Research shows that for effective learning to occur, children must be actively involved. They need space to work with a wide variety of materials, share ideas, and present their findings. Architects are working to produce designs featuring large common areas or large complexes devoted to specific interests. Working in an open environment…

The organization of space profoundly affects learning. Students feel better connected to a building that anticipates their needs and respects them as individuals. Built in 1971, Crow Island School, in Winnetka, Illinois, is a prize-winning facility that has provided generations of children with windowed classrooms, skylights, adjacent workrooms,…

This study was designed to observe, record, and describe the interface between educational facilities and learning climate in three elementary schools, comparing the results with results from a 1990 study. Data came from taped informal interviews, videotape recordings, observations, and conversations with parents, teachers, and administrators.…

The development of new instructional organizations has placed demands on school facilities that cannot be met adequately with the procedures currently used for school design. Organizational methods, for example, that stress small-group and individual work in non-age-graded settings are not accommodated easily by either of the two common forms of…

This research project examined how educational facilities are perceived and used by the occupants. It sought to inform the design of effective learning environments in elementary schools through a heightened awareness of the needs of the occupants and an understanding of how they use their school facilities. Project objectives included the…