03-25-2021
Learning Futures: On the Ground
Even as we collectively navigate the short-term impacts of COVID-19 on our schools, we can now begin to ask what longer-term impacts this moment will bear. But the architecture of learning spaces will not change from any one pandemic alone; rather, it will evolve from the intersections between this pandemic and the many other equally urgent, equally existential problems we face.
"Learning Futures" is a three-part series of panel discussions, jointly hosted by FXCollaborative and the AIA National Committee on Architecture for Education, that probe how the pandemic will intersect with other ineluctable issues of our time—climate change, social justice, technology, economic disparity—all within the space of our classrooms.
On March 25, 2021, we held the first of the series, titled "Learning Futures: On the Ground." A recording of the webinar and summary are below. Subsequent conversations "Learning Futures: In the City" and "Learning Futures: Across the Globe" are scheduled for May 20 and July 15.
Webinar recorded March 25, 2021, presented by FXCollaborative in collaboration with the AIA National Committee on Architecture for Education. Featuring introduction by Austin Sakong, moderator Sam Chaltain, and panelists Johanna B. Shlomovich, Bernie Noe, and JP Connolly.
We invited three educators to share their firsthand experiences of keeping their schools running during the pandemic: Bernie Noe from Lakeside School in Seattle, Johanna Shlomovich from Ramaz School in New York, and JP Connolly from Avenues: The World School in New York. Moderated by Sam Chaltain of 180 Studio, the panel explored a wide range of topics, grounding their speculations about the future in their own experiences as educators. From this lively discussion, which was largely shaped by real-time audience questions, three key themes emerged:
Not Going Back to Normal
Asked about which aspects of the pre-COVID "normal" we should not go back to, the panel highlighted two key aspects: learning spaces, and cost. We've learned a lot of lessons over the past year about how we use our learning spaces, the panel noted, including the value of ventilation and outdoor learning; and although outdoor learning has always required balancing security concerns, such balances will need to be revisited and rethought. Regarding cost, the panel noted that the tuition for private education has gone up 790% between 1979 and 2009. Prior to the pandemic, independent schools were on a trajectory of "pricing themselves out of existence." Thus, related to learning how we use our learning spaces, independent schools will need to fundamentally change how they anticipate the costs and dividends of building and occupying physical facilities. Finally, one pre-COVID trajectory that remains unchanged is the curricular shift from content to competencies; that is, understanding schools not just as a place to learn content, but rather where students use content as the means to acquire core skills, competencies, and mindsets.
A Hybrid Future
The conversation shifted to a debate around the likelihood of hybrid learning becoming permanent, between the flexibility that virtual learning could enable and the sense of community that it could preclude, between the toll and exhaustion it takes on teachers and the seeming inevitability of this new mode of teaching. Some students like having the option of virtual learning, others can't wait to get back to learning in person. But one important point the panel agreed on was that "students are not a monolith," and that there are layers to each student's learning style, individual approaches, how they utilize time, even how school syncs into their biological rhythms. Some do their best work with complete independence, others do so through collaboration. So giving students another way to engage a campus, or new non-verbal ways of participating through virtual whiteboards and platforms, gives students a level of freedom and practical flexibility that educators need to take into account.
Questions of Equity
Questions of flexibility and access to hybrid learning led quickly to a discussion on equity. Would differing requirements between blended and in-person learning lead to a larger divide in equity, and between private and public education? On the one hand, the issue seems inexorable: any school with greater resources could do more with subjects more easily taught online, and navigate the shift from content to competencies (and the different spatial requirements that shift entails) more easily than an entire school district. On the other hand, despite the inherent inequities embedded between public and private education, technology could also enable independent schools to reach a far great number of students, and make their curriculum far more affordable and accessible to their communities. The ways in which schools navigate these issues will have far-reaching impacts on how we define a school (should school even be a "place"?), how we think of learning space and learning time, and how students achieve the core competencies they'll need for their futures.
On May 20, 2021, a new panel of experts and moderator will continue this conversation in "Learning Futures: In the City," this time through the perspectives of pedagogical innovators working across multiple schools and systems at a time. And on July 15, 2021, the series will conclude with "Learning Futures: Across the Globe," gathering perspectives of educators from different cultures around the world. Please join us.
