Inclusive Lab spaces for innovative learning models
Inclusive spaces for new educational models will be set up in Istituto San Giuseppe, a social cooperative that manages a group of schools in Florence. Creative solutions for flexible lab spaces will be co-designed by children, teachers, school psychologists, and researchers, to enhance active and participative learning for 6-11 years old children. All the students (regardless of age and ability) will be involved and supported by an adaptable multisensory space. Design for all, education for all.
Local
Italy
Tuscany, Florence
Mainly urban
It refers to a physical transformation of the built environment (hard investment)
No
No
Yes
As a representative of an organization, in partnership with other organisations
Name of the organisation(s): University of Florence, Department of Architecture, TESIS research centre Type of organisation: University or another research institution First name of representative: Elena Last name of representative: Bellini Gender: Female Nationality: Italy Function: Research Fellow Address (country of permanent residence for individuals or address of the organisation)<br/>Street and number: via di San Niccolò, 93 Town: Florence Postal code: 50125 Country: Italy Direct Tel:+39 333 472 0489 E-mail:elena.bellini@unifi.it
New spaces for inclusive educational programs will be set up in Istituto San Giuseppe, a social cooperative that manages a group of schools in Florence. Physical transformation and regeneration of learning environments will be provided to fight discrimination and improve the quality of education. Creative solutions for flexible lab spaces will be co-designed by students, teachers, school psychologists, and researchers, to enhance active and participative learning for 6-11 years old children. A framework of requirements for the inclusion of children with disabilities and other specific needs will be defined and new learning models for all students will be developed, supported by an adaptable multisensory space.
Good quality acoustics, lighting, and ventilation are some of the requirements for comfort indoors, enhancing a better quality space for learning. Specific needs will be considered to engage all students in active and participative learning activities, regardless of their age, gender, culture, abilities or conditions. “Design for all” will be the main principle to transform the built environment and develop safe, accessible and flexible solutions. Students will be enabled to make choices: working in groups or individually, participating in low or high stimulus activities, being main characters and learning from the environment, getting independence and increasing their sense of responsibility and self-confidence. The configuration of the space will provide an open space to make children move freely, organised in flexible multisensory areas with adaptable and modular furniture: area of movement, psychomotricity, relax, one to one corner, services, etc. Also the furniture will be part of the design process in a child-centred approach.
SpinLAB module will be composed of different elements to be combined as necessary and adapt in different spaces to promote education for all in the primary schools of the group, adapting and renovating the existing buildings.
design for all
co-design
flexible learning spaces
active participatory learning
multisensory spaces
The project has been funded by Cassa di Risparmio di Firenze (a social foundation of a famous italian bank that is settled in Florence) in the initiative “Vivere la disabilità come risorsa” (Living disability as a resource) and covered by an agreement between Istituto San Giuseppe Cooperativa Sociale and TESIS research centre, Department of Architecture, University of Florence. The project has been funded for its specific social value. In fact, the research is focusing on social innovation by developing innovative tools for the co-design process and new solutions for inclusive spaces and furniture, at the different scales of learning environments.
By the project, children with disabilities or other vulnerable conditions will be part of the school group, working together with all the students, without differences, regardless of their age, gender, culture, abilities or conditions. In this way, teachers, school psychologists and educational professionals' work will achieve quality and it will also be more sustainable.
A pilot of SpinLAB will be developed and validated, becoming a repeatable module for other schools and contexts. This ability to be replicated and transferred make the project very sustainable.
The co-design activities will be part of the educational program of the school, making it easy and feasible for their organisation with the contribution of teachers and psychologists of the school.
After the validation of the pilot, different solutions will be provided to be adapted in different schools and environments, even though they present different spaces, dimensions, social and economical conditions.
Materials used for the set up of the pilot will be recyclable and adaptable, to be reused and transferred in different contexts.
For all these reasons, we can say that SpinLAB is sustainable from a social, economical and environmental point of view.
New co-design methods will be provided to involve children, teachers and school psychologists in the design process, being main characters of the social innovation from the concept phase of the project. They will participate directly in the design by proposing their ideas for the new lab spaces. The researchers will collect experiences and proposals to develop the new concept of the room, make a pilot and validate it by the final users’ experimentation. In this way, SpinLAB aesthetics and quality will be generated by users’ needs and wishes.
Children will make some drawings, art works and texts, working individually and in groups to design the new room and the interior furniture. These activities will be part of the inclusive lab lessons, promoting inclusion and participation as cultural and learning values.
Teachers will be involved in focus groups and co-design sessions by working on a 3d model of the room. The initiative will be exemplary for the other schools.
It would be a positive experience for children and teachers to be part of the process, being able to transform and build their own school environment and to develop creativity. It will also improve their sense of belonging and identity.
All the results will be developed by the researchers to define the final SpinLAB module that will include the renovation of spaces of San Giuseppe existing buildings and the design of interior furniture to be flexible and modular and improve accessibility, independence, safety, comfort, inclusion and collaboration of children working in groups.
