Design in Education

Design in Education: Understanding space and students.

Space matters: Experience of managing static formal learning spaces.

This journal, written by Tim Montgomery, tries to understand the realities of the learning space focusing mainly on a small seminar room. Understanding spatial management and movement can affect the structure of meaning within education and also the dynamics within the learning environment. Several constraints mean the everyday experience of learning is not in high-tech, impressively designed spaces either formal or informal

Why does space matter in educational environments? According to Tim Montgomery, there are three key elements in helping to understand why space really is an important factor of how we learn: group, movement and space. Group; the students and tutor are a social organization that creates its own meaning. Each person takes with them into the seminar room their own background, history and experiences which means the place in which these people can interact is a vibrant space. Movement within the space underlines the interactions within the group, the seminar room is an interactive environment and therefore it is important to understand why and how people move around the space. Space refers to the physical, within the four walls of the seminar space. The seminar room should not be considered a ‘space of enclosure’ with a ‘singular canonical meaning’ (Edwards and Usher, 2000:48).

With much of learning now becoming ‘student lead’ we are required to understand the social expectations of student life and also the modern learning styles of education. ‘Learning is now conceived of as about understanding, discovery and experience-informed iterative processes (Brown, 2006; Bransford et al., 1999)

There are various dimensions of spatial analysis such as furniture and heating but Montgomery’s study instead draws on experiences within particular learning environments. This study was in the main to understand the challenges educational institutions face. It would appear that priority is still given to basic function such as lighting, ventilation and heating rather than the broader dynamism of the room. In particular the emphasis which institutions put on technology. Technology can help to bring wider knowledge and experiences into the room but this must not be overshadowing the importance that ‘institutions must have a learning space vision’ (Brown, 2006).

Primary research by Montgomery was explored through interviews and discussions with colleagues and other tutors. The student viewpoint is missing in Montgomery’s research however he does state that he trusts that the voices of his colleagues carry some resonance. Using a study by Griffiths and Partington (1992) along with his own knowledge and teaching experiences, he drew out a number of small seminar room arrangements. He then used prompt cards to initiate conversation between participants whilst recording each varying layout and how the discussions flowed. From this research he understands that space management has a direct impact on relationships, with the orientation of the group relying on how the space was managed. Montgomery found that groups working as ‘all inclusive’ rather than sub divided groups tended to be more willing to share ideas and information. However he is aware that dividing into sub-groups can be of benefit to the spatial environment and small groups are known to be particularly successful at confidence building. Montgomery suggests that by breaking up the space the reverse effect can occur and often students can become isolated or develop alliances which are not necessarily constructive in wider discussions.

Montgomery found that arrangements of space, in particular rectangular were the most common in the experience of his colleagues. However he suggests that this arrangement has become ‘normalized’ and in turn may normalize the relationships between students. Participants agreed that the rectangular arrangement encouraged discussion and confrontation. This research also proved that those closest to the tutor or in direct eye line tended to contribute more than those who chose to, knowingly or subconsciously, sit half way along the side.

Montgomery concludes that because we generally take arrangements of space for granted we fail to notice the way in which the space detracts or enhances our learning capabilities. Further investigation and research is needed to understand how space is managed.

The research by Montgomery appears to be very academic and tutor based, as he said the ‘student voice’ is missing in his work. The study in the main examines the way in which spatial arrangement has a psychological effect on the way in which we learn. This is a different method used, however, by John and Frances Sorrell of the Sorrell Foundation. John and Frances work hand in hand with the students to understand and improve the needs of the students in a much more practical manner.

John and Frances Sorrell authors of Joinedupdesignforschools.

What happens when pupils are given the responsibility of improving aspects of their schools? This book documents what happened when a charity, The Sorrell Foundation, helped to join up schoolchildren from all over the UK with some of the world’s best architects and designers. The pupils for a change were given the responsibility to develop and present a brief, which they feel may help to improve their schools in some way. As clients the pupils were asked to commission a design that they would feel safe in and also want to learn in.

