An ‘uncomfortable truth’: Do innovative learning spaces really improve outcomes?

Australian Teacher Magazine, March 22, 2022, By Sarah Duggan

Excerpt from Australian Teacher Magazine

Dr Nathaniel Swain has no qualms that his space might look ‘out of step’ with current layout and design trends.

He is well aware that to the casual observer his classroom might appear different. For starters, desks are arranged in neat, front-facing rows. There’s not a collaborative ‘cluster’ or ‘U’ shape formation in sight. For the teacher, instructional coach and researcher, it’s a simple set up that feeds perfectly into his instructional practice and the learning routines he wants to establish with his prep students.

Striking Instagram feeds that now showcase teachers’ decorative endeavours don’t necessarily tell the full story, he suggests. “A lot of people look at those feeds and there’s a lot of beautiful classrooms and stunning spaces, and really interesting aesthetic things that are done. What those pictures don’t reflect is actually how the learning is working in those spaces...”

“It’s the quality of the learning taking place that really matters, he says. “I think what’s really pushing teachers all the time is, ‘How do I make sure my classroom doesn’t look tacky or boring?’ Or there’s pressure that there has to be stuff on the walls that teaches students, rather than the teacher being there to actually teach...”

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