This paper focuses on the methodology adopted for Malta+5, which builds on Robin Alexander's work by comparing the five pedagogical cultures he studied to the one in Malta. It reflects critically on the research process adopted in this study, and shows how, despite the very limited experience and resources, applying the methodology, frameworks and…

The worldwide Corona pandemic has severely restricted student projects in the higher semesters of engineering courses. In order not to delay the graduation, a new concept had to be developed for projects under lockdown conditions. Therefore, unused rooms at the university should be digitally recorded in order to develop a new usage concept as…

This article explores the take-up and imaginaries of open-plan schooling during the 1970s, drawing on examples from Denmark and Victoria (Australia). As well as expressing new forms of classroom design and pedagogical praxis, open plan classrooms stood for reimagining schooling as a social institution and to possibilities for remaking student and…

The changing nature of education has forced educators to rethink the role of classrooms in student learning. Prior research has shown that the environmental and structural design of education centers impact student learning. With a dozen variables to deal with, classroom designers are faced with the daunting task of selecting one plan from the…

The concepts of future classrooms, multimedia labs or active learning space has recently gained prominence in educational research. Evidence-based research has found that well-designed primary school classrooms can boost students' learning. Also, schools' principals, teachers and students are requesting for more flexible, reconfigurable and modern…

Seating assignments and arrangements are utilized in every school classroom. This qualitative study explored the perceptions that teachers have on seating assignments and arrangements to gain a better understanding of how they make design considerations which impact their students. The questions that guide this study are: How do elementary…

The design research methodology as it has currently developed centers on the creation of "existence proofs," an important first step. What is needed then are the next steps of expanding the methodology to address the design problems of practical implementation prior to the steps involved in scaling up these designs. This article contributes to…

This article presents a study on using the PAIR-up model to evaluate active learning spaces. The PAIR-up model takes advantage of interdisciplinary partnerships, assessment, innovation, and reevaluation of current views to support learning space design. Using PAIR-up, the University of Minnesota designed, constructed, and assessed two pilot Active…

This study reports the results of an innovative assignment in which preservice teachers' mental representations were examined through drawing floor plans of an "ideal middle-level mathematics classroom." The 41 middle-level mathematics preservice teachers created two floor plans, one at the beginning of the semester and the other for the…

Learners are multi-faceted, unique people. Discovering the whole individual is incumbent upon realizing the teaching/learning environments, common social and societal realities, and belief and value systems respective of academic and socio-societal factors that establish who one is as a learner and teacher. In "Learning and Teaching," the authors…

This paper presents the conclusions of a study, carried out in collaboration with schools in six European countries, which focused on tomorrow's physical learning environments. The study, which stemmed from a project entitled Forum for the Future and which was funded by the Finnish National Board of Education (FNBE), was designed to contribute to…

To demonstrate the impact facilities can have on learning, some exemplary elementary schools that made the decision to provide a good educational environment are presented. To assess the impact of these facilities, students, teachers, parents, superintendents, and other administrators were interviewed. The book opens with a discussion of whether…

A "model approach" to teacher education specifies the development of a model of an idealized learning environment. One way to create a model as a real entity as opposed to a written document is to operationalize model classrooms that exemplify the type of instruction desired. The model described here goes hand in hand with the university-based and…

Examines alternative schools and a significant art-centered alternative to conventional practice. (Author/RK)

The classroom models were developed and illustrated by the Secondary Exploration of Technology Project (SET) for new ninth grade courses in industrial arts. (Communication lab, materials lab, power lab, and the total facility layout). (Author)