Learning Futures: On the Ground
Date: Thursday, March 25, 2021
Time: 2-3 PM (Eastern Daylight Time)
AIA Credit: 1.00 LU/HSW
Panelists
Johanna B. Shlomovich, Chief Operating Officer, Ramaz School
Bernie Noe, Head of School, Lakeside School
JP Connolly, Associate Division Head, Avenues: The World School
Moderator
Sam Chaltain, Founding Partner, 180 Studio
More about the participants:
Johanna B. Shlomovich is the Chief Operating Officer at the Ramaz School, a co-educational modern-orthodox Jewish Day School in New York City. Johanna has spent significant time in her year career rethinking and designing school buildings and community spaces. Most recently she has been a guest panelist for Magnus Health webinars geared toward helping schools nationwide re-open and operate during this pandemic. She has also worked with architects and designers in the construction of the Shefa School, a Jewish Day School for students with language-based learning disabilities, in Manhattan. Johanna is completing her 20th year at Ramaz and is the incoming Head of School at the Tucson Hebrew Academy in Arizona.
Bernie Noe is now in his 22nd year as Head of School at Lakeside. Bernie has an exemplary record of leadership in independent education, commitment to community service and equity, and scholarship in history and international studies. Among his recent initiatives is The Downtown School: A Lakeside School, which opened in fall 2018. The co-educational high school, three years in the making, offers a high-quality academic education to a diverse body of academically talented students. Prior to his arrival at Lakeside, Bernie served for seven years as both Upper School Principal and Assistant Head of School for International Education at Sidwell Friends School in Washington, DC, where he also taught a Western civilization class and promoted initiatives on educational excellence, diversity, and community expectations. In February 2021, he completed 12 years of service on the National Association of Independent Schools Board of Trustees, the past three years as chair.
JP Connolly is currently an Associate Division Head at Avenues: The World School's New York Campus. Originally a molecular microbiologist and bioengineer, JP was drawn to science teaching following the realization that solving complex future problems at scale required nurturing future problem solvers. As the Director of Technology at Saint Ann's School and a member of the NY State Association of Independent Schools Technology Committee, JP built community and conversation around best practices for developing the instructional spaces, schedule/curricular structures, and behavioral health considerations (which he presented at SXSWedu) for students to thrive in new modes of teaching and learning.
Sam Chaltain is a partner at 180 Studio, a global design collaborative dedicated to advancing people's understanding of the future of learning—and what it requires. Sam's writings about his work have appeared in both magazines and newspapers, including the New York Times, Washington Post, and USA Today. A former speechwriter for each of President Obama's US Secretaries of Education, Sam has also written for Oscar and Grammy Award winning artists. A periodic contributor to CNN, Sam is the author or co-author of seven books; a co-producer of the PBS documentary film, 180 Days: Hartsville; and co-creator of the 10-part online film series, A Year at Mission Hill.
"Learning Futures" is a three-part series of panel discussions, jointly hosted by FXCollaborative and the AIA National Committee on Architecture for Education, that probe how the pandemic will intersect with other ineluctable issues of our time—climate change, social justice, technology, economic disparity—all within the space of our classrooms.
On March 25, 2021, we held the first of the series, titled "Learning Futures: On the Ground." A recording of the webinar and summary are below. Subsequent conversations "Learning Futures: In the City" and "Learning Futures: Across the Globe" are scheduled for May 20 and July 15.
Webinar recorded March 25, 2021, presented by FXCollaborative in collaboration with the AIA National Committee on Architecture for Education. Featuring introduction by Austin Sakong, moderator Sam Chaltain, and panelists Johanna B. Shlomovich, Bernie Noe, and JP Connolly.
We invited three educators to share their firsthand experiences of keeping their schools running during the pandemic: Bernie Noe from Lakeside School in Seattle, Johanna Shlomovich from Ramaz School in New York, and JP Connolly from Avenues: The World School in New York. Moderated by Sam Chaltain of 180 Studio, the panel explored a wide range of topics, grounding their speculations about the future in their own experiences as educators. From this lively discussion, which was largely shaped by real-time audience questions, three key themes emerged:
Not Going Back to Normal
Asked about which aspects of the pre-COVID "normal" we should not go back to, the panel highlighted two key aspects: learning spaces, and cost. We've learned a lot of lessons over the past year about how we use our learning spaces, the panel noted, including the value of ventilation and outdoor learning; and although outdoor learning has always required balancing security concerns, such balances will need to be revisited and rethought. Regarding cost, the panel noted that the tuition for private education has gone up 790% between 1979 and 2009. Prior to the pandemic, independent schools were on a trajectory of "pricing themselves out of existence." Thus, related to learning how we use our learning spaces, independent schools will need to fundamentally change how they anticipate the costs and dividends of building and occupying physical facilities. Finally, one pre-COVID trajectory that remains unchanged is the curricular shift from content to competencies; that is, understanding schools not just as a place to learn content, but rather where students use content as the means to acquire core skills, competencies, and mindsets.