The main aim of the Sorrell Foundation, co founded by John and Frances Sorrell, is to inspire ‘creativity in young people and improving the quality of life through good design’. Not only does the Sorrell Foundation co-ordinate Joinedupdesignforschools but they also operate programmes for health environments and other public sectors. Joinedupdesignforschools in particular aims to let pupils learn through self motivation and hope that through this experience the students will improve life skills such as problem solving, communication and teamwork. Also ‘the initiative acts as a catalyst for potential improvements by identifying common issues’.

John and Frances Sorrell divided the pupils in client team groups and challenged them to discuss what they thought was good about their schools. This discussion although intended to focus on the good inevitably led to discussions about what the pupils tended to not like at schools. This was an effective assignment to start with as it enabled to get to grips with what their clients, the pupils, respond well to but more important it highlighted the areas that they would likely be deigning. Areas that did appear to be problematic were; cantinas, toilets, sports halls, and outside activity areas. Pupils also wanted to find solutions to problems such as storage for personal belongings, schools uniform and lack of playground spaces. Working with architects and designers lie Richard Rogers, Kevin McCloud, Paul Smith and Sebastian Conran, amongst others, gave pupils a firsthand experience of design and enabled them to see in progress their brief become a reality. One fourteen year old pupil felt ‘This is a better way to learn. If I had sat down in a classroom and been told this I would have just thought it’s another lesson. But this way I feel Involved. I feel part of it’. This would indicate that not all learning needs to happen within the enclosed school or education environment but there could be a benefit to students to learn through practice with businesses or inter-schools challenges. In this case involvement of the students in the design process could lead to a more positive learning environment as the students can actually see their work developing rather than just studying textbooks. As on student wrote ‘This project will improve the way we work and will give us a cleaner more suitable working environment, and will inspire students to work harder.’

It would appear that this initiative by using the suggestions of students to design better educational spaces could, in turn, improve the overall learning of the pupils as they would be working in an environment that they feel comfortable in. After all an environment in which students feel like they want to be in and are comfortable in would also have an impact on learning, hopefully for the better.

On reflection Joinedupdesignforschools was seen to be an extremely positive opportunity for schools to be involved in. Sam Jacob, architect at Fat said, ‘The kids can list the problems in a schools more quickly than teachers or governors. Their diagnosis and their optimism is good’.

The varied approach that was taken by both Tim Montgomery and The Sorrell Foundation to understand the way we learn and the space in which we learn in is very important. Although Joinedupdesignforschools was active in its practical use, it also appeared to understand what was important to children and their education. It was an extremely positive method of working in comparison to the work led by Montgomery. Although relevant and well researched, at times Montgomery is proposing ideas of which are not entirely new to the education sector. This however does not undermine the work that he has undertaken, the understanding that there are three key elements involved within managing space in education environments is one that would benefit from increased research. Overall understanding how space is used and what both students and staff feel benefits them from day to day is extremely important. Strict guidelines such as disability acts and Department for Education building bulletins appear to restrict the creativity that Education Authorities have when building or renovating their current premises. Space Matters and Joinedupdesignforschools has shown that there is a real need for authorities to understand the way in which education is advancing within the classroom and beyond, also creativity and attractive, high tech design is achievable and can often improve learning and the school community as a whole.

Further reading that would perhaps benefit in understanding space and movement within education and beyond:

Chism, N. V. N., 2006 Challenging Traditional Assumptions and Rethinking Learning Spaces, EDUCASE

Hiemstra, R. 1991, Aspects of Effective Learning Environments, San Francisco: Jossey-Bass

McCloud, K., 2009, Colour Now: An Expert Guide to Choosing Colours for Your Home, Quadrille Publishing

References

Bransford, J.D. , Brown, A.L. & Cocking, R.R., 1999 The Design of Learning Environments, National Academy of Sciences.

