Indian Express released a recent article about Social and Emotional Learning and its importance for helping preschool children on several aspects such as: understand and manage their emotions, empathy, healthy relationships and other… “There has been much emphasis given to the importance of children attending early childhood education centres as it prepares them in early literacy, numeracy, and cognitive skills, or School Readiness as some call it. However, we often lose sigh

The Biz Journal posted a recent article about emerging design trends for learning spaces. Academic sector was always challenged by the achievement gap among students triggered by several factors such as: socioeconomic status, learning style, parental involvement and access to technology. Covid 19 the effects imposed by these factors have been magnified. Efforts to face and address many of these challenges were already underway, school districts are starting to adopt some desi

The Mass Media released a recent article that analyzes safety in learning environments. A recent study has been made in Oxford Brookes University in Wheatley Campus, where it has been discovered elevated levels of CO2. Elizabeth Sweet, a professor in the anthropology department, revealed that the project initiated after the pandemic, with the increasing need of improving health measures. According to Elizabeth Sweet, coming back to the campus was a reality, and the easiest w

Architecture & Design released a recent article that focuses on how it is important to engage learning environments in order to create a sense of place, purpose and community for students and staff. A recent project was developed in Hester Hornbrook Academy, Australia, which involved design and research, and that proved the importance of authentic inclusive design. Let’s review the most interesting findings: When it comes to designing a campus, it is important to understand t

The Press and The Journal from UK posted a recent article about outdoor education. It develops how experts affirm that this type of learning can be a powerful tool regarding development for children. Colin Masterson, headteacher of Achiltibuie and Lochinver primary schools, says that outdoor learning can help children to understand and develop a skill set that will prepare them for the interactions in a real life context. “Achiltibuie and Lochinver are nestled on the remote n

Victoria University of Wellington in New Zealand recently posted a research about the impact of learning environments on student performance. In the article, the concept of ‘better classrooms’ is described as “buildings where the indoor conditions promote the comfort, health and wellbeing of students and teachers.” One key insight is that student performance can completely change when the classroom conditions are not appropriate. Factors such as lighting, temperature, noise l

The Newspaper made a recent article about a book called School Leadership and the Creation of Productive Learning Spaces in Schools, written by Prof Aslam Fataar from the Department of Education Policy Studies at Stellenbosch University and Dr Johann Burger, District Manager for the Western Cape Education Department (WCED). Burger emphasizes how the creative use of spaces in schools can improve a student's performance and also promote their emotional well being. “The book sho

The Colorado Sun published a recent article about how Colorado Springs students envision coming back to school. Outdoor classrooms, relaxation spaces, plants, water features, comfortable couches and more. These and other ideas were discussed in a virtual listening session that took place on July 8, in which kids from across Colorado could participate and share their ideas regarding how the Colorado Department of Education could best spend its budget to help schools and academ

MKT Statement: Just because it was written before the pandemic, doesn’t mean it’s not relevant for planning the post-pandemic hybrid workplace. What is still true? We need to measure what we’re trying to achieve and adjust our practices in real time using real-time data. Call-outs: “A single best physical or digital workspace architecture will never be found. That’s because more interaction is not necessarily better, nor is less. The goal should be to get the right people int

The New York Times released a recent article written by Clair Cain Miller that analyses a frequent dilemma: Does chance meetings shift or stifle creativity? Interesting question to address, now more than ever since the work dynamic changed completely during and after the pandemic lock down. “In-office work is essential for some innovative jobs, like those that involve physical objects, and beneficial for some people, like newly hired employees and those seeking mentors. Yet s

The return to classes after a year of isolation has forced school districts to rethink how to re-adapt learning environments and make them safer. The biggest challenge is to diminish the risk for virus transmission. Building, Design and Construction Magazine published a recent article that analyzes this reality in Los Angeles, California. “To that end, the Los Angeles County Office of Education has published a 53-page report that provides K-12 schools with Design Guidelines f

The pandemic has challenged all of the educational systems to rethink the future classroom. EdTech Magazine posted a recent article called: Post-Pandemic Classrooms: What Will They Look Like and How Will They Be Different?. Let’s look at the highlights of the analysis. Virtual and hybrid learning environments are going to be prioritized: virtual and asynchronous classes allow students to easily adapt the learning schedules with their personal activities. “Phil Dunn, CIO for

Learning environments are places in which creativity and innovation must be at the center. A recent article in Business Wire looks at how Penrhos College is designing their STEM spaces for the evolving needs of their students.New materials and technologies were used in order to create ‘contemporary inspirational environments’. "The overarching objective of the project was to create an inspirational teaching and learning environment for STEM subjects and STEM-related areas by

A recent study by Edsource gathering data from 84% of schools in California shows that we still have a ways to go to get everyone back in the classroom. For Charter and public school students the percentage of full-time in-person instruction is around 12% - 13% while for private schools the numbers increase to 60.6%. The below maps show schools by instruction type: Green = Full in-person Light Green = Hybrid Blue = Distance Learning Only Our teams are working with schools to

A recent study made by MIT Sloan School of Management has shown that by borrowing different tools of the gaming industry, online learning becomes easier for students. They connect better with the lessons and activities and it also improves the learning outcomes. “Gamification could be revolutionary for education, and a godsend for students with more visual and collaborative learning styles. Take the chat window, which facilitates the wisdom of the crowd. With technology, we c

Best friend and co-conspirator @Molly Rauch speaking at a Mom’s Clean Airforce press conference yesterday before the Senate Climate Vote. Joined by Senators Chuck Shumer and Ed Markey. Molly has been fighting the good fight about the social equity impacts of climate change for over a decade and has partnered with @MKThink to further national research around improving indoor air quality in schools. She inspires me everyday to focus on advocacy by whatever means available. "

Grassy green spaces, intermittent gardens, mulched pathways and wooden boxes filled with water are the new protagonists of the educational spaces proposed by St. John’s Lutheran Church’s Child Development Center. “Based on a design composed by N.C. State’s Natural Learning Initiative, the outdoor learning environment was the Child Development Center’s answer to needing to replace its “tired” playground of 20 years. Instead of removing the old equipment and putting a new versi

Once upon a time, there was a pandemic, and the children stayed inside. With stay-at-home orders and school closures, contemporary childhood is not the same. Playgrounds are taped off, and many parks around the country are closed. Coronavirus is a generation-defining moment, and experts are already considering the term “Gen C” for those born during this time. Schools are adapting to parameters like social distancing, as set forth by the Center for Disease Control and Preventi

Parents are going crazy with kids at home. But maybe a Compassionate Leave Policy could reframe the experience to something more intentional and financially supported. And maybe parents getting active in their kids' education isn't a bad thing. More from the Atlantic article here. Image: From Getty images via the Atlantic article #learning #learningenvironments #COVID

A few years back, MKThink connected with the founding group of educators at the Minerva School (established 2012). With the (education) world shifted from its traditional axis, we are reflecting on that model and wondering how today these lessons may apply. Minerva's model is an international university without walls. Students learn from where they are, anywhere, in campuses they define and are able to be located around the world. The potential is to exchange the capital ex