Guerilla Educators

The Language of School Design; Design Patterns for the 21st Century

We recently received the revised edition of "The Language of School Design; Design Patterns for the 21st Century, by Prakash Nair, Randall Fielding, and Jeffery Lackney.  WOW!  My concern was that you would somehow lose the simplicity of the Design Patterns that I think was one of the hallmarks of the first edition.  This straightforward explication of the Design Patterns is what made the book not only a resource for edfacs but for educators as well.  The 2nd edition maintains that universal relevance and the illustrations enhances the patterns very nicely.  Bravo! ...and thanks, guys.  Here is a short video of Randy explaining the design patterns to a group in Regina, Saskatchewan.

Teacher Environmental Competence in Elementary School Environments

Good friend and colleague, Dr. Jeff Lackney has just gotten this paper published in Children, Youth, Environments Journal from the University of Colorado.

This intro is from Dr. Lackney: 

"Attached is a publication of mine that has been 12 years in the making (I'm a bit slow when I want to be). Finally got it published. Clearly I've recast much of my work from the mid-90s to include my more recent thoughts on teacher training in educational planning - an area that I think gets NO attention. The main thing of note is that it is a subtle attempt to frame my notion of "educational commissioning" (EdCx) as a process of educating educators to effectively use space for their pedagogies. This paper could only deal with a limited set of pedagogies being employed in these inner city schools. A second paper would want to jump into the work we are all doing regarding the raising of awareness around PBL and other methods and space as we plan and design new environments. It's an academic journal paper, but its easily readable, I think. My thought was to extend the work we've done at Cristo Rey High School in Minneapolis and focus squarely on EdCx as a process that spans the entire educational planning/design process."

Abstract
Teacher environmental competence, the ability to understand and effectively use physical instructional space for a pedagogical advantage, continues to receive limited attention in education. Exploring the perceptions of 20 teachers at five urban elementary schools, this study investigates teachers’ understanding and effective use of the physical environment to meet instructional goals. It examines organizational factors that contribute to poor environmental competence in school environments. The action research approach employed in this study includes a set of interconnected training, research and action activities. Once teachers were introduced to a means of communicating their environmental experience through the training component, they were able to articulate specific environmental concerns, see their interrelationship, and make judgments of priority. The paper suggests avenues for raising the environmental competence of educators within the context of educational reforms advocating for collaborative, learner-centered environments.
To read the entire paper, click here.

Teaching for Tomorrow

In 1997, Ted McCain wrote a groundbreaking book called, "Teaching for Tomorrow".  The book makes as strong a case for Project Based Learning as one will find.  In the foreward the architect Frank Kelly connects Mr. McCain's approach to teaching and learning with the various architecture processes.  Mr. Kelly feels that, by definition, architects work on "projects" in a very similar way that authentic Project Based Learning is conducted with students.
In Chapter 3 of the book, "Teaching Students How to Solve Problems, the author delineated the "4 D's of Problem Solving":

1. Define
2. Design
3. Do
4. Debrief

These 4 D's present a bona fide "how to" for using the Project Based pedagogy successfully with students.  Greg Cruey's blog presents a great in-depth review of Teaching for Tomorrow.  I just wanted to get a post up about this important work, even if it's a bare sketch.  More to come...

Contact us here at Guerilla Educators for cutting edge Educational Facilities Design Solutions that work. We'll work with you every step of the way.

Randall Fielding, CEFPI 2007 Planner of the Year

Congratulations to Randall Fielding, CEFPI's 2007 recipient of the Planner of the Year award.  Randall is the co-founder of Fielding Nair International, one of the world's most innovative educational design companies.  Besides being a brilliant educator/architect, Randy is a genuinely good guy who really cares about students.  Warmest regards from Guerilla Educators to you, Randy on your award.  You deserve it!