Wayfinding is the method by which humans orient and navigate in space, and particularly in built environments such as cities and complex buildings, including public libraries. In order to wayfind successfully in the built environment, humans need information provided by wayfinding systems and tools, for instance architectural cues, signs, and…

This is the first article in a six-part series on the elements of a collaborative classroom: furniture, social media, video/web conferencing tools, collaborative software, interactive devices, and mobile devices. With most universities facing tight budgets, convincing administrators to invest in expensive new classrooms is a challenge. Many higher…

The idea that research on infants should "voice" their "perspectives", their experiences, what they are "really saying," is a central feature of current moves toward participatory research. While embracing the ethos of participation, this article steps away from the binary logic of identity that implicitly underpins…

Academic libraries by nature serve as spaces for communities of learners to gather. Careful design and marketing of spaces to meet specific needs, staffed by experts to facilitate and guide such learning, enhance the impact of "library as place." In this article, the author shares two examples of collaborations that have resulted from partnerships…

What is on the five-year horizon for K-12 schools worldwide? Which trends and technologies will drive educational change? What are the challenges that we consider as solvable or difficult to overcome, and how can we strategize effective solutions? These questions and similar inquiries regarding technology adoption and transforming teaching and…

This paper is a portrait of a public elementary school classroom in light of the relationships, history, and ideas that have formed its physical space. In describing Judy Richard's classroom, the author shows how a creative teacher's commitment to seeing her classroom as a living space inevitably brings her to overstep the narrow limits of the…

For education institutions looking for ways to expand, there is good news: they already may have the space they need, right on campus. Limited financial resources are inspiring education institutions to be more creative by enlisting the help of architects to re-examine existing built assets. By thinking differently about space--the space within…

Classroom design for the 21st-century learning environment should accommodate a variety of learning skills and needs. The space should be large enough so it can be configured to accommodate a number of learning activities. This also includes furniture that provides flexibility and accommodates collaboration and interactive work among students and…

Crime Prevention through Environmental Design (CPTED) 101 applies to both new and existing schools and is built on three simple concepts: natural surveillance, natural access control, and territoriality. If a school's layout seems unsafe, adopting a few CPTED fundamentals may help make it significantly safer. This paper offers some tips for making…

Intentionally temporary housing environments, like student housing, where residents know they will settle for a short period may lack the social and physical factors that inspire a sense of home and community. Yet, these environments compete with traditional housing options to retain residents and therefore, universities want to create housing…

This paper is an examination of an artwork produced by a sixth-form student who explores the prohibited spaces of queer lives. She does so through the production of an installation, a dominant format in contemporary art, in which space is a central semiotic vehicle. Rather than choosing a confessional strategy, she distances herself from her own…

We investigated teacher versus student seat selection in the context of group and individual seating arrangements. Disruptive behavior during group seating occurred at twice the rate when students chose their seats than when the teacher chose. During individual seating, disruptive behavior occurred more than three times as often when the students…

Located at the intersection where teaching and curriculum meet, this narrative inquiry examines how collaborative curriculum making unfolded between and among six members of a physical education department in a middle school in the mid-southern USA. The internationally significant work takes the position that long-term relations are prerequisite…

Support for the modular system of building construction, touted in the second half of the 20th century as the best basis for academic library building design, appears to be waning. A study of "green" libraries in 2008 revealed that not only has energy conservation become important, but that spaces designed for users rather than books…

Classroom teachers frequently use movement and sensory integration to assist their students' learning but little research exists to support its use. Although research is limited, it suggests that the use of alternative seating may provide students with an opportunity to move just enough therefore assisting children in learning more…