CHAPTER 6: Leveraging Tools & Spaces to Amplify LearninG

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Chapter 6 helps us rethink the use of tools and spaces, and ultimately refocus on how to effectively leverage them as part of a personal and authentic experience. Seen as supports in the Personal & Authentic Framework, these facets can either amplify or hinder the student experience. As such, we’ll explore issues surrounding equity, first by recognizing the gaps in opportunity and access that still exist for marginalized groups, and second by identifying ways to tackle these vital issues head on in our classrooms and schools.

 
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Stop & Reflect / Study Guide Questions

  • What was your earliest memory of using educational technology in the classroom? What did you learn in the process?

  • Tom shares a story of a lesson where he used technology and received needed (and necessary) pushback during the post-observation conference with his principal. Can you relate to this? Have there been times that you created a lesson because of the technology and lost sight of the learning goals? What did you learn in the process?

  • What’s the best supervision conversation you’ve ever had that has helped change your mindset or alter an instructional practice? Why was it so good? How does that conversation help you give authentic feedback to your staff or students?

  • Reflect on a time when you used technology in a lesson and it did not go as planned. What did you learn from the experience? Then reflect on a time technology helped provide a more personal and authentic experience for your learners.

  • What has consumption-based use looked like in your classroom or school? How could you have taken that strategy up a level to promote deeper learning outcomes?

  • Since they’ve been a hot trend for some time, Tom shares various 3D printer examples; with some being used effectively, and others being a colossal waste of money. Reflect on a tool that you’ve seen used for very low-level learning and also used elsewhere for deeper level outcomes. What was the difference between the two experiences?

  • What equity issues have you seen in your classroom or school? What are you doing to support traditionally marginalized students to close opportunity gaps?

  • Evaluate the student demographics that participate in clubs, competitions, and other types of extracurricular activities. Is there a disproportionate representation of student participation in any or all of the groups? If so, what will you do about it?

  • Which students in your classroom or school do not have Internet access at home? What are you doing to support them?

  • Reflect on your classroom space or one in your building. Why was the space designed as it was? What does the space indicate about your beliefs about how teaching and learning occur?

  • Tom outlines three areas highlighted in research on spaces: naturalness, individualization, and stimulation. How do the evidence-based thoughts that you read correlate with your classroom or school? What’s one change you could make?

  • How do inclusive spaces correlate with Maslow’s Hierarchy? Is the space that you design inclusive for all learners? How do you know?

  • What do your learners think about your space? Have you asked? Have you leveraged the learners’ voices to improve the inclusivity of your space?

#AuthenticEDU CallOuts

Download the callout quotes from this chapter and use them as part of your book study, team discussion, upcoming presentation, to share on social media, or in any way that can support you as an educator!

Related #LeadershipMinutes

Additional Resources to Support Your Personal & Authentic Journey

Technology
2024 National EdTech Plan (US ED)
K-12 Digital Infrastructure Brief: Adequate and Future Proof (US ED)
300+ Digital Tools for Engagement (curated by 1,000+ teachers w/Tom)
Teaching with AI (Open AI)
Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Teaching and Learning (US ED)
Developing a Blueprint to Support Digital Equity for All (US ED)
Using Evidence to Support EdTech Adoption in Schools (US ED)
Digital LEAP Success Matrix (CoSN)
Everything You Need to Teach Digital Citizenship (Common Sense Education)
Approaches and Obstacles to Promoting Media Literacy Education in U.S. Schools (Rand)
Digital Literacy 101: Understanding the Hurdles in Digital Literacy (US ED)
Digital Literacy 101 (Part 2): Understanding Process that Can Strengthen Digital Literacy (US ED)
Digital Literacy Resources (ALA)
5 Reasons Instructional Materials Matter for Equity (EdReports)
Adapting to the Future of Learning (NetRef)
Remote Learning Considerations (Future Ready Schools)
How Can Schools Ensure a Return on Instruction (eSchoolnews)
16 Questions for School Leaders Going Digital (Blog)
Efficacy in Digital Learning (Eric Sheninger)
Putting Learning First With New Tech Tools (Edutopia)
Improving EdTech Purchasing (Digital Promise)
3 steps to choosing the right EdTech for your classroom (Atomi)
National EdTech Plan (US Ed)
Blending Teaching & Technology: Simple Strategies for Improved Student Learning (Future Ready Schools)
Building Technology Infrastructure for Learning (US Ed)
Using Research in EdTech (Digital Promise)
[Webinar] Learning Reimagined: Leveraging Technology to Meet the Needs of All Students (EdWeb)
[Research] Pushing the Button: Why Do Learners Pause Online Videos? (Elsevier)

Connectivity Tools
EveryoneOn.org
Emergency Broadband Benefit (via FCC)

Equity
Inclusive & Equitable Learning Strategies (Learner Centered Collaborative)
Education Resource Equity (Alliance for Resource Equity)
Digital Equity Guide (Learning Accelerator)
Digital Equity Self-Assessment Tool & Digital Equity Audit Companion Workbook (Learning Accelerator)
An Introduction to Equity-Centered Design (Gates)
Zaretta Hammond on Equity and Student Engagement (ASCD)
Equity for English Language Learners (Edutopia)
K12 Districts Work to Close Digital Divide (EdTech Magazine)
Equality vs. Equity: 6 Steps Towards Equity (Edutopia)
Ensuring Access and Opportunity; Supporting At Home Connectivity (Blog)
Digital Equity Toolkit (CoSN)
3 PD Ideas to Help New Teachers Create Inclusive Classrooms (Edutopia)
[Webinar] Closing the Gap: Digital Equity Strategies for the K-12 Classroom with Dr. Nicol Howard, Regina Schaffer, and Dr. Sarah Thomas (Future Ready Schools)
[Webinar] Equity IS Education with Dr. Rosa Perez-Isiah (Future Ready Schools)

