Cultivating Outdoor Classrooms: Designing and Implementing Child-Centered Learning Environments by Eric Nelson

ABSTRACTWithin English early childhood education, there is emphasis on improving speech and language development as well as a drive for outdoor learning. This paper synthesises both aspects to consider whether or not links exist between the environment and the quality of young children’s utterances as part of their speech and language development and if so, the nature of those links. In a small-scale case study, data were captured in a natural environment and in indoor and outdoor classrooms. The quality of utterances was analysed using Type/Token Ratios (TTR) analysis. Findings indicate that participant’s speech quality differed according to environment. Children’s lexical diversity was richer in a natural environment than in indoor and outdoor classrooms, which produced mirrored outcomes. The findings suggest that within the natural environment, where learning is child-initiated, the quality of utterances manifest in ways not found in indoor or outdoor classrooms, where learning is adult led.

Traditional indoor lessons, in an Australian high school, were moved outdoors. Studies exploring teacher/student perceptions of a move to nature-based classrooms are limited in mainstream schools in disadvantaged areas. The research question was: how do teachers and students perceive and experience outdoor learning environments compared to indoor environments? Forty-seven students aged 13–14 years, and 2 teachers, took part in 5-weeks of indoor and 5-weeks of outdoor lessons. Students were approached for focus groups; teachers for interviews. A phenomenological approach explored the lived experiences of participants in the outdoor classroom; thematic analysis was used to interpret the data. Teachers reported learning and engagement as comparable in the indoor and outdoor settings. Teachers required resources, school support and guidelines to capitalise on the potential of nature-based learning. A practical ‘how to’ for teachers and schools looking to move outside is included. This study suggests guidelines for weather, class size and lessons content/styles.

There is a comma between 「ワタナベ君」 and 「でしょ?」 in the example sentence (1). Comma means “Proceeding to the next dialogue after a deep breathing.” After the deep breathing, Japanese auxiliary verbs are frequently separated from the full sentence just like the example sentence (2). 1)彼女はすっと立ち上がって僕の方にやってきた。そしてテ-ブルの端に片手をついて僕の名前を呼んだ。(She came walking toward me. A hand up in the corner of my desk and called my name.) 「ワタナベ君、でしょ?」(Watanabe's, right?) 僕は顔を上げてもう一度相手の顔をよく見た。しかし何度見ても見覺えはなかった。(I once looked up and saw her face. But again, I see how many times you could see out.) (ノルウェイの森·上)(Norway's forests, partⅠ) 2) 私たちは不完全な世界に住んでいる不完全な人間なのです。定規で長さを測ったり分度器で角度を測ったりして銀行預金みたいにコチコチと生きているわけではないのです。でしょ?(We are imperfect people living in the world is incomplete. Measure the length of characters, or as aprotractor to measure angles, just as neatly on the bank to deposit money as you can not live. Right?)(ノルウェイの森·下)(Norway's forests, partⅡ) Japanese auxiliary verb of ‘Darou’ ‘Rasii’ ‘Youda’ ‘Mitaida’ ‘Kamosirenai’ is used independently in the practical dialogue so often. but this kind of linguistic phenomena has not been reported yet. because these kind of auxiliary verbs have been regarded as a dependent words in Japanese traditional gramma system for a long time. So This study reports the following. Semantically this kind of Japanese auxiliary verbs should not need new information. That is why this independent using of auxiliary is limited to a speculation auxiliary verbs. Morphologically this kind of Japanese auxiliary verbs should have simple connection forms between proposition and modality.

