Overview:

Challenged to plan and design sustainable and resilient learning spaces that encourage innovation, critical thinking and collaboration, a handful of young designers have broadened the potential of a school by connecting excellence in design with excellence in education. Their rigorous research, exceptional teamwork and eco-friendly solutions not only meet the needs of students, but address the economy and society of the future, enabling them to master the skills they need to take on the challenges of a world defined by change.

Yasmin Sanchez and Michelle Guerrero, two of the young designers for the award-winning Sustainable Open Learning (SOL) Academy, joined us on the Better Learning Podcast during LearningSCAPES to talk through the SchoolsNEXT Design Competition and how it helped offer them an opportunity to illustrate the kind of creativity that students bring to the planning and design process.

The competition highlights the importance of well-planned, healthy, safe sustainable and resilient schools that foster student and teacher achievement and enhance community vitality. The international annual competition, open to middle school and high school students, challenges student teams to design their learning environments to enhance learning, conserve resources, be environmentally responsive and engage the surrounding community. The multi-disciplinary solution requires students to follow a planning process from the concept phase to completion of the project, with thorough documentation. The students will present their project to a jury for review.