What's in Your Space?

5 Steps for Better School and Classroom Design
Dwight L. Carter - Assistant Director, Eastland Career Center
Mark E. White - Consultant
What's in Your Space?
February 2016 | 144 pages | Corwin
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eBook
ISBN: 9781506323084
Available from January 0001
Paperback
ISBN: 9781506323077
Available from January 0001

Description

Transformed learning spaces begin with transformed thought 

For two decades, educators have been told to incorporate skills for the global economy, adapt to diverse learning styles, and employ technology. This requires changing our thinking spaces and our physical spaces. How can or should they change to keep pace with and reflect 21st Century teaching models? 

In What’s in Your Space?, the group behind one of America’s most recognized school redesign projects walks you through the process of designing both “thinking” and “learning” spaces to accommodate today’s rigorous learning models. Throughout this book, educators will

  • Reflect upon their craft and role in 21st Century education
  • Understand the nuances of teaching Generation Z
  • Discover design principles to help establish tech-embedded learning environments
  • Collaborate with other educators to craft a scalable plan for redesigning learning spaces

As we shift our thinking, it follows that the spaces in which we work and learn will also be transformed. Discover how to do it well.

“We, as educators, can’t shift fast enough to keep up with the needs of today’s learners, but this book is a great leap in the right direction of doing so!”
Brooke Menduni, Assistant Principal 
Dublin City Schools


“There is something so unique about the framework/approach/lens of the actual physical change, so closely associated with the philosophical and pedagogical changes that can make this transformation real.”
Carol Spencer, Director of Curriculum
Addison Northwest Supervisory Union


Contents

Introduction

Introduction

The Parable of the Sage and the Two Spaces

  • Step 1: Understand Generation Z
  • The Importance of Cell Phones
  • Connected Through Social Media
  • The Influence of Gaming
  • Working in Small Groups
  • It's All About the Internet
  • Memorization and Motivation
  • The Importance of Relationships
  • Begin Taking Steps - Now!
  • Professional Development Ideas to Understand Generation Z
  • Step 2: Start Asking Questions
  • Our Beginning
  • Our Shift
  • Listening to Others
  • Clear Talking Points
  • A New Design Process for a New Type of Building
  • Chairs Are for Thinking, Not Just Sitting
  • Desks Can Be Tools for Collaboration
  • Carpet Diem
  • Creativity is Contagious
  • Different Skills, Different Spaces
  • The Importance of Technology
  • Fostering Student Buy-In
  • A New Type of Building, a New Funding Formula... and New Challenges
  • The Importance of Selecting and Training Staff
  • Understanding That Educators Evolve at Different Speeds
  • Sometimes People Need to See New Ideas to Understand Them
  • Remaining True to Our Core Value
  • An Example of Teaching in a Z Space Like Clark Hall
  • It's the Teaching and the Relationships, Not Just the Space
  • Clark Hall Today
  • Two Essential Questions to Begin the Design of Your Z Space
  • Step 3: Shift to a 21st Century Mindset
  • We Must View Space Redesign as a K-12 Process
  • We Must Understand That Space Redesign Can Be Done on a Large Scale or a Small Scale
  • We Must Find Ways to Make This Shift Even When Budgets Are Tight
  • We Must Build a Culture of Trust in Our Schools
  • We Must Recognize That a Learning Space Can Enhance 21st Century Learning
  • We Should Make the Space Redesign a Group Effort
  • We Must Be Comfortable With Being Uncomfortable
  • We Should Study What Researchers Are Saying About 21st Century Learning
  • We Should Gather Ideas From New Sources
  • We Should Embrace Social Media
  • We Should Form Clear Objectives for How We Want to Use the Space and Communicate Those Objectives to Our Staff and Community
  • We Should Consider the Finishing Touches First
  • We Must Acknowledge That the Learning Space Is Only as Good as the Teaching That Takes Place In It
  • We Must Embrace the Idea That the Teacher in a 21st Century Learning Space Will Be a Facilitator, Not the Disseminator of Information
  • Professional Development Activities to Shift Thinking to a 21st Century Mindset
  • Step 4: Teach Global Skills
  • Standardized Testing and Global Skills
  • The Common Core State Standards
  • Other Sources for Global Skills
  • Graduate Profiles
  • Three Stages of Development
  • The Gahanna-Jefferson Public Schools Graduate Profile
  • Breaking Down a Graduate Profile Into Segments
  • Global Skills at River Bluff High School
  • Media Center Redesigns
  • Z Spaces at the Elementary Level
  • Individual Teacher or Small Team Skill Lists
  • Professional Development Ideas to Teach Global Skills
  • Step 5: Let Students Use Technology
  • We Need Technology
  • We Must Learn From Our Past
  • We Must Envision How Technology and Space Can Enhance Learning
  • We Must Model With Our Teachers What We Expect to See In Our Classroom
  • Our Network Must Be So Strong and Well Maintained That It Rarely Crashes
  • Our Technology Budget Must Be Robust
  • We Must Teach Students to Use the Internet Ethically
  • We Must Discuss the Role of Technology in Teacher Assessments
  • We Must Realize This Is a Career-Long Initiative
  • We Must Turn to the True Experts: Our Students
  • Professional Development Activities to Help Students Use Technology

