EDFD459

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The Six Learning Spaces
EDFD459 | Professional Development Artefact
Chelsea McGrath | S00170550
Figure 1. (Friedman, 2016)

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INTRODUCTION
As teachers we need to understand that the classroom,
students, education and the world is constantly changing.
With these changes teachers need to be constantly adapting
and moving with the times, to ensure that their students are
gaining the best education and learning experience possible.
There are six learning spaces that are vital in shaping a 21st
century learner:
 The Personal
 The E-Space
 Group, Collaborative, Cooperative
 The Classroom and The School
 Beyond the Classroom
 The Liminal
As we are introduced and discover more about each learning
space, we will learn about the strengths and challenges of each
and we will discuss the approaches and strategies that should
be considered in the redevelopment.
Figure 2. Personal image
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THE PERSONAL
SPACE
The personal learning space is very
individual and is dependent on the
unique needs of the learner. Everyone
learns in a different way and has their
own specific wants and need when it
comes to their learning and studying
space.
The personal space can be seen as a
self-learning, self directed and self-
efficient space, where we take control
of our own learning (Smith, 2013).
There can be many aspects that
contribute to the individual’s
preferences in their space. Some of
these factors can be lighting (natural,
artificial), setting (home, work, public),
sounds (silent, background noise),
temperature (warm, cool) or the
equipment being used (notes,
computer, both). By the learner
tailoring these factors to suit their
needs, they are creating their personal
learning space.
Figure 3. (National LDS Homeschool Association 2016)

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Strengths and Challenges
STRENGTHS
For Teachers:
 By teachers knowing and understanding
their student’s personal space, they can
better tailor their learning to what best suits
them and their needs
For Students:
 More self-directed and self-efficient in their
learning (Smith, 2013)
 Learn how to take control and manage their
own learning
 Students gain a self-efficacy, meaning they
“belief in his or her ability to succeed in a
particular situation” (Cherry, 2016)
 Students can be more comfortable and
engaged in their learning when in their own
personal space
CHALLENGES
For Teachers:
 Teachers can’t easily clarify problems or
misconceptions
For Students:
 Lack of support and guidance from peers
and teachers
 Everyone is different and learns in different
ways, meaning that everyone has a
different personal learning space
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Figure 4. (Personal image)
This is my personal learning space, my desk in
my bedroom. I like to be in natural lighting,
sometimes with candles and lots of water. My
laptop is usually my main focus and I have all
the documents I need around me.
Figure 5. (O’Callaghan, 2016)
Everyone learns differently and has a
different learning style, so it makes sense
that everyone has their own personal space
that works best for them.
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Approaches and Strategies to
Consider
 Teachers should gain an understanding of their students personal
learning space, this could be done through a survey, private
discussions or open class discussions. By doing this they can better
accommodate each student’s needs
 Students should also participate in activities that explore what their
needs are in their personal learning space. Two strategies could be
to get students to write the ‘do’s and don’t’ for their personal space or
for students to participate in a ‘trial and error’ activity of different
types of personal spaces to figure out what they really need
 The personal space connects to the classroom and school space.
This being because once teachers know their students personal
learning space the classroom layout, design or rules can be
maneuvered or changed to better suit the individuals needs (Deed,
Lesko & Lovejoy, 2014). This change in environment will help
students to use and engage more with their personal learning space
as it is more inviting in this new classroom setting. (This connects to
the video shown on slide 17)
6

7. +  To incorporate the personal space more in the classroom, when
doing individual tasks allow students to move freely and find a
space that best suits their individual learning needs. Students
need to be encouraged to engage with their personal space at any
time in the classroom, as it enhanced their understanding of their
own learning and what works best for them (Deed et al, 2014)
 “Personalized learning spaces are the result of the duality of open
learning contexts and personalized learning approaches. “ (Deed
et al., 2014)
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THE E-SPACE
Technology is becoming a necessity in
the classroom and is a vital part of
children’s lives, learning and
education.
The E-space refers to learning online
by using and interacting with different
technology and software such as
blogs and twitter.
Technology has become ever present
in the classroom and it is changing the
‘classic’ classroom setting, as well as
the way students are learning (Britt &
Paulus , 2016).
Teachers need to embrace the use of
technology in the classroom, as it is an
essential part of children's learning and
development.
Figure 6. (Gonchar, 2014)

