Student-Led Innovation

Here are three ways for students to help reinvent learning through participation in the design process.

Design with Students:
For high school students, create a project-based experience that will impact the final design of the school. At the British International School of Houston, older students designed goat pens that are still used as part of the school’s focus on outdoor learning and exploration.

Build Soft Skills:
Students are some of the most eloquent and passionate advocates for reinventing learning. Involve students in the design process and let them take ownership. During the design of the new Booker T. Washington High School for the Engineering Professions in Houston, students made presentations on design concepts to teachers, community members, and their peers.

Think Small:
For elementary school students, art projects are a great way to put their mark on a building. At the new West Muskingum Elementary School in Zanesville, Ohio, elementary school students designed wall tiles that went into the restrooms.

This article originally appeared in the School Planning & Management October 2018 issue of Spaces4Learning.

Featured

  • From Approval to Opening: Inside Travis Unified School District’s Fast Tracked Campus Expansion

    The Travis Unified School District (TUSD) in northern California includes several elementary and high schools serving over 5,400 students. In 2024, the TUSD Board approved the addition of sixth grade to the Golden West Middle School campus for the 2025–26 school year, setting in motion an accelerated effort to bring new facilities online in less than a year.

  • Full Sail University Announces First Student Housing Facility

    Full Sail University in Winter Park, Fla., recently announced that development has begun on its first student housing community, according to a news release. The university is partnering with Nvision Development for construction and long-term management of the facility, which will stand five stories and have the capacity for more than 570 beds.

  • South Carolina District Starts Construction on $50M Middle School Renovation

    The Aiken County Public School District in North Augusta, S.C., recently held a groundbreaking ceremony for the $50-million renovation and expansion of North Augusta Middle School, according to a news release. The project’s funding comes from the 2024 renewal of a one-cent sales tax approved by local voters.

  • Quattrocchi Kwok Architects Opens New Office in Denver

    Education planning and design firm Quattrocchi Kwok Architects (QKA) recently announced that it has opened a new office in Denver, Colo., the firm’s third overall. QKA is headquartered in Santa Rosa, Calif., and runs an East Bay Area office in Oakland.