Additional materials

Description

Transformed learning spaces begin with transformed thought 

For two decades, educators have been told to incorporate skills for the global economy, adapt to diverse learning styles, and employ technology. This requires changing our thinking spaces and our physical spaces. How can or should they change to keep pace with and reflect 21st Century teaching models? 

In What’s in Your Space?, the group behind one of America’s most recognized school redesign projects walks you through the process of designing both “thinking” and “learning” spaces to accommodate today’s rigorous learning models. Throughout this book, educators will

  • Reflect upon their craft and role in 21st Century education
  • Understand the nuances of teaching Generation Z
  • Discover design principles to help establish tech-embedded learning environments
  • Collaborate with other educators to craft a scalable plan for redesigning learning spaces

As we shift our thinking, it follows that the spaces in which we work and learn will also be transformed. Discover how to do it well.

“We, as educators, can’t shift fast enough to keep up with the needs of today’s learners, but this book is a great leap in the right direction of doing so!”
Brooke Menduni, Assistant Principal 
Dublin City Schools


“There is something so unique about the framework/approach/lens of the actual physical change, so closely associated with the philosophical and pedagogical changes that can make this transformation real.”
Carol Spencer, Director of Curriculum
Addison Northwest Supervisory Union


Contents

Introduction

Introduction

The Parable of the Sage and the Two Spaces

  • Step 1: Understand Generation Z
  • The Importance of Cell Phones
  • Connected Through Social Media
  • The Influence of Gaming
  • Working in Small Groups
  • It's All About the Internet
  • Memorization and Motivation
  • The Importance of Relationships
  • Begin Taking Steps - Now!
  • Professional Development Ideas to Understand Generation Z
  • Step 2: Start Asking Questions
  • Our Beginning
  • Our Shift
  • Listening to Others
  • Clear Talking Points
  • A New Design Process for a New Type of Building
  • Chairs Are for Thinking, Not Just Sitting
  • Desks Can Be Tools for Collaboration
  • Carpet Diem
  • Creativity is Contagious
  • Different Skills, Different Spaces
  • The Importance of Technology
  • Fostering Student Buy-In
  • A New Type of Building, a New Funding Formula... and New Challenges
  • The Importance of Selecting and Training Staff
  • Understanding That Educators Evolve at Different Speeds
  • Sometimes People Need to See New Ideas to Understand Them
  • Remaining True to Our Core Value
  • An Example of Teaching in a Z Space Like Clark Hall
  • It's the Teaching and the Relationships, Not Just the Space
  • Clark Hall Today
  • Two Essential Questions to Begin the Design of Your Z Space
  • Step 3: Shift to a 21st Century Mindset
  • We Must View Space Redesign as a K-12 Process
  • We Must Understand That Space Redesign Can Be Done on a Large Scale or a Small Scale
  • We Must Find Ways to Make This Shift Even When Budgets Are Tight
  • We Must Build a Culture of Trust in Our Schools
  • We Must Recognize That a Learning Space Can Enhance 21st Century Learning
  • We Should Make the Space Redesign a Group Effort
  • We Must Be Comfortable With Being Uncomfortable
  • We Should Study What Researchers Are Saying About 21st Century Learning
  • We Should Gather Ideas From New Sources
  • We Should Embrace Social Media
