Designing a classroom upgrade kit to promote DIY learning

Overview

In-classroom learning in the past few decades have seen significant changes, but not like the one it saw a few months ago. Online learning and offline learning had different value propositions and levels of acceptance in our day-to-day life. But the year 2020, the scale of change turned so huge that it brings the entire offline way of tuition under serious doubt.

When entire academic institutions were resistant to change, the times have moved the most resistant teachers to deliver lectures online tells a lot about these times. And similar stigma which was held earlier, mainly of students learning everything 'digital' or 'technological' are now being appreciated and rewarded in many ways. What does this mean for our existing classrooms? 

The design of existing classrooms (K12 Systems) is based on the antiquated means of book-based learning. They arrange pupils in rows and columns as a way to efficiently deliver a static way of learning courtesy to our past from the world over. Not everything about this structuring is bad, but the limited options to education are visible due to not embracing technology in earlier phases of life. But instead of being a rift, the way online learning embraced every academic class - can the reverse happen to prepare students for this rampantly shifting?

Can old school designs be upgraded more than a projector screen by giving more personal control to children on what and how to learn, using current and upcoming technologies to build more cohesive delivery models? 

Challenge

The problem statement looked at a classroom upgrade kit that included new furniture design, classroom layout methods, the inclusion of taught and DIY learning, with equipment that helped deliver a more robust and fun way of learning than today. The budget was not a constraint, but the size of the classroom was. Will it involve expert installation? Or can it be set up manually by the class itself?

What devices or teaching systems are possible in this kit? What age group are you designing this for? What safety precautions may arise with such a new teaching apparatus?

The solution finding looked at traditional schools and their classrooms at large all around the world as target sites. The user group looked at 30 students and 2 teachers in any (one or multiple) of the K12 classes. 

The jury for the competition consisted of esteemed designers, professionals, and academicians from around the world. The Lead Jurors for the competitions were as follows: 

Peter Anderson, Principal, Anderson Architecture, United States

Yuriko Yagi, Co-founder, Architect, PAN-PROJECTS, Denmark

Kazumasa Takada, Co-founder, Architect, PAN-PROJECTS, Denmark

Shi Chieh Lu, Director, CJ STUDIO, Taiwan

Some of the Best of competition projects are:

Winning Project: COOL K!DS

By: DaiYing yang, 吳采愉, 任乙天 & 駱俊宇

^{Fig: 1 Cover image}    

Description: A school which is outside the box but in THE BOX.

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People’s Choice: Purpose-Built Classroom

         By: Joshua Kevin, Abigael Mar & Freddy Samuel

^{Fig: 2 Perspective Section and key plan}

Description: Adaptive classroom with modular furniture as an improvement from the conventional classroom.

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