Brown, M., 2006, Learning Spaces, EDUCAUSE

Edwards, R. & Usher, R., 2000, Globalization and Pedagogy: Space, Place and Identity. London:

Routledge.

Griffiths, S., Partignton, P., 1992. Enabling Active Learning in Small Groups: Module 5 in

Effective Learning and Teaching in Higher Education. Sheffield: UCoSDA/CVCP.

Montgomery, T, 2008 Space Matters: Experiences of managing static formal leaarning spaces, SAGE

Sorrell, F. Sorrell, J,. 2005, Joinedupdesignforschools, Hugh Merrell

Holidays are coming. Holidays are coming.

The festive season is upon us, the Christmas lights have been switched on, Christmas music is played in almost every shop and already the faint sound of Santa's sleigh bells are getting children very hyper.

However what good is going to come from Christmas this year? Are parents going to over indulge their children with presents and are the elderly going to be warm enough? Even in the current economic climate there doesn't seem to be too much of a dip in sales, mind you, this is just the start of Advent. Normally December sales are colossal but it appears that a lot of people have already bought and even wrapped all if not most of their presents. Mince pies, truffles and other goodies are all being bought in preparation for the big day, but retailers fear this could be one of the quietest Decembers ever. Many will turn to starting their January sales a week or so before Christmas just to get people in to buy.

Does this really help the economy?

I guess in some ways it does, by starting sales early retailers are sure to bring in money and keep the debt collectors from darkening their door...for a couple of months at least People will only spend money if the have money to spend but at sales time people can sometimes go over the top often ending up in masses amounts of debt. So maybe January sales keep stores open and people in jobs but they can also cripple the money belts of those people desperate for last seasons cast offs.

So before you go and buy all of your presents, please think about when to spend, where to spend and why you are spending. After all " 'tis the season to be jolly" not worried about debt, unemployment and financial ruin.

8 in a bed

Studio Project Semester 1, Year

The project brief was to in groups, design an exhibition space that somehow explores the theme of "Juteopolis". The space is to be interactive and also must be transportable as it may be used as a travelling exhibition. Oh and as much as possible sustainable.

This was to be no mean feat.

Juteopolis for those of you who don't know was the name often used when referring to Dundee. Dundee was for a period of time the Jute capital of the world as it would import the raw materials from India and put through a carefully designed process to end up with the finished product. From cleaning to, thinning, spinning on to bobbins, weaving, then making sacks, carpet backing, road underlay Jute was Dundee. Everything was somehow connected to the industry.

It was this idea of connections that my group decided to pursue further. We looked at various different elements that the industry in the town related to such as health, education, communication, social and living conditions. As we looked into these ideas we never really felt that one element was more important than the other, all we really knew was we wanted to include all of these things into our design. We developed a design based on living in Dundee, at the time it was common for as many as eight people to be living in one house of then sharing a bedroom. We came up with eight squares all of varying sizes occupying the one space, this came to be fondly known as 8 in a bed. It was decided that the eight squares in there own way would show a different part of the industry but at the same time all be connected to each other. One cube would play a back projection of a workers hands showing how they would communicate with each other (this was a type of sign language developed in the mills) another would show the ratio of men to women, one man to three women. The idea of the exhibition space was to give the viewer the opportunity to experience what they want to experience.

The cubes themselves were to be made out of cardboard in such a way that it could be taken apart and reassembled easily, this both covered our transportable and sustainable material part of the brief.

Overall we wanted to look on the Jute industry as something positive in Dundee, not, as so often happens, a shrine to the past and the doom and gloom of life. We wanted to celebrate what the workers had and what the community and town meant.

I really enjoyed working as a group for this project and learnt a great deal from working with my peers. It was interesting to get to understand how others work and also to pass on skills and knowledge to each other. It really does help when your group is on the same wavelength and I feel my group really connected.

Isn't it bizarre how most things work better when connected?

TWIG

TWIG, Two Witty Intelligent Girls.

