Design

by AJ

"A study at Georgetown University found that even if the students, teachers, and educational approach remained the same, improving a school's physical environment could increase test scores by as much as 11 percent."

--Dan Pink

How's that for a "hard numbers" reason to take school design seriously. We're all debating, endlessly, the proper teaching approach. Yet here's a very simple way to boost our effectiveness... one that requires no change to how we teach.

Yes, this is an obsession of mine. And most people just dont get it.

Classroom design has a direct, and powerful, affect on learning. A classroom that is beautiful produces better test scores... and more learning. A dreary/boring classroom has the opposite affect. In other words, those tiny desks, fluorescent lights, white walls, and beige carpets are HARMING your students. They are lowering their scores and decreasing the effectiveness of your lessons. Maybe its not the curriculum..

Perhaps we we dont need another textbook. Or a different approach. Or better teachers. Or better admins.

Maybe we need, more than anything else, good interior decorators. Perhaps an art degree is more useful than a CELTA certificate.


San Francisco, CA