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Strengths and Challenges
STRENGTHS
For Teachers:
 Gives teachers a broader range of
resources and access to different content
and software (Britt, & Paulus, 2016)
 Allows teachers to give effective feedback
on student learning
 Allows teachers to easily store and access
student assessments and portfolios (Britt, &
Paulus, 2016)
For Students:
 Develops student’s skills and understanding
of technology which can enhance their
learning (Britt, & Paulus, 2016)
 Allow students to easily work independently
or collaboratively with peers and teachers
 Gives students the opportunity to easily
access resources and information
CHALLENGES
For Teachers:
 Keeping students safe while on the internet
 Keeping student information, work and
portfolios private (privacy issues)
 Keeping student focused, on task and away
from distractions
 May distract from the importance of
handwriting skills and using hardcopies
For Students:
 Cyber safety
 Students from low socio-economic background
may feel intimidated using and interacting with
the technology
 Not all students have the same skill level using
the technology and software
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Figure 7. ( Thackray, 2014)
Student’s engaging with technology safety
and using the iPads to participate in
learning.
Figure 8. (Xander, 2015)
Technology is a great way to to keep the
student’s engaged in their own learning and it
allows students to build their technology and
software using skills.
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Approaches and Strategies to
Consider
 Teachers need to have an understanding of their students E-space,
this could be done as a survey or an online questionnaire. Some
questions that should be considered are:
- What technology do they interact with? (laptop, iPad, phone,
etc)
- What software are they using? (Facebook, Twitter, blogs,
Google docs, any educational programs
- Are they activity on the internet? (all the time, sometimes,
only at school)
Teachers need to know this information so we have knowledge on
how ‘tech savvy’ our students are, as well as gaining an
understanding on what software could be brought into the classroom
to make the students more engaged
 Students should be interacting with the E-Space everyday. With this
redevelopment, teachers need to be aware that they need
incorporate E-Learning into their content and educational
environment (Britt & Paulus , 2016)
- Using blogs to post work and assessments
- Using the iPads to research their inquiry topic
- Getting students to interact with different educational apps
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Figure 10. (Raj Dhingra, 2012)
Ted Talk on the importance of technology in education, it shows real life
examples of how it improved learning and emphasises the need to
technology in all classrooms.
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Further Resources
 Twitter is a great platform for all educators to be on, as you are able
to share resources, interact with other educators and gain insight
from them, you can stay up to date on professional organisations
and you will be participating in online professional development
 As teachers there are a lot of professional development resources
we can use and learn from to better understand technology and
software and how to interact with it safety and properly.
 Lynda - a website you can sign up for and has a section dedicated to
‘Education and E-Learning Training and Tutorials’ – this is a great site for
teachers as it showcases a wide variety of software that is available and it
allows teachers to gain a deeper understanding of their software and how
to use it the best way
 Apple Educators - a great resource where you are able to purchase
lessons, courses and resources developed by Apples Distinguished
Educators (follow the link ‘Go to iTunes U)
 Google Educators - as a teacher you can develop and enhance your
Google tools skills training (fundamentals or advanced) or become a
Certified Educator (Level 1 or Level 2)
 Microsoft Educators - you can participate in Microsoft training courses or
you can certifications in a wide range of Microsoft software
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GROUP,
COLLABORATIVE,
COOPERATIVE
The group learning space is where
students work collaboratively and
cooperatively with peers (partners or
small groups) to build a deeper
understanding and knowledge on their
focus topic.
Children are about to bounce ideas of
each other, work together to complete
a task, as well as build their social and
communicative skills.
Collaborative Space: Students work
together to complete the set task as a
whole, this being that each student
works to complete all aspects of the
task.
Cooperative Space: Students will
work together to complete a set task,
but sometimes students may find
information on their own and are often
assessed individually (Slavin, 2010).
Figure 11. (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign,
2016)

