Modern education is ripe for disruption. That theme arose early at the Gensler Dialogues roundtable, “How We Learn: Designing Environments That Respond to Human Behavior,” on January 19. With one student dropping out of high school every 26 minutes, current K-12 learning spaces aren’t working for those who depend on them.
The Garage at Northwestern, Image: Garrett Rowland.
Innovative learning environments have hit the mainstream in recent years - academic incubators and their ensuing culture of entrepreneurship and innovation are emerging on campuses globally. These spaces are playing a large part in the evolution of today’s education environments and have become a powerful tool for learning, collaboration and institutional student yield. Colleges and universities are competing to keep up with this trend and meet the modern student’s needs for success.
Dialogues with Gensler panelists Antonia Contro, Shayne Evans, and Sam Dyson. Image © Vanessa Churchill/Gensler
How do we approach the task of youth education in a city like Chicago, a city with a spotty record of keeping students engaged? Or, to ask a larger question, how do we show students they can be critical thinkers and leaders? And how can we marshal our resources – technological, professional and otherwise – to create city-wide connected learning experiences for students?
Gensler's Chicago office hosted the second event in the three-part Dialogues with Gensler series on March 26. Panelists and guests discussed how to make lifelong learning a proactive proposition. Image © Vanessa Churchill/gensler
Lifelong learning is a beautiful phrase, full of ambition while remaining conveniently vague. Everyone claims they’re a lifelong learner. But what does that mean, and what does it look like in practice?
Gensler's Chicago office recently hosted the first installment of the Dialogues with Gensler series. Image © Gensler
Dialogues with Gensler is an ongoing series of moderated panel discussions held in our Chicago office that address how design impacts lifelong learning.
When our team started to define the "Dialogues with Gensler" series here in the Chicago office, we listed 50 ideas related to the idea of lifelong learning. We define lifelong learning as learning that takes place throughout the day and at all stages of life, in a different range of spaces with many different tools. To us, it suggests that learning permeates all aspects of everyday life, including the places in which we live, work and play.
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Meghan Webster and Brian Watson