240 Children, Youth and Environments Vol. 20 No. 2 (Fall 2010) ISSN: 1546-2250 Linking Architecture and Education: Sustainable Design for Learning Environments Taylor, Anne (2009). Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press; 451 pages. $100. ISBN 9780826334077. In Linking Architecture and Education, Anne Taylor has compiled a career of research into an extensive resource for architects, administrators, educators, and anyone else involved in the design of learning environments. Dr. Taylor founded and served as director of the Institute for Environmental Education in the School of Architecture and Planning at the University of New Mexico, where she directed research that examined the effects of the built environment on children. In this book she advocates for a series of design principles developed through years of teaching, research, and professional consultancy on the design of learning environments. The book places primary emphasis on the design of schools and schoolyards, with consideration also given to informal learning spaces such as museums and playgrounds. Aimed at providing a common language for design professionals and educators, Taylorattempts to link educational goals and learning theories to design principles through the use of numerous charts and graphics woven throughout the volume. The book is loosely organized around five key themes: philosophical foundations, organizational strategies, the building as a teaching tool or “threedimensional textbook,” future trends, and fostering ecological stewardship. The first four themes serve as the topics for the book sections, providing a sequential organization and unifying structure to the extensive literature. Stewardship is addressed in four separate chapters—one for each section of the book. The organization of the book is driven by Taylor’s aspirations to transform the educational built environment through a series of holistic-design guidelines including: design criteria that is informed by the users’ developmental needs; architectural form that evolves from curriculum and learning theory; educational spaces that are 241 flexible and modeled after the design studio; learning landscapes; community engagement through co-location, multi-use design, and the community as living laboratory; and post-occupancy user guides and evaluation. Along the way she incorporates supplemental information in the form of case studies, photographs, charts, and visual and verbal commentary from colleagues. These are organized in a brilliantly colored and graphically coded format of sidebar information, design tools, designer perspectives, and stewardship forums. At times this rich array of resources and varied perspectives disrupts the flow of the book—obscuring the points presented instead of punctuating them. But, perhaps more significantly, they also create the possibility for an alternative, nonlinear, reading of the book. Students, design and education professionals, parents, and community members may find this secondary organization helpful in using the text as a sourcebook of examples and best practices both to inform the design of new learning spaces as well as to identify opportunities to make more effective use of existing spaces. The link between pedagogy and architectural design is made clear throughout the book, with related concepts often introduced through charts and diagrams and further reinforced by case examples. In section one, for example,Taylor links philosophical theories to the roles of the learner and teacher, the curriculum, and instructional strategies. She also links these theories to the role of the architect, the design process, and the form of the physical environment. A case study of Reggio Emilia preschools inItaly then demonstrates how aspects of the building design can support the educational philosophy of the school. Stakeholders in design processes may benefit from understanding how philosophy informs practice, and Taylorjustifies combining this information into a single chart as a starting point for design discussion between disciplines. Often such diagrams in the book successfully illustrate key relationships between architecture and education, but at times the format is problematic. For example, the chart could easily be misinterpreted by the reader as a prescription for a particular design process or architectural style based on the educational philosophy of the client. In general, however, Taylor successfully relates educational and architectural concepts in clear and meaningful 242 ways. Design students and practitioners may appreciate the succinct overview of major educational theories in section two, whereas educators may find section three particularly useful for the long list of suggestions about how to use the educational facility...

Multiculturalism and Shades of Meaning in the New South Africa

Research has established that early attention to maintainability concerns during the design development and review stages provides a potential for delivering high levels of comfort to building occupants and reducing maintenance budgets. This paper seeks to identify and assess the set of electrical systems’ design defects that are attributed to a lack of the maintenance manager’s engagement with the design team. The research confirmed the importance of all the identified design defects based on the assessment of domain experts in the 13 public Saudi Arabian universities that operate and maintain considerable infrastructure in their campuses. The paper presents two sets of validated maintainability design review checklists for consideration by design professionals at the 60 and 90% design completion stages, in order to reduce the probability of occurrence of the identified defects. This paper serves to promote awareness among the various stakeholders in building projects about the earned benefits of...

This research will leverage off the popularity of emerging technologies with young people to identify (mobile) learning practices that produce positive experiences for students. The research will take place and be guided by a learning environment that adheres to tikanga Māori practices. The expectations and mobile learning experiences of tutors and students will be obtained; this data will then be analysed to construct a mobile learning model that adheres to the needs of students within tikanga Māori learning environments. Adaption of a tikanga based teaching and learning philosophy for the development of formal mobile learning is being used as a basis for professional development and learning design. It is anticipated that a mobile learning framework that can produce positive teaching and learning experiences will contribute to improving educational outcomes for Māori and other students.

