Innovative learning environments in the news

Since 2010 the New Zealand Ministry of Education has prioritised the development of modern learning spaces in schools to support greater flexibility in teaching and learning practices.

However the development of innovative learning spaces in new and existing schools in New Zealand can often be a topic of heated debate in the media, with differing views on the efficacy of government policy and the ways individual schools are implementing these.  The media in New Zealand regularly feature articles and editorials citing the range of views for and against. This year our project has been mentioned in a number of these, coinciding with the release of our project publications or presentations at conferences.

However one thing both sides agree on is the need for more evidence of how these spaces impact on learning.  This is exactly what the ILETC project is investigating  and with collection of baseline data during 2016/17 “we’ve found a very strong correlation between innovation learning environments, high levels of deep learning and high quality teaching” (Wesley Imms, RadioNZ interview).

By releasing our findings throughout the project as reports,  articles and fact sheets, we hope to inform the discussion, not only in New Zealand, but internationally.