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Strengths and Challenges
STRENGTHS
For Teachers:
 Gives teachers the opportunity to instill
teamwork and team building skills in their
students (Slavin, 2010)
 It allows the teacher to build
communication skills within their
classroom
For Students:
 Students learn to take responsibility and
work cooperatively with each other as
well as support and challenge their peers
and their thinking (Slavin, 2010)
 Opportunity to develop and extend their
knowledge by building on their own &
their peers understanding (Your Voice,
2010)
 Students learn from their peers, see how
others are thinking or how they are
approaching the task
CHALLENGES
For Teachers:
 There can be a lack of support to guide
students critical thinking
 It can be difficult to assess individual
participation (Your Voice, 2010)
For Students:
 Some students work better individually, so
they can work at their own speed and
complete the work to their own standards
(Your Voice, 2010)
 Some students may find it difficult and
distracting to work in noisy environments
 Students may be easily distracted by being
put into groups, could be seem as a social
time instead of learning time
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Figure 14. (Corrigan, 2014)
Explains more of the benefits of collaborative learning spaces

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Figure 12. (Nielsen, 2016)
The cooperative space allows students to
develop their own concepts, as well as
working together to complete a set task.
Figure 13. (Wong, 2011)
Collaborative and group spaces allows students
to work and build ideas together to achieve the
deepest learning.
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Approaches and Strategies to
Consider
 To gain a better understanding of how to incorporate group,
collaborative and cooperative learning spaces teachers could
organise a visit to a school that has a strong reputation for group
work. This will give the staff the opportunity to talk to other
educators about how to best include this space
 In the redevelopment every day should have an element of group
or collaborative work. This will allow students to activity engage
with their peers and will emphasise how working together is
extremely beneficial and building ideas and concepts deepens
their understanding (Slavin, 2010)
 Some ways you could incorporate group, collaborative and
cooperative learning spaces is by using:
- Literature circle in English
- Have mini group discussions about the task
- Using this space in an inquiry unit is great as it really gets
the students thinking and engaging with the topic
- Brainstorming or role playing activities
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THE CLASSROOM
AND THE SCHOOL
The classroom and school space
refers to the place and environments
where students do most of their
learning and developing.
Teachers need to understand the
importance of creating a welcoming
and comfortable space for their
students to flourish in (Read, 2010).
There are a number of key factors to
consider when designing a classroom
layout: colour, materials, furnishings,
temperature, lighting, sound, texture,
flexibility, choice and freedom to move
(Read, 2010).
Classroom and school designs need to
serve the students and their learning
styles, students should be in an
environment that is beneficial to their
education and overall learning
(Woolfolk & Margetts, 2013)
Figure 16. (Turner, 2015)

