Use of space
Innovative schools adopt a flexible attitude towards spaces: walls, classrooms, open areas, community and work spaces, placing great emphasis on the application of sustainable practices in construction, design and use.
To achieve flexible spaces to flow, it is necessary to have versatile school furniture that facilitates grouping and ungrouping quickly without interfering with the interaction between students, both in classrooms and in common spaces.
These are some of the best furniture proposals for innovative schools:
- Versatile school chairs. MIA STOOL
- Innovative school tables. MOON
- Furniture for common areas. CHARLOTTE
Pedagogy in innovative schools
Invariably, students engage in project-based learning. Projects range in length from one-day commitments to the long-term expeditions favoured by schools that adopt the expeditionary learning model.
Instruction in innovative schools is described as student-directed or personalised, often using technology to achieve that goal. Consequently, it is quite common to find transversal learning spaces where research, exploration, problem solving and curiosity are the axis combining different fields of knowledge. This is the case of the S.T.E.A.M classroom (Science. Technology. Engineering. Arts. Maths).
Authenticity
There is a continuum of authenticity, with some schools requiring students to engage with the community or local businesses through apprenticeships, internships, service learning, or projects that have an action component.
Going out to explore the territory where one lives and conducting a class outside the classroom is nothing new in pedagogy, but it is something that innovative pedagogies adopt.
This list of features is not exhaustive. We can all think of other aspects of innovative schools, drawing on these same innovation traits or taking work in a new direction.
Is there a well-defined path to move from the industrial model school to the innovative schools of the future that we all yearn for?
This seems to be the case: From rigid use of space and traditional instruction to experimentation with inquiry-based learning and technology integration, and from there to personalised and competency-based models in flexible space and time. flexible in multi-age cohorts that place students in the real world for all or part of their day.
Some schools seek success in university entrance exams. Some schools seek to increase attendance or decrease bullying and provide an equitable education for all students.
Some schools focus on instilling a set of values that cherish the local or global community, the environment, and service learning. And some schools try to develop the skills necessary for success in college, career, and citizenship.
All seek to transmit the knowledge that will provide a full life to their students.