TWIG are a collaboration of two former Interior and Environmental Design Students and DOJ and are currently still working as a collaborative. Louise Forbes and Susan Younger design and make furniture that can at times have quite a risque theme behind it, recently they have completed their first commission since leaving DOJ and I am sure there is more to come.

I am currently doing a collaborative furniture project and I have been locking at the stools and tables and I find the works to be very elegant and sophisticated. Even if the theme is not your thing, you can not take it form them, both Louise and Susan certainly know how to make beautiful pieces of furniture.

Check out TWIG at htttp://www.twigdesign.co.uk/

Annotated Bibliography

Department of Education, 1992. Designing for Pupils with Special Educational Needs: Special Schools, London: HSMO

In this building Bulletin the Department for Education gives guidance on teaching and acceptable classroom spaces to be achieved in special schools to support the appropriate curricular and other needs of the individual pupils concerned. The publication intends to assist local Education Authorities and Architects in preparation for new designs and buildings or adapting existing special and ordinary schools for pupils with special educational needs.

Department for Education and Skills, 2003. Furniture for the Future: New Ideas for Tomorrow’s Classroom, London: Design Council

In this book the Design Council in collaboration with the Departments for education and skills challenge Britain’s design and manufacturing industries and introduce innovative products into the classroom to improve outcomes in learning. Environments in schools can have a large effect on learning outcomes and this publication gives examples of how classroom environments worldwide differ from that of here in the UK.

Department for Education and Skills, 2002.Schools for the Future: Designing for Learning Communities, London: TSO

This publication provides guidance on the needs for education in the 21st Century. It considers: Increased use of ICT, Schools for the Community, Sustainability and Design Quality. Design Issues for Schools from Entrance areas to Eating Halls, Staff Areas to Furniture are all considered and advice given.

Matson, J L. Gonzalez, M. Wilkins, J, 2008, Validity Study of the Autism Spectrum Disorders-Diagnostic for Children (ASD-DC)

This Journal analysis’s and validates the research done into diagnosing children and adolescents with Autism from 2 to 16 years old. Studies designed to evaluate the validity and the measure of autism can be divided into different categories.

Montgomery, T, 2008, Space matters: Experiences of managing static formal learning spaces, SAGE

The journal analysis the use of space in education in particular a small seminar room. Spatial management and movement can effect the context of meaning within education but also the learning environment

Sorrel, F. Sorrell, J., 2005. Joined Up Design for Schools, Hugh Merrell

This publication details the results of a collaboration of ideas between school pupils, designers and architects. The pupils working as clients along with designers and architects such as Richard Rogers, Paul Smith, Kevin McCloud etc aimed to create inspired learning and social spaces at school. The project also enabled the school children to gain and use a host of new skills, such as problem solving, teamwork, communication and self belief.

Veck, W, 2009. From an exclusionary to an inclusive understanding of educational difficulties and educational space: implications for the Learnining Support Assistant's Role, Routledge, Pg 41-56.

The Journal argues that important attention must be given to research into the ways educational space and difficulties are perceived within an educational environments. It is important that these issues are addressed before Learning Support Assistants can really make a contribution to the educational system.

Useful websites to keep up to date with whats happening in the Design world and also in general news:

Design -

Society of British Interior Designers

http://www.sbid.org/

WIRED Magazine

http://www.wired.com/

Dezeen Architecture and Design

http://www.dezeen.com/

ICON Magazine Online

http://www.iconeye.com/

BD Online- The Architect's Website

http://www.bdonline.co.uk/

News and Culture-

TIME News and Magazine

http://www.time.com/

National Geographic

http://www.nationalgeographic.com/

BBC News

http://news.bbc.co.uk/

Red Jotter

http://redjotter.wordpress.com/

LIFE- Your World in Pictures

http://www.life.com/

Brainstorm

The Stickiness Factor and Interior & Environmental Design.