Semicolonized Mind

Instructional design is one of the newer educational trends in the learning/educational field. This book gives a thorough introduction into the theories and concepts behind this trend and can be used by any type of educator, academic, system educator, or unit educator. Instructional design's team process involves the instructor, instructional designer, technology, and resource (librarian). Also discussed is the need for time to create the content and document the need. It also covers the many things not always associated with traditional education. This includes things like the learners' technology skills and reading levels, how learners will meet the outcomes and objectives, and how learners can direct their own learning and be more interactive with fellow students. The book starts with an overview of the need for instructional design, how it came about, and the role that librarians or information professionals play in the process. Readers will realize this is something librarians already do to meet their patrons' information and instructional needs, only on a grander scale and outside of just library instruction. The author used the first chapters to give a comprehensive review of educational and learning theories at all levels of education. Teacher/instructor competencies, instructional learning, and the expectations of learning are also discussed. The Analysis, Design, Development, Implementation, and Evaluation (ADDIE) (Dick and Cary, 1985) education model is the foundation for the instructional design process and is described to readers. The book develops in a logical manner. It progresses from student learning needs to organization needs and assessment and how and why readers should align with school or organizational goals. Throughout the chapters are tips and suggestions for librarians. When describing models and processes, the author gives specific examples or opportunities for librarian interaction and involvement. Various ways to ensure successful integration are provided to aid in readers' success as a resource or the content driver in the instructional design process: “Not only should resources support the curriculum, but they must take into account the learner and the learning environment” (p. 92). This text discusses the technology needs of the kindergarten–twelfth grade (K–12) and adult learner, such as what each group may need and how technology is used to foster learning. Examples are given of how to encourage student-driven learning throughout the text. Most chapters end with a detailed lesson outline that reinforces and provides concrete examples for that chapter's content. Unfortunately, most of the examples are focused on K–12 and, therefore, are not directly related to health care librarians. While readers can make inferences related to content of the chapter, having examples related to the adult learner would have been beneficial. Each chapter has references, and an instructional design resources section follows chapter 9. While short, this resources section is a great start. A lengthy index is in the back of the book. This book would be an excellent starting point for anyone who is new to the instructional design process. The need for technology is explained by concept with specific current applications used to help illustrate the points, which allows readers to understand that any current or new application would serve the same technological function. This use of concepts helps keep this book from being dated soon after being published.

As part of the special issue on Teacher Learning and Organizational Contexts, this paper explores the collective organizational sensemaking processes of middle school science teachers engaged in a design‐based research project focused on supporting science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) identity and interest development of middle school youth with the design of a STEM ecosystem. Most of the literature on STEM ecosystems focuses on the pathways available or not for youth to develop robust STEM identities and interests. Research on STEM teachers in STEM ecosystems generally focuses on teachers’ roles in brokering youth's experiences across learning settings and not on teacher learning. We fill this gap in the literature through an examination of how teachers came to understand STEM ecosystems as a means for supporting youth interest and learning in STEM and their role as educators within STEM ecosystems that include but extend beyond classroom practice. We used interaction analysis of video and audio data collected over two cycles of professional development to describe how designed activities supported STEM teachers to surface and attend to sources of ambiguity between the two learning environments. Our findings suggest that teachers understood the out‐of‐school environment vis‐à‐vis their organizational contexts—such as, how valued outcomes of school, like teaching vocabulary, were being addressed. Over time, teachers came to value out‐of‐school learning as distinct from their classroom and as a space that is “not school” that provided necessary learning opportunities for students. The teachers recognized the unique ways the out‐of‐school STEM setting surfaced students’ strengths in ways not always afforded by school. Implications for professional learning design for in‐service science teachers to work toward providing more cohesive STEM learning experiences for youth are discussed.

