Education and architecture may be my two favourite fields to trespass into (after philosophy, economics, journalism, management…) and right now there are a couple of interesting pieces from Metropolis Magazine that combine them.
The short one is “IDEO’s Ten Tips for Creating a 21st Century Classroom Experience.” Anyone familiar with John Dewey’s progressive theories will recognize most of the tips (e.g. “pull, don’t push” and “build a learning community”). Dewey has not been without vocal critics for the past century (I think Kieran Egan recently is one of the most useful), but technology is giving us new resources to apply progressive theories effectively.
What interests me most about all this isn’t the specific ideas themselves but the deep affinities between early pragmatist philosophy and current design practices… I wrote about this before. Primarily, they both orient themselves around the concept of “experience” — not the kind you list with bullet points on a resumé, but the kind that is always happening.
The other piece from Metropolis is called “Open-Ended Learning.” It’s more architecture-oriented, showing off some innovative schools designed to affect the educational experience. (Also see Bruce Mau Design’s Third Teacher project.)
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