I found brainstorming as a group an interesting process, it was beneficial to hear from others their ideas about the chapter and how this relates to Interior and Environmental Design. Something that kept re-occurring through the brainstorming session and also through my personal discussions with others was that interior design can often be stereotyped into design something pretty or extravagant. This, however, is not always the case sometimes Interiors can be designed in such a way as to improve the quality of people's life.

Group Session- The Stickiness Factor & IED

Through group discussions I found particular interests in the idea of Desiging for education. It was whilst thinking of different ways of educating that I started to think about designing for those who maybe need particular help or benefit from being in a certain situation. This led me to research into designing for people living with Autism and I found a presentation by The Scottish Society for Autism. This presentation helped me to understand that Interior design is exceptionally important to people with Autism. Everything from the amount of space or colours used in a classroom is carefully designed so as to help concentration and also provide safe ans comfortable surroundings.

Individual Research- Design, Advertise and Educate

Bus STOP!

This is not a rant this is an observation of bad design.

It's a cold Autumn/Winter morning, you are waiting on the bus, you are tired and it's dark and it's wet. You would think a short sit down at the bus stop would offer a place of solace, somewhere you can feel comfortable, sheltered and protected.

However this is most certainly not what you get. The painful feeling of such cold steel coming into contact with your body almost feels like it burns your skin to your clothes. Surely this is a bad idea? I would have thought having seating in the bus stop would imply that they would like you to sit? After all sitting can prevent anxiety it can also calm people down and I am sure most people are aware of how uncomfortable it can be when ten people are all crammed into the one stop but no one is sitting.

So two good things would happen if simple design issues were resolved.

Issue 1. Comfort. In slightly heating the seating during colder months this would encourage people to sit and would also prevent the horrible sharp shooting pain. I understand that this would have to be regulated as we would not want some complaints of burning and over heating of the derriere! The heating mechanism could be similar to that of a heated towel rail and could work with environmentally friendly solar panels or wind powered.

Issue 2. Social. Through heating the seats this would encourage more people to sit and in turn communicate with each other. In turn this could strengthen community spirit and solve social problems.

I understand that all this is perhaps far fetched but I feel that the designers of these bus stops just think about "sexy" design they do not think of how their design can have a negative or positive effect on peoples days.

The Tipping Point

The Tipping Point- Malcolm Gladwell

At first on reading The Tipping Point, I was unsure as to what I was actually going to gain from the Book. Gladwell at times can almost become quite tedious in his way of repeating a point over and over again. I guess this is just his way of making these points stick.

Throughout the book there are interesting examples of various factors which add to or make a Tipping Point. In particular interesting parts for me include, Kitty Genovese and the 0/38 coming to her rescue, Mark Alpert the honest and knowledgeable Mavern, the rule of 150 and the failure and success of Sesame Street/Blue's Clues.

Taking the chapter: The Stickiness Factor- Sesame Street, Blue's Clues and the Educational Virus, I expanded the various themes into a detailed Mind Map. It is interesting to know that television programmes such as Sesame Street and Blue's Clues are not simply thrown together in a random way but are carefully thought and tested before airing. Through testing these programmes on children, researchers can understand which areas of the programme children enjoy find too confusing or keep them engaged. There is not simply one designer/scriptwriter/director for these programmes, but there are in fact many multiples of designers/scriptwriters/directors. These are the children that the test the programmes on. There appears to be a lot more going on behind the scenes than a man dressed as a yellow bird or a host who has a tendency to take long pauses. Each and every aspect of these programmes has been designed to look, sound and come across in a specific way.

A successful way to make something Stick is to EMPHASISE certain parts or to repeat, repeat, repeat. A successful way to make something Stick is to EMPHASISE certain parts or to repeat, repeat, repeat. A successful way to make something Stick is to EMPHASISE certain parts or to repeat, repeat, repeat.

Emphasis and repetition can both work well in Children’s educational programmes, the same episode of Blue’s Clues was repeated every day for 5 days, but they are equally as important in advertising. From Wunderman’s use of the Gold Box to the unsuccessful Olympic sponsorship of Coca Cola advertising is ever important in our life. I find it fascinating that the average American see around 25 4 different commercial daily, imagine how many times they see the same advert in a day. That is a lot of repetition.

