Steelcase Education hosted the North American Transitions Symposium established by Innovative Learning Environments and Teacher Change (ILETC) in Grand Rapids, Michigan last month (September 2017). The Transitions Learning Symposium brings together PhDs and other global educators to share research and collaborate on the future of education environments and approaches. Symposiums were held in Australia, Europe and North America.
Dr. Wesley Imms is the lead Chief Investigator of the Australian Research Council’s Linkage Project for ILETC. Imms traveled to Steelcase from the University of Melbourne. He sat down with 360 to tell us what their research has discovered so far and share his vision for the future of education.
360: Your research project runs from 2016-2019. Tell us what ILETC is trying to achieve?
Wesley: We’ve discovered the importance of spatial design and have reconstructed classrooms to be innovative and active, but evidence says teachers are continuing to teach the way they taught in traditional classrooms. We are trying to effect a change in that, however getting teachers to change is a challenge. Teachers respond to evidence, so our project is about getting good evidence that elicits a change in practice.
360: What is the ILETC trying to convince administration and teachers through the evidence collected in this research project?
Wesley: The essence of the problem is extraordinary amounts of money have been invested in what we call innovative learning environments, and now we’re looking at how to get teachers to use these wonderfully designed classrooms as they were intended. What was the point in building something that is innovative and flexible if the same practices are happening within? Why didn’t we just put ordinary classrooms in? It goes beyond just proof of concept, but effecting change in what teachers are doing.
360: What makes you passionate about the field of education and the ILETC research project?
Wesley: I’ve always wanted to be a teacher. I love teaching. Underlying that is a really firm belief that the aesthetic environment in which we live, work and play has an impact on the way we feel and the way we act. So, why do we have boring looking schools? Why do we have uncomfortable classrooms? The aesthetic part of our existence is critical and this applies to learning environments as well.