Researchers and designers have recently focused on design of Special Care Units and effects of the environment on people with dementia. However, empirical findings that question the effects of such units on people with dementia are limited. Smaller still are empirical studies with regard to the outdoor environment in facilities housing those in Special Care Units. This research explores the idea that “therapeutic garden” spaces may play an important role in therapeutic restoration of people with dementia, and questions how well such spaces are integrated into the designs of outdoor spaces for this population. This research conducts post-occupancy evaluations of outdoor spaces of two special care units of assisted living facilities for people with dementia in a Midwest metropolitan area. Multimethod qualitative research techniques were employed including interviews, behavior-mapping, and observations using the AARS observation tool for dementia behavior interpretation. Residents, family members and staff from the two special care units were interviewed to explore the garden use. Additional interviews were conducted among administrators and design professionals. This study is a first step in examining the effectiveness of gardens in special care units in order to advance present knowledge and to provide a more informed basis for design. The vast majority of people interviewed expressed positive responses when discussing the garden spaces in the facilities and recommended that gardens be a standard in all nursing home facilities. Themes were discovered that correlated with the level of physical and psychological activity. This research concluded that there is a need for therapeutic gardens to be incorporated as a ‘standard’ complementary element in special care units for people with dementia. Such an inclusion directly impacts the quality of life for residents, staff and family members.

Editorial: Nurse education: time to get it right

In response to the growing industrial demand for light-emitting diode (LED) design professionals, based on industry-university collaboration in Taiwan, this paper develops a novel instructional approach: a simulation-based learning course with peer assessment to develop students' professional skills in LED design as required by industry as well as to enhance cognition and metacognition in students in higher education. The simulation-based learning course enables students to understand the influences on LED performance of the variation of different parameters and to seek the best design through comparing the effectiveness of different combinations of parameters. The evaluation results of pre- and post-test knowledge maps and a photonics scoreboard indicate that this project-based instruction may help students understand the operating principles of LEDs and enhance their skill in LED design. The Constructivist Project-based Learning Environment Survey is adopted to demonstrate that the proposed project-based learning environment is beneficial in cultivating student inquiry learning, reflective thinking, teamwork, and skills in creative problem solving.

Three-dimensional digital modeling is mostly a skill that needs to be consolidated in students’ careers, to allow them an adequate preparation to the post-graduation professional world. Just like the traditional disciplines of drawing and representation, computer graphics techniques evolved over the years, introducing several fascinating possibilities in architectural visualization. What this paper is mainly concerned with is the analysis of issues and advantages as results of teaching a few of those methodologies establishing an original teachers/students collaborative learning environment. Some experiences gained during the “Virtual Modeling for Architecture” lectures, mainly held in the School of Engineering and Architecture in Bologna, will be introduced featuring many students, who were involved in digital representation of buildings related to an important Cultural Heritage landmark in the Italian city of Bologna: its porticoes.

Winner of the 2017 IDEC Book Award, 2017 EDRA Great Places Award (Book Category), 2017 American Society of Interior Designers Joel Polsky Prize and the 2016 International Interior Design Association TXOK Research Award Designing for Autism Spectrum Disorders explains the influence of the natural and man-made environment on individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and other forms of intellectual/developmental disabilities (IDD). Drawing on the latest research in the fields of environmental psychology and education, the authors show you how architecture and interior spaces can positively influence individuals with neurodiversities by modifying factors such as color, lighting, space organization, textures, acoustics, and ventilation. Now you can design homes, therapeutic environments, work environments, and outdoor spaces to encourage growth and learning for the projected 500,000 children with ASD (in the United States alone) who are expected to reach adulthood by 2024. Topics discussed include:-Environmental design theories-Symptoms of ASD-Sensory processing deficits -Design needs of individuals on the spectrum at all ages-Design methods and solutions for spaces, including residential, learning, work, and therapeutic environments encompassing a wide range of budgets-Designing for self-actualization, well-being, and a high quality of life for the duration of an individual's life-Avenues for healthy living and aging in place-Biophilic design-Environmental impact on well-being -Strategies to promote active living as an integral part of the welfare focus.