The Challenge:
CASE 21 answers the challenge of rapidly available classrooms that enhance teaching & learning
At a time in history when we know more about how the educational environment can improve teaching and learning, thousands of poorly designed classrooms are constructed each year in the United States; classrooms which ignore the positive effects of day-lighting, volume, proportion, ventilation, air quality, acoustics, sound reinforcement, organizational layout, sightlines, and technology integration. Teaching and learning CAN be improved through appropriate educational environments; the research on this subject is conclusive.
Why would anyone choose to deploy substandard educational space? Typically, it occurs for one of two major reasons:
- Expediency - The urgent need for additional educational classroom space often requires that cities and towns take immediate action. However, the time required to complete comprehensive master plans, develop school and community support, generate specific project design/construction documents, and complete complex construction projects often exceeds 3 to 5 years. During this lengthy planning and development period, millions of students continue to occupy over-crowded inferior educational environments. The process is further challenged by financial constraints and the fact that enrollments and demographics can change so rapidly that the original master plans, when finally implemented, often no longer accurately address the needs and inadequacies of the school district.
As a result of the urgency of the above dilemmas and the challenges of project funding and potential delays, more and more school districts are resorting to the procurement and installation of inferior temporary modular classroom space, purchasing the same low-quality mobile trailers first introduced in the early 1960s as a temporary solution to school overcrowding. This approach provides immediate targeted relief to overcrowding, but these classrooms represent a poor investment in the future of education. They are intended to provide low cost crisis-level relief, and have done so in some cities and towns. However, they lack all of the necessary amenities for a 21st Century classroom. They were temporary in the 60s, and they are temporary now.
lack all of the key ingredients to successful teaching and learning, without the extended timeline associated with master planning and permanent construction, or the need to commit to long term permanent construction solutions and the financial obligations associated with such. These classrooms lack much of the sophisticated environmental conditions which can enhance teaching and learning.
Other districts resort to rapid design and construction timelines for permanent construction which allow very little time for thoughtful, informed design decisions and focus on speed rather than quality of design, education, and construction. - Lack of available Expertise - In the past 10 years there have been tremendous advancements in our understanding of the educational environment, student and teacher performance, Green design, and high performance schools. We know exactly what physical and technological characteristics contribute to better learning, improved instruction, increased teacher satisfaction, and overall improved performance by students and teachers. We also know what steps can be taken to protect the environment, conserve resources, and incorporate sustainability. Unfortunately, very few architectural design professionals remain current on these advancements and their implementation. Districts often hire architectural firms who are not “Specialist” in High Performance Educational Environments and these firms generate solutions which are dated, ineffective, and non-responsive.
- Lack of Information – Many school districts are unaware that they have more options. Instead, they believe that their only options are to purchase the temporary modular trailers of the 1960s, or to begin the long tedious process of completing a site-built construction project.