Overall my opinion of the book has changed from how I felt at the start, I now realise how important small changes are or how they in turn can make a big change. I also now understand how much research and thought goes into various things like Sesame Street or cleaning up the Subway. Through Mind Mapping my understanding of the book developed and I am positive that my knowledge will continue to develop as I re-read the book.

The Stickiness Factor- Sesame Street, Blue's clues and the Educational Virus

Design For Life

Episodes 1&2

Design For Life, the current BBC programme is like America's Next

Top Model meets Project Runway. Phillipe Starck, the world renowned designer in the UK who is going to raise the bar in British design. The Prize? Six months industry experience with one of the "top" designers in the last century.

The larger than life designer is surrounded by a group of designers who seem to be solving issues which everyone, including non-designers, is aware of. Things such as why single use batteries are bad for the environment and are not ecological, why homes built on the sea would mean more land space for crop growth and why using a bicycle for short journeys helps the environment. Why did Starck not get rid of the majority of the people sitting around his table? The idea of this programme and the chance to win a placement with Starck, is to find a designer who thinks outside of the box and can develop ideas that are not so glaringly obvious?

The programme continues this preconceived idea of designers to be quite full of there own importance and also that things need to be sleek, sexy and cool to be a good piece of design. Evidence of this is when Starck says "to understand you should not think only feel" in his heavy over-emphasising French accent. The image of people like Zombies not thinking only feeling crossed my mind as I watched this. There does, however appear to be a couple of contestants who genuinely want to learn and who are truly passionate about design.

I agree with Starck when he said that "too many pointless products are being made." an example of this is evident in a piece of his own works, the spaceship looking lemon juicer (Salif Juicer for Alessi). This impractical piece of design (reputedly it squirts juice everywhere) is now a part of the collection at the Museum of Modern Art.

The military truck = simplicity- This according to Starck is the "only vehicle with the elegance of intelligence, driven by function not marketing" This is a rather interesting concept as it undermines designers ability almost giving the idea that designers do not design they are simply dictated to by what will or will not sell.

Overall the programme is maybe not entirely informative or full of decent "design thinking", but, I can't help but feel I will become addicted to watching it to follow the progress of the group but more so to try and understand why Starck is such a major influence in the design world.

http://www.moma.org/collection/object.php?object_id=1825 Museum of Modern Art
http://www.starck.com/ Phillipe Starck

Design Studies- Visual Communication

It means NOTHING!

What's in a name? The idea that something exists with a name but no meaning is one that I am sure deserves a whole research project, but, why do we always feel we have to give something a meaning? Is it that as human beings we are always searching for our own meaning? Things like the meaning of life, why we are friends with our friends, what attracts people to us, where our place is in the world and what can we get out of it, all contribute our searching.

To me a tin of beans is a tin of beans. Why is it then that when shown a tin of Heinz Baked Beanz we tend to associate them with childhood memories, family, warmth and the gloopy sound as they cascade from the tin? Of course Heinz want you to associate their product with all these feelings and often people will say "If you go to buy Beans you are going to buy Heinz?". So Heinz design their product and advertisements in such a way that whenever we think of Beans the image of a Heinz tin is the first image to pop into our head. Heinz tin is designed to look of a higher quality therefore perceived to be better beans. "Beanz Meanz Heinz" , first introduced in 1967, is repeatedly said after anybody says beans, this catchphrase still to this day gives people a fondness for Heinz. Personally I hate Baked Beans, I do not want them to touch anything else on my plate and on toast with cheese is almost the worst delicacy in the world.

So what does Heinz and Beanz mean, well simply they mean nothing except the actual naming of a company(Heinz) or more than one Bean(Beanz) but put them together and what have you got? Well for Heinz you have a product and brand so valuable that 1.5million tins of Heinz Baked Beanz are made every day.