Learning space
Significant cognitive deficits were observed in performance scores in environments with increasing concentrations of either volatile organic compounds (VOCs) or carbon dioxide.
Ophthalmologists have stressed the importance of distant views to help relax the eye engaged in close work, such as on a video or computer monitor.
Control methods include fixed or adjustable window coverings, exterior sunshades, interior light shelves, or dimmable "Smart glass".
Research has shown that children require much quieter learning spaces with less reverberation to hear and understand spoken words than do adults.
Students who have hearing loss (e.g. from ear infections), who are learning a new language, or have auditory or attention problems required even more favorable acoustics in order to understand speech.
In response, acceptable limits of background noise in classrooms have been reduced to 35 dBA and 55 dBC by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI).
Durability, which affects aesthetics over time, can determine the longer term usefulness and effectiveness of the space, including possible long-term health impacts on students.
Cleanliness is also a factor in maintaining a healthy environment, in particular for young students who tend to be in greater physical contact with floor and wall surfaces than others.
Chairs with tablet arms for taking notes are not useful to hold laptop computers, and hand-held devices are often supported on knees and thighs, not furniture.
[21] Sustainable (or 'green') architecture is design that seeks to minimize the negative environmental impact of buildings through efficient and moderate use of materials, energy, and development space.
After World War II and the emergence of the International Style of architecture, mass production, maximization of efficiencies of space and volume, and cost-efficient materials replaced ornamentation and aesthetic considerations in design, so the schools began to look as factory-like as they were configured and operated.
[28] This design also resulted in poor indoor air quality and low levels natural light, which more recent studies have shown are critical to an effective learning space.
[31] The advisory model encourages building peer-to-peer relationships between students of varying ages and backgrounds, which lessens negative social behavior such as bullying and the development of cliques.
This design has been criticized due to its unsuitability in certain climates and concerns about safety and security with forcing students to go outside into unenclosed and unsecured areas.
[34] This model consists of modular buildings that are also colloquially known around the world as portables, bungalows, t-shacks, trailers, terrapins, huts, mobiles, t-buildings, or relocatables.
[35][36] Portable classrooms are normally installed as separate from permanent school buildings, either stand-alone, back-to-back in pairs (to share toilet facilities), or in clusters.
[38] It can encompass a wide variety of subjects, including biology field trips and searching for insects, as well as indoor activities like observing stock control in a local retail outlet, or visiting a museum.
Key requirements include suitable ergonomic furniture or workstations, power, connectivity (Wi-Fi), lighting control, and acoustic isolation to minimize unwanted distraction.
This involves the teaching and learning of a full range of subjects not requiring specialized spaces or equipment, including language arts, mathematics, and social sciences.
It may also include art, science, and some physical activity, in particular for younger students where large spaces and special equipment and services are not required.
Laboratories, shops, studios, and similar rooms each have particular spatial, environmental, and equipment needs to support a specialized subject, including the following: Lecture halls have been a primary learning space in colleges and universities for centuries.
This spatial type supports passive learning and direct instruction, as well as the Socratic method, a form of cooperative argumentative dialogue between students and instructors.
Theaters and auditoria are normally found in larger and higher level learning institutions whose population base and curriculum support these spaces.
A theater may share similar functions but normally have a larger stage, partial or full height fly loft, an orchestra pit, and a higher level of theatre equipment and systems.
A school theater also supports drama and other educational programs that involve producing a performance, including students learning to operate the theatre equipment, rigging, and sound and light systems.
These differ from non school-based theaters as they may include additional safety features and space for instructors to demonstrate to students, as individuals or groups, in areas that normally might be sized or configured to have only one or a very few experienced operators.
Outdoor gyms provide fitness and exercise equipment and spaces suitable for structured or informal learning and practice, typically in parks and public locations.
Gymnasia are also frequently used for whole-school gatherings and community events which require additional projecting technologies and sound systems.
Historically the furniture in school classrooms would have been fixed, as it typically was and continues to be in lecture halls with stepped, sloping, or tiered theater-type seating.
In religious spaces such as churches, the instructional station is at or near the altar or the pulpit with the learners seated in rows of chairs or pews facing the speaker.
