Hacking the Senses to Maximize the Student Experience
Release Date: 06/27/2022
Furnishing the Future: Adaptive Solutions for Modern Learning Spaces
Schools In Focus Podcast
On this episode of Schools in Focus, we'll talk about the role that classroom furniture plays in creating adaptive, flexible learning spaces. Our guest is Wesley Edmonds, the Director of Workplace, Adaptive Solutions at OFS. We'll talk about how layering furniture selection into the initial design phase can help maximize a facility's square footage and student interaction. We'll also discuss how different pieces meet different needs, from collaboration and active learning to quiet study spaces. We'll touch on designing for neurodiversity, the impact of design thinking on quote-unquote "fixing...
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Being Transparent About School Safety Design
Schools In Focus Podcast
This episode's guest is Devin Bowman, General Manager of Technical Glass Products (TGP) and AD Systems. We’ll talk about the relationship between school architecture and designing for safety as design aspects like natural light and floor-to-ceiling windows become more common. We’ll discuss how to give your school’s glass surfaces varying levels of protection to keep students safe. And we’ll also talk about TGP’s work with an elementary school in Oregon that focused on improving the building’s safety and security features. This episode is sponsored by Technical Glass Products.
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PCM and Energy Savings in Schools
Schools In Focus Podcast
This episode’s guest is Michael Dunn, Technical Sales Manager for Energy Saving Ceilings & PCM at Armstrong World Industries. He’s here to talk about how Phase Change Material (PCM) can help provide energy savings in schools. You’ll learn why many K–12 schools are on the hunt for a new HVAC solution and the practical applications of PCM ceiling panels in regulating temperature without driving up energy costs. He’ll also share the results of the case study at a New Hampshire high school that demonstrated the technology’s effectiveness. This episode is sponsored by Armstrong...
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New Acoustical Solutions — From the Top Down
Schools In Focus Podcast
Increased understanding of and focus on acoustics in the classroom, coupled with heightened focus on speech privacy and information security in today's world, has placed additional burden on school administrators and facility managers. Acoustics isn't only about creating quite classrooms. It's a critical part of the overall IEQ of a school—from classrooms to nurses' offices to administration spaces. New and better technologies exist to give schools solutions that achieve what is needed in today's world while keeping budget parameters in mind. These acoustical solutions start at the top with...
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You Can’t Build Your Way to Net Zero
Schools In Focus Podcast
This episode’s guest is Lori Ferriss, architect with the Boston firm Goody Clancy and Chair of the AIA Committee on the Environment. We’ll discuss how colleges and universities can’t just build their way to net zero in the quest for carbon neutrality—it’s impossible to achieve carbon neutrality without reducing the operational emissions of existing buildings. Lori co-developed the CARE Tool and collaborated with Agnes Scott College in Decatur, Georgia, to complete a campus-scale study to calculate and compare the carbon impacts of reusing and upgrading buildings versus constructing...
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Curating a School Security Plan, Staff, and Budget
Schools In Focus Podcast
This episode’s guest is Dustin Brooks, co-founder and chief customer officer of ZeroEyes. He’s here to talk about the importance of creating a school security plan against the backdrop of increasing active shooter and swatting incidents at schools around the country. We’ll also talk about the importance of a steadfast security staff and a reliable source of funding to keep existing security procedures and equipment in a state of readiness. Finally, we’ll address the paradox of the idea that if you do your job correctly, it doesn’t look like you’ve done anything at all.
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Designing a Kids' Kingdom
Schools In Focus Podcast
Our guest today is Hiroshi Okamoto, principal and co-founder of OLI Architecture. He's here to tell us about Anji Play, an early childhood education facility in the Zhejiang province of China. Anji Play uses a hands-off, play-based learning pedagogy that encourages kids to be kids and lets them explore the environment under their own initiative. The school's architecture and design support the program's key aims of self-determined play and encourage its guiding principles of love, risk, joy, engagement, and reflection to create a true "Kids' Kingdom." The curriculum is currently being...
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Shedding Light on the Benefits of Daylight
Schools In Focus Podcast
Our guest today is Dr. Neall Digert, Vice President of Solatube International, Inc., who’s here to tell us about the benefits of daylight in education spaces. Neall has over thirty years of consulting and education experience working in the energy, lighting, daylighting design, and research fields, specializing in the design and application of advanced lighting and daylighting systems for commercial building applications. We’ll talk about the physiological and psychological effects of daylight; daylighting’s impact on student wellness and academic performance; the sustainability effects...
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How to Foster a Positive School Climate
Schools In Focus Podcast
On this episode of Schools in Focus, we’re talking with Dr. Kevin Mabie, Global Professional Instructor with the Crisis Prevention Institute. He’s here to talk about how a positive school climate can help K–12 leaders address, reduce and prevent bullying and violent behaviors. Among other topics, we’ll discuss what a positive school climate entails, its benefits for students and teachers, layout and design elements that foster a positive environment, and strategies that K–12 teachers can employ to stop bullying in its tracks. Sponsored by Crisis Prevention Institute.
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Bringing Learning to the Great Outdoors
Schools In Focus Podcast
On this episode of Schools in Focus, our guest is Brad Pittam, president of the International Play Equipment Manufacturer’s Association, or IPEMA. We’ll touch on topics like the recent rise in outdoor classrooms, the benefits that these spaces provide to students and teachers alike, the difference and overlap between outdoor classrooms and playgrounds, and design elements to be mindful of when implementing these spaces into your campus. This episode is sponsored by IPEMA.
info_outlineToday's topic is "Hacking the Senses to Boost Student Wellness," and my guests are Kim Montague, Executive Director - research and insights, and Kaelynn Reid, design futurist, both with Kimball International. They're here to talk about the design elements of multi-sensory environments that research and experience have shown to maximize student wellness. Sensory input in the classroom—everything from color to sound to scent, and even taste—can impact student experience and can play a role in memory retention, creative thinking and emotional intelligence. You'll learn how classroom designers can essentially "hack the senses" to usher in a desired psychological or physical outcome. This episode is sponsored by Kimball International.