  • We Should Form Clear Objectives for How We Want to Use the Space and Communicate Those Objectives to Our Staff and Community
  • We Should Consider the Finishing Touches First
  • We Must Acknowledge That the Learning Space Is Only as Good as the Teaching That Takes Place In It
  • We Must Embrace the Idea That the Teacher in a 21st Century Learning Space Will Be a Facilitator, Not the Disseminator of Information
  • Professional Development Activities to Shift Thinking to a 21st Century Mindset
  • Step 4: Teach Global Skills
  • Standardized Testing and Global Skills
  • The Common Core State Standards
  • Other Sources for Global Skills
  • Graduate Profiles
  • Three Stages of Development
  • The Gahanna-Jefferson Public Schools Graduate Profile
  • Breaking Down a Graduate Profile Into Segments
  • Global Skills at River Bluff High School
  • Media Center Redesigns
  • Z Spaces at the Elementary Level
  • Individual Teacher or Small Team Skill Lists
  • Professional Development Ideas to Teach Global Skills
  • Step 5: Let Students Use Technology
  • We Need Technology
  • We Must Learn From Our Past
  • We Must Envision How Technology and Space Can Enhance Learning
  • We Must Model With Our Teachers What We Expect to See In Our Classroom
  • Our Network Must Be So Strong and Well Maintained That It Rarely Crashes
  • Our Technology Budget Must Be Robust
  • We Must Teach Students to Use the Internet Ethically
  • We Must Discuss the Role of Technology in Teacher Assessments
  • We Must Realize This Is a Career-Long Initiative
  • We Must Turn to the True Experts: Our Students
  • Professional Development Activities to Help Students Use Technology

Additional materials

SAGE Publishing Logo

What's in Your Space?

5 Steps for Better School and Classroom Design


February 2016 | 144 pages | Corwin

Format Published Date ISBN Price
Paperback 01/02/2026 9781506323077 $37.95
Lifetime 01/02/2026 9781506323084 $35.00

Transformed learning spaces begin with transformed thought 

For two decades, educators have been told to incorporate skills for the global economy, adapt to diverse learning styles, and employ technology. This requires changing our thinking spaces and our physical spaces. How can or should they change to keep pace with and reflect 21st Century teaching models? 

In What’s in Your Space?, the group behind one of America’s most recognized school redesign projects walks you through the process of designing both “thinking” and “learning” spaces to accommodate today’s rigorous learning models. Throughout this book, educators will

  • Reflect upon their craft and role in 21st Century education
  • Understand the nuances of teaching Generation Z
  • Discover design principles to help establish tech-embedded learning environments
  • Collaborate with other educators to craft a scalable plan for redesigning learning spaces

As we shift our thinking, it follows that the spaces in which we work and learn will also be transformed. Discover how to do it well.

“We, as educators, can’t shift fast enough to keep up with the needs of today’s learners, but this book is a great leap in the right direction of doing so!”
Brooke Menduni, Assistant Principal 
Dublin City Schools


“There is something so unique about the framework/approach/lens of the actual physical change, so closely associated with the philosophical and pedagogical changes that can make this transformation real.”
Carol Spencer, Director of Curriculum
Addison Northwest Supervisory Union



Table Of Contents:

  • Introduction
  • The Parable of the Sage and the Two Spaces
  • Step 1: Understand Generation Z
  • The Importance of Cell Phones
  • Connected Through Social Media
  • The Influence of Gaming
  • Working in Small Groups
  • It's All About the Internet
  • Memorization and Motivation
  • The Importance of Relationships
  • Begin Taking Steps - Now!
  • Professional Development Ideas to Understand Generation Z
  • Step 2: Start Asking Questions
  • Our Beginning
  • Our Shift
  • Listening to Others
  • Clear Talking Points
  • A New Design Process for a New Type of Building
  • Chairs Are for Thinking, Not Just Sitting
  • Desks Can Be Tools for Collaboration
  • Carpet Diem
  • Creativity is Contagious
  • Different Skills, Different Spaces
  • The Importance of Technology
  • Fostering Student Buy-In
  • A New Type of Building, a New Funding Formula... and New Challenges
  • The Importance of Selecting and Training Staff
  • Understanding That Educators Evolve at Different Speeds
  • Sometimes People Need to See New Ideas to Understand Them
  • Remaining True to Our Core Value
  • An Example of Teaching in a Z Space Like Clark Hall
  • It's the Teaching and the Relationships, Not Just the Space
  • Clark Hall Today
  • Two Essential Questions to Begin the Design of Your Z Space
  • Step 3: Shift to a 21st Century Mindset
  • We Must View Space Redesign as a K-12 Process
  • We Must Understand That Space Redesign Can Be Done on a Large Scale or a Small Scale
  • We Must Find Ways to Make This Shift Even When Budgets Are Tight
  • We Must Build a Culture of Trust in Our Schools
  • We Must Recognize That a Learning Space Can Enhance 21st Century Learning
  • We Should Make the Space Redesign a Group Effort
  • We Must Be Comfortable With Being Uncomfortable
  • We Should Study What Researchers Are Saying About 21st Century Learning
  • We Should Gather Ideas From New Sources
  • We Should Embrace Social Media
  • We Should Form Clear Objectives for How We Want to Use the Space and Communicate Those Objectives to Our Staff and Community
  • We Should Consider the Finishing Touches First
  • We Must Acknowledge That the Learning Space Is Only as Good as the Teaching That Takes Place In It
  • We Must Embrace the Idea That the Teacher in a 21st Century Learning Space Will Be a Facilitator, Not the Disseminator of Information
  • Professional Development Activities to Shift Thinking to a 21st Century Mindset
  • Step 4: Teach Global Skills
  • Standardized Testing and Global Skills
  • The Common Core State Standards
  • Other Sources for Global Skills
  • Graduate Profiles
  • Three Stages of Development
  • The Gahanna-Jefferson Public Schools Graduate Profile
  • Breaking Down a Graduate Profile Into Segments
  • Global Skills at River Bluff High School
  • Media Center Redesigns
  • Z Spaces at the Elementary Level
  • Individual Teacher or Small Team Skill Lists
  • Professional Development Ideas to Teach Global Skills
  • Step 5: Let Students Use Technology
  • We Need Technology
  • We Must Learn From Our Past
  • We Must Envision How Technology and Space Can Enhance Learning
  • We Must Model With Our Teachers What We Expect to See In Our Classroom
  • Our Network Must Be So Strong and Well Maintained That It Rarely Crashes
  • Our Technology Budget Must Be Robust
  • We Must Teach Students to Use the Internet Ethically
  • We Must Discuss the Role of Technology in Teacher Assessments
  • We Must Realize This Is a Career-Long Initiative
  • We Must Turn to the True Experts: Our Students
  • Professional Development Activities to Help Students Use Technology

Recent Product Reviews:

"Decision makers in school districts need to read, think about, and promote the ideas and concepts found in this book. Schools need to provide the types of learning experiences and spaces that will equip students with the tools they need for success in a quickly changing future. The ideas in this book will help to prepare students for success in fields that have yet to be defined, and for jobs that right now do not exist."
David Clark, Curriculum and Technology Specialist, Butler County ESC
"There is something so unique about the framework/approach/lens of the actual physical change, so closely associated with the philosophical and pedagogical changes that can make this transformation real."
Carol Spencer, Director of Curriculum, Addison Northwest Supervisory Union
"We, as educators, can’t shift fast enough to keep up with the needs of today’s learners, but this book is a great leap in the right direction of doing so!"
Brooke Menduni, Assistant Principal, Dublin City Schools

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