As schools update their curriculum and pedagogy to prepare students for the ever-changing future of work, they must also consider how their learning spaces are adapting in order to grow future-ready learners.
With Ipswich Girls Grammar School undergoing their master planning process, school leaders are looking at what the future of the school will look like. As part of this process they wanted to engage with their students to get an authentic youth perspective on the spaces students want to learn in now and into the future.
To do this, the BOP team was engaged to deliver a two-day Designed Spaces Program for all Year 10 students at the school. Delivered during term three, this two-day program saw students forming teams and taking a design thinking approach as they redesigned spaces around their school community with a focus on technology, sustainability, and user centred design.
Students started the program by forming teams and engaging in a design sprint warm up challenge to identify their team roles and embrace an innovation mindset. From there, students engage in a series of masterclasses to step them through the design thinking process as they identify the issues with the space currently, develop an understanding of the users of the space, and explore how schools around the world are reimagining their spaces.
After a series of structured masterclasses, students are then given working time to bring their ideas to life as they prepare for a 3-5 minute pitch at the end of the second day. During their worktime time, the BOP team run a series of optional masterclasses, assist with ideation, and support teams to ensure they are able to deliver a high quality pitch at the end of the program to outline their ideas.
To finish the program, the top teams as voted on by the student population are invited to pitch their ideas to members of the school leadership team for consideration, and prizes are awarded for the best ideas developed over the course of the program.
To find out more about how you can organise a Designed Spaces incursion for your school community, head to: www.bopindustries.com/incursions