Programming an architecture of learning environments

Abstract

This paper presents a discussion on the relation between school architecture and pedagogical approaches. The goal of this study was to detect in the literature on diverse pedagogies information on the necessary spatial configurations to house essential learning activities. The pedagogies discussed here are Traditional, Behaviorist, Constructivism and Social Constructivism. The educational approaches were analyzed from the standpoints of the student, teachers, pedagogical needs and learning environments This analysis resulted in a synthesis table with information to support a design process for school buildings in coherence with educational approaches and their needs. The literature research revealed a rich data on pedagogical concepts and description of environmental requirements, however, this data is rarely directly applicable to a productive design process and for this reason, a school design process needs further inputs. The different ways of teaching and learning need in-depth analyses and during the programming phase of a productive design process the relation between environment and activities should be analyzed, discussed and reflected upon. In this paper, several types of learning processes were analyzed and their spatial layouts configured to support an improved school design process.