 5, with 1 being “not at all important” to 5 being “extremely important.” Results: We will present the structure and function of SUIT™, including sample survey results and how they can be used by any school district or owners of large building inventories.

Learning Objectives:

Understand the basic best practices of school capacity and suitability assessments
Understand the structure and function of SUIT™
Learn about a typical SUIT™ application
Learn to analyze SUIT™ survey results

1 LU

1 CE

Interviewing the STEM Classroom: Understanding the Relationship between Architectural Space and Curriculum Enactment

Dan Grassick, University of Alberta

Nautilus 1

This presentation explores the tension between how school spaces are built and how they are used by demonstrating how eight heuristics can be used to "interview" a science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) classroom. A heuristic is a rule-of-thumb, a short-cut, a starting point that provides a starting point to new understanding. The heuristics presented can be used by facility planners and educators alike to give these specialized learning environments their own "voice" so they can be better understood, better designed, and better used. This session bridges philosophy and practice and will draw upon multiple sources of evidence. It seeks to provide delegates with a greater understanding of the interplay between STEM classroom design and the curriculum-as-lived in the hopes of informing future school (re)design projects.

Learning Objectives:

The delegates will be introduced to the "curriculum-as-plan" and the "curriculum-as-lived" and will be able to see how STEM curricula can be enacted in different ways
The delegates will learn how to apply 8 heuristics (i.e. thinking tools) to come to understand school spaces in different ways
The delegates will explore research findings on teachers' preferable and actual STEM teaching environments
The delegates will be able to apply their learnings to reflect upon past designs and improve current and future projects

1 LU

1 CE

The Power of Movement: Kinesthetic Learning & Action-Focused Environments

Michelle Chavey, AIA, Hollis + Miller Architects
Amy Yurko, Brain Spaces
Brent Yeager, Olathe School District

Nautilus 2

Whether by research or intuition, we know that kids learn by doing. As adults, we challenge ourselves to ‘think outside the box’ when it comes to curriculum that engages both bodies and minds of our students. By encouraging movement in the most literal form and allowing kids to break beyond the barriers of the classroom and school building, we can offer them exciting new environments within which to thrive – physically, emotionally, and academically. Studies show that kinesthetic learning can result in increased retention and better concentration. And at every age, learning through movement is beneficial. For the youngest, it increases motor skill development and hand eye coordination, and as kids grow it benefits their social awareness and critical thinking skills. As students get up out of their seats and interact with each other and the environment, something wonderful happens: the brain is ‘awakened’ as blood flow increases and specific areas of their brains are activated, particularly the prefrontal cortex. This area, the brain’s control center, plays a large role in regulating emotions, making plans and solving problems. Both indoor and outside learning environments can be designed to stimulate action, imagination, movement, and hands-on learning. This session will take you on a journey to understand the science behind mind-body connections, to explore examples of innovative environments for kinesthetic learning, and to brainstorm strategies for integrating these environments in your schools and communities.

Learning Objectives:

Attendees will learn the benefits of movement, exploratory projects and kinesthetic learning.
Attendees be led on a journey through both virtual and physical kinesthetic learning environments.
Using the concepts and strategies, attendees will brainstorm solutions to unique challenges of their own projects and/or clients.
Attendees will be shown examples of what this can look like and the benefit for students, teachers and communities.