Essentials Magazine Essentials Fall 2018 | Page 29

Inquiry-Based Learning
What is the impact of these
changes on space?
The impact on space can be huge
once we consider what is best for hu-
mans. Schools that have tiny windows
that let in almost no natural light are
not optimal for humans to spend a
full day. Schools often fail to consid-
er that students may need flexible
spaces outside the confinement of a
classroom in which to work at times.
Kids are scheduled into ‘learning
boxes’ and then move from one
‘learning box’ to the other throughout
the day… this is not necessarily the
most humane or optimal scenario for
learning to occur.
Thinking about schools as human
spaces, designed to provoke curiosity
and creativity is a bold shift for many
school systems in the U.S. When this is
a priority, the innovation and engage-
ment that we aspire to achieve with
students is possible. When students
and teachers need to try to be innova-
tive and inspire engagement despite
poor learning spaces, we are not deliv-
ering on the best possible outcomes for
our students. Light, space, flexibility
and flow of space all matter immense-
ly in shaping a compelling learning
environment.
What steps do we need to take to
prepare students for the work-
force of the future?
We need to stop thinking that this
isn’t our job. The classrooms we hope
to see are ones that understand that
the goals of schooling are to help our
students become the fully engaged and
active citizens that our society so des-
perately needs. When we understand
that “worker” is a subset of “citizen,”
we change what we value. The ability
to be economically independent is a
powerful part of being a fully realized
citizen, but we need our students to
make powerful decisions about their
activism, their purchasing choices, the
impact their lives have on our planet,
the way they live as parents, partners,
neighbors. The kind of learning that
encourages deep, critical thinking and
helps students tap into their own agen-
cy will help us help students to become
those fully aware citizens, and that
kind of agility of mind will help them
navigate a changing economic land-
scape as well.
n
DIANA LAUFENBERG and
CHRIS LEHMANN are Keynote
Speakers at EDspaces 2018 on
Thursday, November 8, 2018, at 9:30
am at the Tampa Convention Center.
CHRIS LEHMANN is the founding principal and
CEO of the Science Leadership Academy, in Phila-
delphia, PA. A pioneer of the School 2.0 movement
internationally, the Academy is an inquiry-driven,
project-based, 1:1 laptop school and was rec-
ognized by Ladies Home Journal as one of the
Ten Most Amazing Schools in the U.S., an Apple
Distinguished School from 2009 through 2013,
and it is the Dell Computing Center of Excellence
for Technology in Education. Chris is co-author of
Building School 2.0: How to Create the Schools We
Need, co-editor of What School Leaders Need to
Know about Digital Technologies and Social Media,
the author of the education blog Practical Theory.
DIANA LAUFENBERG was a secondary social
studies teacher for 16 years most recently at the
Science Leadership Academy. Her practice has
deep roots in real-world, experiential education.
Prior to her work in Philadelphia, she was an active
member of the teaching community in Flagstaff, AZ
where she was named Technology Teacher of the
Year for Arizona and a member of the Governor’s
Master Teacher Corps. In 2013, she partnered with
Lehmann to start Inquiry Schools as Executive
Director of the non-profit, working to create and
support student-centered, project-based learning
environments.
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