Moreover, the dissemination of the design process will give cultural benefits, involving all the schools of the group and children’s families, spreading the concepts of inclusion, accessibility, equal rights, direct involvement, active and participatory learning.
Accessibility of learning environments will be provided by designing spaces for All.
Inclusion will be promoted by the development of new learning methods and environments where children can participate in the group and be directly involved in learning activities. They will be independent, building their own space to be safe and welcoming, enhancing a cozy and familiar atmosphere where they can always feel part of the group. The new lab space will provide special furniture to make children change and adapt the space, work in groups, participate in manual activities, be part of the decision making process, improving independence, responsibility and self-confidence.
In this panorama, children with disabilities and other vulnerable conditions are part of the group, without any difference in activities, spaces and learning opportunities.
Co-design sessions will be part of the inclusive process, developing solutions for specific and special needs by the direct involvement of children, teachers and school psychologists. These activities will be part of the inclusive lab lessons, promoting inclusion and participation as cultural and learning values. Everyone will have the opportunity to participate and express their specific needs and wishes for the new lab spaces. The design will take into account these requirements, developing flexible spaces that make children feel welcomed, free to move in the space, to use all the elements in the room and to decide how to use them. They will be able to customise the space during the design process but also during SpinLAB life, using the space in a flexible way, depending on the activities, their abilities and their feelings. The space is for children: everyone should have the same opportunities and rights of learning.
Flexibility will also make the SpinLAB pilot adaptable for every context, giving the opportunity to include every school of the group in the initiative, regardless of spaces, social and economical conditions.
The main goal of the initiative is the inclusion of children with disabilities and other vulnerable conditions, regardless of their age, gender, culture, abilities or conditions. Their inclusion will contribute to the improvement of the quality of education, by the renovation of learning environments in Istituto San Giuseppe existing buildings and the development of innovative solutions for active and participatory learning. All the stakeholders will benefit from the SpinLAB project: students and their families, teachers, school psychologists and the educational professionals.
As a consequence, the whole civil society will benefit from the project by increasing the knowledge and skills for sustainable development and sustainable lifestyles, human rights, gender equality, promotion of a culture of peace and non-violence, global citizenship and appreciation of cultural diversity and of culture’s contribution to sustainable development.
The dissemination process will improve this knowledge and the affirmation of cultural values of inclusion, accessibility, equal rights, active and participatory learning, that could be promoted in other schools. At the end of the project some informative events will be organised and informative publishing will be delivered to different schools.
All the stakeholders will be involved directly in the SpinLAB project by the co-design process and the validation of the pilot.
In the first phase, researchers will observe and technically analyse the inclusive lab activities in Istituto San Giuseppe. By a first focus group, teachers, school psychologists and educational professionals will be involved to define a requirements framework.
Then, children, teachers, school psychologists and educational professionals will be directly involved in the design process by co-design sessions.
Children will make some drawings, art works and texts, working individually and in groups to design the new room and the interior furniture. By the elaboration of data collected in the first design sessions, the researchers will generate a draft proposal of SpinLAB spaces, furniture and supportive devices to be included. Teachers will be involved in co-design sessions by working on a 3d model of the room to define the pilot. Indoor furniture will be also generated by children’s drawings, defining recognisable and identity features to be replied in all SpinLab spaces.
A pilot will be set up in Istituto San Giuseppe and validated by children, teachers, school psychologists and educational professionals experimentation.
Then, a final model of SpinLAB will be defined and transferred in all the primary schools of the group, as a module to be combined and adapted to different contexts and conditions.
Families will also be involved, sharing results of the research and the design development, at the end of the initiative.
The initiative will be disseminated in the local and regional context, to share the design methodology and the knowledge transferred, being exemplary for other schools.
The results and outcomes will also be shared in the national and international context by informative and scientific publishing.
Cassa di Risparmio di Firenze Foundation will also contribute by sharing the initiative in all our country.
The design process will be multidisciplinary, involving architecture, design, environmental studies, psychology, learning methods and facilities.
The team of researchers will include architects by TESIS research centre (Department of Architecture, University of Florence) to
analyse the architectural and design properties of the existing learning spaces, and technical measurements of lighting and acoustic quality;
define the framework of requirements for new lab spaces and furniture;
coordinate co-design sessions and collecting data;
develop new solutions for the inclusive lab spaces.
TESIS centre is an interuniversity centre of research involved in the development of systems and technologies for healthcare, social and learning environments. It was founded in the ‘90s at the Department of Architecture, University of Florence, involving the University of Rome, Turin and Milan, and including different disciplines: architecture, environmental psychology, medicine, and economy.
The research team will work constantly with the support of teachers, psychologists and educational professionals of Istituto San Giuseppe to address specific needs of children/students. Their contribution will add value to the project, creating interaction between different fields. The interaction between researchers and stakeholders will also be provided by the participation of children, teachers, school psychologists and educational professionals in the design process.
Innovative co-design methods will be developed to involve children,teachers, schools psychologists and educational professionals in the design process. This will be part of the social innovation, including their specific needs and wishes, but also changing the design approach: from design for inclusion to inclusive design; from design for all to design with all.
