Learning Environments Applied Research Network (LEaRN) Quarterly E-News No images? Click here Welcome to our Summer QuarterlyWelcome to the Summer 2019 edition of the Learning Environments Applied Research Network (LEaRN) Quarterly eNews. It’s been eventful year! We hope to have provided some helpful resources and facilitated conversations to bridge architects and educators everywhere. In this issue:
Building Connections: call for papers and website launchBuilding Connections: Schools As Community Hubs is a three-year Australian Research Council Linkage Project investigating how best to plan, design, govern and manage schools to operate successfully as ‘more than a school’, encouraging the development of resilient and connected communities. Building Connections team is excited to announce the launch of the project website and a call for papers. The Schools as Community Hubs International Conference will take place at the University of Melbourne on 4 December 2020. See call for papers. To receive future news and updates from the project, visit the project website or subscribe to the project newsletter. ILETC research activitiesThe Teacher Transition Pathway is currently being developed by the ILETC team to provide a framework for strategies and tools and a process for navigating the journey of change. These strategies and tools will include many that have been developed by our research team and project partners as well as those shared with us by schools and education organisations. This pathway is highly individualised, both at school and teacher levels. While commonalities exist, the reality is each school (and teacher) experiences unique challenges during this transition. The project is collecting existing strategies and tools that are already in use to inform the development of the Teacher Transition Pathway. We would like to hear from teachers and principals about the strategies and tools which have helped their staff and students to make the change from traditional to innovative learning spaces. Share your successes – tell us what has helped you and your students successfully transition into an innovative learning environment. You can submit online or sign up for a focus group. Sydney events scheduled for late February and more planned. Photo: NSW Dept of Education, Bellevue Hill Public School Talking Spaces 10 is coming on 16 and 17 April 2020Talking Spaces 10 will take place on 16 and 17 April 2020, on Level 1 of the Melbourne Graduate School of Education (MGSE) at the University of Melbourne. The event will explore the user experience (UX) of learning spaces through a range of lenses including those of inclusion, community and wellbeing. Plans to Pedagogy (P2P)The Plans to Pedagogy research partnership is now moving into its third year with ten partner schools around Australia and New Zealand, each working with a University academic. All schools recently participated in a two-day workshop, held at the Melbourne Graduate School of Education in November. The growth in research skills and knowledge around spatialised pedagogies was impressive. We look forward to our next event, with a public audience, to be held in May 2020 - more details coming soon. LEaRN at the Architectural Science Association ConferenceKenn Fisher wrote on an evidence-base for biophilic design for wellbeing. Another paper on the interdisciplinary evaluation of academic workspace was co-authored by Sarah Backhouse, Clare Newton, Lucio Naccarella, Kenn Fisher and Ben Cleveland. A third paper on permanent prefabrication for schools was co-authored by Clare Newton, Sarah Backhouse, Ajibade Aibinu and Philippa Soccio, and based on research discussions with Robert Crawford, Kenn Fisher, Tom Kvan, Ben Cleveland and Dominik Holzer. All three double-blind refereed papers will be available online in coming weeks. Learning Spaces and Special Educational Needs (LS & SEN)The LEaRN team on LS + SEN have collaborated with UK academic Jos Boys (UCL) on an article published in The Conversation on 3rd December 2019. In the article, Dr Scott Alterator, Dr Ben Cleveland and Dr Jos Boys identify the divide between inclusion policy and built environment practice. Full article. Also check out Dr Jos Boys’ project DisOrdinary Architecture. Public libraries for communityLEaRN's Research Fellow Sarah Backhouse and Associate Professor Clare Newton wrote an article for The Conversation, published on 9th December 2019. Public libraries embody the values of democracy by offering free access to knowledge. But the role of contemporary public libraries extends far beyond access to books. Full article. Talking Spaces 10 SurveyOur survey invites you to help shape LEaRN's future events and research activities. The following are some insights from the survey responses so far. Respondent profiles: Learning environment focus of respondents: How important do you think that the user experience of learning environments is for each of the following? Thinking about LEaRN's research, what are two or three burning issues that you would like us to explore in the future?
Thinking about LEaRN's events, what are some issues that you would like future Talking Spaces to explore?
It's not too late to contribute your ideas; the survey closes on Wednesday 18 December at 5PM. Welcoming our new Research Communications CoordinatorPhuong Nguyen Phuong Nguyen is our new Research Communications Coordinator who started with LEaRN in October 2019, supporting the network through research communication of the activities and findings of the group to broader audiences. Phuong has worked in multiple research support and communications roles across the University and has experience in project management, communications, event and website management. Phuong holds a Master of Development Studies from the Faculty of Arts, with a thesis exploring the social construction of childhood and child protection programs in and out of Vietnamese schools. At LEaRN, we are preparing for our summer holidays and the festive season. Wherever you are, we wish you and yours
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