Watch Parlour LAB 13 – Learning Environments: Designing innovative spaces in education with Raechel French and Angela Kreutz.

You can purchase access to the CPD questions below.

What makes a good space for learning? How can these spaces support varying pedagogies? How are children and young people engaged in participatory design processes? How can we ensure that teachers and students actually use our innovative learning spaces as intended?

Our 13th Parlour LAB is a lively, engaging session that answers these questions and many more. Speaker Raechel French zoomed in from Austin, Texas and Angela Kreutz from Geelong in Victoria, with Kali Marnane and Rebecca McLaughlan co-hosting from their respective bases in Brisbane and Sydney.

Both speakers share their research into innovative education spaces. Angela talks about the importance of play in education, and the need to respect and listen to children’s feedback, experiences and views. “We assume play is frivolous and without aim, but it’s actually quite serious for children”. She raises the need to provide ‘affordances’ for children in design and urban design, providing multiple opportunities for play and learning.

Raechel discusses her work with the BOLD initiative – Bridging Organisation, Learning & Design – which aims to bridge the gap between architects and designers and the school system (teachers, leaders and students). She also outlines her research into three Texan schools, comparing the architects’ point of view with the lived experience of the educators, and the need for physical and organisational supports for teachers.

The Parlour LAB audience is once again engaged, knowledgeable and generous with a stream of questions, comments and advice. An audience member raises the disconnect between the design of internal learning spaces and the way these spaces are ultimately used by teachers. Another suggests that insurance is a key stumbling block when designing creative and innovative outdoor play spaces. Another wonders how two years of lockdowns and online learning have affected the use of the classroom now students are back at school.

For more on all these topics, watch the full video recording with Raechel French and Angela Kreutz in conversation with Kali Marnane and Rebecca McLaughlan.

This session is a companion to LAB 14 – Places of opportunity: designing with and for young people – you can watch that now too. 

If you enjoy the video and are not purchasing access to the CPD questions, please consider donating to support Parlour’s ongoing work. Better yet, join the Parlour Collective!

 

CPD

1 formal point on completion of the CPD questions – a link to the questions will be sent after you book.

Once completed, you will receive an email from Google forms with your responses. Please keep this – it provides the evidence of attendance and completion. Please note, separate CPD certificates will not be issued. If you can’t find the email, remember to check your spam folder. See here for the overall learning objectives for the series.

Tickets
  • Parlour Collective – $11 (individuals and practices that have joined the Parlour Collective)
  • General – $25
  • Concession – $5.50 (anyone who needs it – students, those not working, part-timers etc)

We operate on an honesty system – select the ticket type that aligns with your circumstances. If you haven’t yet joined the Parlour Collective, join now to access discount pricing and many other benefits, and to support Parlour’s ongoing work!

Purchase access to the CPD questions below. (If the form doesn’t work on your device, head to the trybooking page.)

 
Join the Parlour Collective