Both learning methods and learning environments will be innovative, taking into account the background by developing a deep research of the state of the art and existing case studies for inclusive schools and lab spaces.
Flexibility will be the main innovation by providing adaptable solutions for spaces and furniture that enable students to be independent, responsible and self-confident in a safe, comfortable, accessible and healthy environment. They will feel included in a group, owners and main characters of the learning environment, and part of the innovation.
SpinLAB project is going to develop a pilot that will be set up and validated in one of the primary schools of the group, Instituto San Giuseppe in Florence.
After the pilot’s validation the learning module will be replicated in the other schools. The flexibility of the project makes the new inclusive learning space adaptable to all the different buildings, spaces, social, educational and economical conditions.
For the same reason, SpinLAB could be also transferred to other schools, defining a flexible product to be replicated in every context, replying innovative educational methods founded on active and participatory learning, and adaptable spaces and modular furniture to promote inclusion, direct involvement and participation, regardless of every student’s age, gender, culture, abilities and conditions. SpinLAB module will be a composition of different modular elements to maintain the identity of inclusive lab spaces even though with different design solutions to adapt to different learning environments.
The methodology of the design process will also be a knowledge that could be transferred according to the idea of promoting inclusion by design, applying it to different contexts and solutions.
Inclusive design is based on people, who are central in the design process. The researchers are going to design with them for them the new inclusive learning spaces.
Research will be at the base of SpinLAB, to develop social innovation by innovative learning methods and environments.
Design will be central in the development of some main concepts: inclusion, accessibility, safety, comfort, flexibility, independence, responsibility, active and participatory learning.
The design process will be developed in different phases:
1. Analysis of the pilot school with a technical relief of school spaces : architectural features, lighting and acoustic qualities, use of furniture, etc.
2. Observation of lab activities, children habits and behaviours in relation to the environment
3. Focus group with teachers, educational professionals and school psychologists to define personas profile (n° of children per class, n° of student with disabilities, types of disabilities, etc.) and a framework of requirements by collecting teachers and students special and specific needs to promote and develop inclusion
4. Literature review and existing case studies analysis of inclusive lab, classroom and schools
5. Co-design sessions with children, teachers, school psychologists and educational professionals to develop the inclusive lab modular space. Innovative co-design tools will be provided to involve the main characters in the design process, addressing to their specific needs
6. Proposal and definition of the pilot
7. Set up of the pilot in Istituto San Giuseppe in Florence
8. Validation of the pilot
9. Replication of the pilot in the other primary schools of the group
10. Results and outcomes dissemination.
The research group is now running the co-design phase. The first focus group with teachers, educational professionals and school psychologists was run in December 2022. The co-design session with children will be developed in February 2023.
3-good health and wellbeing
To promote mental health and well-being by the inclusion of children with disabilities in learning programs and activities. Learning space will promote their inclusion and active participation.
4-quality education
To develop new effective learning methods to equitable and quality primary education and childhood development, especially addressing to the vulnerable situations, including children with disabilities.
To improve and increase the knowledge and skills through education for sustainable development and sustainable lifestyles, human rights, gender equality, promotion of a culture of peace and non-violence, global citizenship and appreciation of cultural diversity and of culture’s contribution to sustainable development. Learning inclusion by inclusive learning spaces.
To provide safe, non-violent, inclusive and effective learning environments for all. The new learning environments will be designed as universal spaces for all.
10-reduced inequality
To empower and promote the social, economic and political inclusion of all, irrespective of age, sex, disability, race, ethnicity, origin, religion or economic or other status.
To ensure equal opportunity and reduce inequalities of outcome, including by eliminating discriminatory laws, policies and practices and promoting appropriate legislation, policies and action in this regard.
11-sustainable cities and communities
To provide universal access to safe, inclusive and accessible public spaces, such as school and learning spaces, especially focusing on children with disabilities.
To implement integrated policies and plans towards inclusion, starting from the public school as the basis of people's education.
The design process will be developed in different phases. The research group has already run the analysis of the pilot school with a technical relief of school spaces : architectural features, lighting and acoustic qualities, use of furniture, etc.
In the months of November and December 2022 observations of lab activities were run by the researchers to understand children's habits and behaviours in relation to the environment.
At the same time literature review and existing case studies were analysed to define the state of the art about inclusive labs, classrooms and schools.
The research group is now running the co-design phase.
The first focus group with teachers, educational professionals and school psychologists was run in December 2022, to define personas profile (n° of children per class, n° of student with disabilities, types of disabilities, etc.) and a framework of requirements by collecting teachers and students special and specific needs .
The co-design session with children will be developed in February 2023 to develop the inclusive lab modular space and furniture. Innovative co-design tools will be provided; literature review in this field has also been developed.
In the next months, the pilot will be proposed and set up in Istituto San Giuseppe in Florence to be validated.
Before the validation phase a first scientific publication will be published by the research group to share the results of background analysis and co-design phase.