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Learning Spaces Research
Clever Classrooms: Summary Report (University of Salford, 2015)
The Impact of Classroom Design on Pupil’s Learning: Final Results of a Holistic, Multi-level Analysis (Science Direct, 2015)

Research: Complexity, Color, & Acoustics/Noise
Effect of Repeated Exposure to the Visual Environment on Young Children’s Attention (Wiley, 2022)
The Impact of Classroom Design on Pupils’ Learning: Final Results of a Holistic, Multi-level Analysis (Science Direct, 2015)
Classroom Design and Children’s Attention Allocation (Wiley, 2022)
Effect of Repeated Exposure to the Visual Environment on Young Children’s Attention (Wiley, 2022)
Creating Visually Appropriate Classroom Environments for Students With Autism Spectrum Disorder (Sage, 2021)
The effect of classroom environment on literacy development (NPJ, 2023)
Does noise affect learning? A short review on noise effects on cognitive performance in children (Frontiers, 2013)
Heavily Decorated Classrooms Disrupt Attention and Learning In Young Children (Association for Psychological Science, 2014)

Research: Lighting & Nature:
Classroom Lighting and Its Effect on Student Learning and Performance: Towards Smarter Conditions (SIST, 2020)
Daylight and School Performance in European Schoolchildren (National Library of Medicine, 2020)
Associations between the naturalness of window and interior classroom views, subjective well-bring of primary school children and their performance in an attention and concentration test (Science Direct, 2021)
Greening the Classroom: Three field experiments on the effects of indoor nature on students’ attention, well-being, and perceived environmental quality (Science Direct, 2020)

Research: Ventilation & Air Quality:
Air Pollution and Student Performance in the U.S. (National Bureau of Economic Research, 2022)
A Controlled Exposure Study of Green and Conventional Office Environments (Harvard, 2015)
Heat and Learning (National Bureau of Economic Research, 2018)

Research: Representation / Individualization
The impact of classroom design on pupil’s learning: Final results of a holistic, multi-level analysis (Science Direct, 2015)
Designing Classrooms to Maximize Student Achievement (Behavioral & Brain Sciences, 2014)
Incorporating Black Images and References to Increase African American Student Performance (Journal of Black Psychology, 2019)

Research: Flexibility, Seating Arrangements, & Movement
Flexible Learning Environments (CA DOE, 2016)
Flexible Classrooms: Research is Scarce, But Promising (Edutopia, 2021)
Proximity can induce diverse friendships: A large randomized classroom experiment (PLOS One, 2021)
Differential Effects of Seating Arrangements on Disruptive Behavior… (Wiley, 2013)
Seating arrangements that promote positive academic behavioral outcomes (Nasen, 2008)
Research-Tested Benefits of Breaks (Edutopia, 2018)
A Space for Learning: An analysis of research on active learning spaces (Heliyon, 2019)
Personalizing Student Learning with Station Rotation (AIR, 2020)

Learning Spaces Resources
How Active Learning Classrooms are Making a Difference (Steelcase)
4 Ways Classroom Design Impacts Executive Functioning (Edutopia)
The Architecture of Ideal Learning Environments (Edutopia)
Creativity in Learning (Gallup)
Flexible Classrooms: Research is Scarce, But Promising (Edutopia)
12 Ways to Upgrade Your Classroom (Cult of Pedagogy)
How Furniture and Flexible Seating Is Turning Classroom Design Into a Fad (EdSurge)
Rebooting Industrial Era Seating (Edutopia)
Letting Kids Move in Class Isn’t a Break From Learning. It is Learning! (Washington Post)
Cheap (Yet Valuable) Learning Space Redesign (Edutopia)
7 Tips for Moving from Decorating to Designing Classrooms (Bob Dillon)
Innovative Learning Environments and Teacher Change (ILETC)
Ending Old-School Nostalgia in Learning Spaces (AASA)
Family Star Montessori - The Environment (for Elementary Classrooms)
The Optimal Seating Plan? Letting Your Students Choose (Edutopia)
Creating Experimental Learning Spaces (Educause)
How to Design Early Learning Spaces with Dr. Sandra Duncan (Early Learning Nation)
Flexible Seating Elevates Student Engagement (Edutopia)
Guidelines on Exploring and Adapting Learning Spaces in Schools (Future Classroom Lab)
Reimagining Classroom Management Through the Use of Proactive Classroom Design (Bob Dillon)
Learning Space Images (Bob Dillon)
Space Design for Active Classrooms (Steelcase)
Lessons from Teachers: How Classroom Design Impacts Teachers (Corgan)
Teacher Ideas for Beating the Heat in the Classroom! (Reddit thread)

Learning Space Tools
Classroom FloorPlanner (Kaplan)
Learning Space Toolkit
UDL Learning Spaces Idea Kit

Additional #LeadershipMinutes:
- Placing Tasks Before Apps with Monica Burns
- Ensuring Efficacy with Eric Sheninger
- Stop Celebrating Low-Level Learning
- Technology is an Accelerant
- Equity and the Community with Dr. Beth Holland
- Equity IS Education with Dr. Rosa Perez-Isiah
- Creation Over Consumption with Kelly Croy

Author’s Note: The resources contained within this page are not intended to be an exhaustive list, but are intended to provide conversation starters, pre-reading/watching, and inspiration on your journey. If you have additional suggestions, please share them so that they can be included for the benefit of others.

#AuthenticEDU