A Hybrid Future
The conversation shifted to a debate around the likelihood of hybrid learning becoming permanent, between the flexibility that virtual learning could enable and the sense of community that it could preclude, between the toll and exhaustion it takes on teachers and the seeming inevitability of this new mode of teaching. Some students like having the option of virtual learning, others can't wait to get back to learning in person. But one important point the panel agreed on was that "students are not a monolith," and that there are layers to each student's learning style, individual approaches, how they utilize time, even how school syncs into their biological rhythms. Some do their best work with complete independence, others do so through collaboration. So giving students another way to engage a campus, or new non-verbal ways of participating through virtual whiteboards and platforms, gives students a level of freedom and practical flexibility that educators need to take into account.
Questions of Equity
Questions of flexibility and access to hybrid learning led quickly to a discussion on equity. Would differing requirements between blended and in-person learning lead to a larger divide in equity, and between private and public education? On the one hand, the issue seems inexorable: any school with greater resources could do more with subjects more easily taught online, and navigate the shift from content to competencies (and the different spatial requirements that shift entails) more easily than an entire school district. On the other hand, despite the inherent inequities embedded between public and private education, technology could also enable independent schools to reach a far great number of students, and make their curriculum far more affordable and accessible to their communities. The ways in which schools navigate these issues will have far-reaching impacts on how we define a school (should school even be a "place"?), how we think of learning space and learning time, and how students achieve the core competencies they'll need for their futures.
On May 20, 2021, a new panel of experts and moderator will continue this conversation in "Learning Futures: In the City," this time through the perspectives of pedagogical innovators working across multiple schools and systems at a time. And on July 15, 2021, the series will conclude with "Learning Futures: Across the Globe," gathering perspectives of educators from different cultures around the world. Please join us.
Learning Futures: On the Ground
Date: Thursday, March 25, 2021
Time: 2-3 PM (Eastern Daylight Time)
AIA Credit: 1.00 LU/HSW
Panelists
Johanna B. Shlomovich, Chief Operating Officer, Ramaz School
Bernie Noe, Head of School, Lakeside School
JP Connolly, Associate Division Head, Avenues: The World School
Moderator
Sam Chaltain, Founding Partner, 180 Studio
More about the participants:
Johanna B. Shlomovich is the Chief Operating Officer at the Ramaz School, a co-educational modern-orthodox Jewish Day School in New York City. Johanna has spent significant time in her year career rethinking and designing school buildings and community spaces. Most recently she has been a guest panelist for Magnus Health webinars geared toward helping schools nationwide re-open and operate during this pandemic. She has also worked with architects and designers in the construction of the Shefa School, a Jewish Day School for students with language-based learning disabilities, in Manhattan. Johanna is completing her 20th year at Ramaz and is the incoming Head of School at the Tucson Hebrew Academy in Arizona.
Bernie Noe is now in his 22nd year as Head of School at Lakeside. Bernie has an exemplary record of leadership in independent education, commitment to community service and equity, and scholarship in history and international studies. Among his recent initiatives is The Downtown School: A Lakeside School, which opened in fall 2018. The co-educational high school, three years in the making, offers a high-quality academic education to a diverse body of academically talented students. Prior to his arrival at Lakeside, Bernie served for seven years as both Upper School Principal and Assistant Head of School for International Education at Sidwell Friends School in Washington, DC, where he also taught a Western civilization class and promoted initiatives on educational excellence, diversity, and community expectations. In February 2021, he completed 12 years of service on the National Association of Independent Schools Board of Trustees, the past three years as chair.
JP Connolly is currently an Associate Division Head at Avenues: The World School's New York Campus. Originally a molecular microbiologist and bioengineer, JP was drawn to science teaching following the realization that solving complex future problems at scale required nurturing future problem solvers. As the Director of Technology at Saint Ann's School and a member of the NY State Association of Independent Schools Technology Committee, JP built community and conversation around best practices for developing the instructional spaces, schedule/curricular structures, and behavioral health considerations (which he presented at SXSWedu) for students to thrive in new modes of teaching and learning.
Sam Chaltain is a partner at 180 Studio, a global design collaborative dedicated to advancing people's understanding of the future of learning—and what it requires. Sam's writings about his work have appeared in both magazines and newspapers, including the New York Times, Washington Post, and USA Today. A former speechwriter for each of President Obama's US Secretaries of Education, Sam has also written for Oscar and Grammy Award winning artists. A periodic contributor to CNN, Sam is the author or co-author of seven books; a co-producer of the PBS documentary film, 180 Days: Hartsville; and co-creator of the 10-part online film series, A Year at Mission Hill.
