Pioneers in Space

Written by Matthew Esterman, Director of Learning Technologies and Innovation, Our Lady of Mercy College (OLMC) Parramatta

It is often remarked during the design process for new spaces and buildings in schools that learning precedes pedagogy which precedes space. At its best, a participatory design process will air all the aspirations and challenges, all the constraints and frustrations, all the dreams and hopes of those within a learning community, after which focus and clarity can be distilled.

This will often be facilitated by architects or learning design experts, hoping to ascertain the features and affordances required in a significant building project or refurbishment.

We ask questions like:

-        How might we provide more opportunities for student voice and choice in learning?

-        How might we shift from a focus on teacher action to student action?

-        How might we promote high impact teaching strategies whilst also promoting student ownership for learning?

This may result in a framework, an action plan, or even just a statement of belief around what learning is and could be.

Then we follow up with conversations around what teaching looks like in this context, then the technology and spaces we require to support it.

Learning, then pedagogy, then space.

However.

Sometimes we are provided opportunities from the reverse perspective. This is what Our Lady of Mercy College (OLMC) Parramatta experienced in 2020 and is exploring right now.

Parramatta is a thriving and fast-paced CBD and extends both sides of the Parramatta river.

Many government and business headquarters are moving to the Parramatta area, several dozen residential towers have risen from the ground in just the last few years. Western Sydney University takes a prominent place in the new Parramatta Square. Across the road is the new Arthur Phillip High School – New South Wales’ first vertical high school. A mixture of significant heritage sites cultural institutions, education precincts and commercial outlets, not to mention dining and entertainment, populate an ever-growing CBD. And then there’s Bankwest Stadium. And then there will be the Powerhouse Museum.

OLMC Parramatta was founded over 132 years ago, so has seen many changes in its time. This includes the expansion of educational opportunities offered on campus and beyond, and the need for the campus to grow and be shaped and reshaped as the needs of its community evolve.

As part of our strategic planning for the next decade, we are looking outwards to how we interact with our neighbours and partners.

Part of this outward looking focus led to our leasing of space at 12 Victoria Road, or 12VR as we now call it. An office building with non-school tenants on other floors, we are lucky enough to have a modern office workspace on Level 4 and a large event space and smaller meeting space on Level 1.

We put normal approaches into reverse. Learning > Pedagogy > Space became Space > Pedagogy > Learning.

Well that’s not strictly true, is it?

That three-step idea is too simplistic. My colleagues and I began discussing the possibilities when the leasing process firmed up to the point we were certain to gain access. This happened to coincide with a two-week self-isolation period for our College during our weird year of COVID in 2020. We were deep into a new reality of learning and teaching which completely ignored or trampled most assumptions around how we do what we do.

Our discussions were much more fuzzy and wideranging than trying to meet a temptingly simply framework of Learning > Pedagogy > Space (or the reverse). But the key here was that we did, in fact, have space. Space that was not going to be significantly remodelled, has its own access process and is physically disconnected from the main campus. As the crow flies it is actually closer to the Principal’s office than our College Library, but it provides a rich set of logistical and educational challenges.

We could not be simplistic. We could not think terms of in Learning > Pedagogy > Space. It was, if anything, Learning + Pedagogy + Space… all at the same time.

And so, we embark on a learning journey with our students to bring together research, practice and policy to ensure that we are meeting high standards and also pushing boundaries.

Our pioneers in this space (literally and figuratively) have been our English and HSIE/History Departments, who have redesigned parts of their programs to ensure that students are leading the learning that occurs in this very different place. Some elements of what we do already match the affordances of the new spaces, such as group collaboration and individual inquiry. It is important to remember that whilst spaces can enhance some practices, they can also limit others.

For example, teacher-directed explicit teaching to large groups cannot occur easily in the Level 4 Learning Studio, so already we have identified that there needs to be clear preparation and instruction to students the lesson before or via our learning management system. This enables students to enter the space, access the information they need, then launch into learning.

Suddenly, our ideas about space can expand in time and nature to be stretched before, during and after a particular lesson. The use of technology adds another layer of capability for students to access and re-access information as they need to, rather than being reliant on being physically present for a set of instructions.

So even if students are conducting a role play and do not need technology the entirety of a learning experience, the technology can play a role in setting students up for more efficient and effective use of their time when face to face. It is not about using technology as an instructional sledgehammer, but rather more like a Swiss army knife – the right tool at the right time.

And so suddenly we are exploring a terrain that is filled with opportunity for learning but is supported by the expertise of our teachers, the access to the right information that builds focus and clear expectations, and the ownership of learning leans more heavily towards the students.

Spaces themselves are not teachers in the same complex and nuanced way that humans are, but they afford us opportunities to raise our humanity to the forefront. Just as our colleagues should inspire us to always be better, so too our spaces should inspire us to always stretch the boundaries of the possible so that school truly is the best place to learn.