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Strengths and Challenges
STRENGTHS
For Teachers:
 Teachers are able to cater the classroom to
their students needs and learning styles
 Allows teachers to easily interact and
engage with their students
 Gives teachers the opportunity to easily
maneuver the setting to better suit the type
of learning. E.G. Independent, self-directed,
group, collaborative, cooperative or team
teaching (Biddick, 2014)
For Students:
 There are multiple areas for students to
learn and engage, that may better suit their
learning style (Biddick, 2014)
 Allows students to take charge of their own
learning and create learning experiences
(Read, 2010)
CHALLENGES
For Teachers:
 Limited funding to assist/create effective
design of the classroom and the school
 Trying to cater for all the learning styles
and learning capabilities in the classroom
(Read, 2010)
For Students:
 The classroom or the school may be
overwhelming for some students
 If there are a lot of students in the
classroom, it may hinder student potential
and participation
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Figure 17. (Henebery, 2015)
Open plan learning environment.
Figure 18. (Read, 2010)
Classrooms should be visually stimulating
for students, as it gets them thinking and
engaging with the content and can add to
their understanding (Read, 2010).
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Approaches and Strategies to
Consider
 With this redevelopment, students need to understand that they
are able to move freely within the classroom. This meaning that
when students are working individually or participating in group or
collaborative work they need to be able to find the spot/position in
the classroom that will work best to enhance their learning (Read,
2010)
 Teachers need to listen to what their students would like in their
classroom and their preferences with the classroom layout
(Alterator & Deed, 2013). By listening to the students requests it
should benefit the each student individually, as their personal
learning space and needs can be better met
 To gain a better understand of different classroom and school
designs teachers could locate schools that use designs, layouts or
techniques that you would like to use or incorporate into the
classroom/school. This will allow your staff too physically see the
setting and layout and other educators can inform and explain the
overall benefits
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Figure 19. (O’Callaghan, 2016)
Showing and explaining some of the benefits of open plan learning,
that has a focus on the individuals needs.
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Further Resources
 If as a school you would like to start using open-plan spaces, focus on
personal development or individual needs or open learning, it is obvious
that extensive research and planning must happen before anything can
be changed
 These links show some great and innovative classroom and school
designs. Students and teacher can see the benefits of these new
student centre environments:
- Future-proofing New Zealand classrooms
- Children rate modern classrooms at revamped Auckland school
- Desk redundant in modern classroom
- Candlebark and Fitzroy Community School
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BEYOND THE
CLASSROOM
Learning doesn’t always just occur
within the four walls of the classroom.
Learning outside of the classroom can
enrich student’s knowledge and
understanding of the subject matter
they are focusing on (Johnson, 2009).
Beyond the classroom refers to
learning outside the school/classroom
space. This space allows students to
have a hands on experiences in
different settings such as excursions,
field trips, camps and incursion.
Figure 20. ( FCC Environment 2015)

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Strengths and Challenges
STRENGTHS
For Teachers:
 Gives teachers the opportunity to extend
the students content knowledge and
gives them access to
extended resources (Bentley, 2012)
 Allows teachers to bring outside
information and knowledge to the
students and back into the classroom
For Students:
 Makes learning more engaging for
students and they can clearly see the
relevance to what they are learning in
class (Johnson, 2009)
 Allows students to explore their creativity
and imagination
 Students are able to interact with a new
environment (Johnson, 2009)
CHALLENGES
For Teachers:
 Cost for the school and the
parents/guardians
 Limited support/funding available to
allow for beyond the classroom learning
experiences (Bentley, 2012)
 Legal, health and safety responsibilities
 Finding time during the school schedule
For Students:
 For low socio-economic families the cost
may be too high to let their children
participate, meaning students may get
excluded from the learning experience
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Figure 21. St Kevin’s College, 2015)
Camps, excursion and field trips allow
students to interact with a new environment
and gets them to connect the information
they are learning in class to the outside
world.
Figure 22. (Greenvale Primary School, 2015)
Excursion to the Melbourne Museum.
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Approaches and Strategies to
Consider
 The best way to integrate beyond the classroom space is by
connecting it to the inquiry unit. So what the inquiry unit is for
each term or semester try to have one or more beyond the
classroom experience planned to go with it. Even if it is not a big
excursion, any beyond the classroom experience is better than
none
 Beyond the classroom space can also be included in the standard
English and Mathematics curriculums. Teachers need to may this
space connected to as many aspects of education, so that
students can see the important of this space and benefits it is in
their learning and development (Johnson, 2009)
 Make sure there is every opportunity for students to interact with
the beyond the classroom space (Bentley, 2012). Students could
even do their own beyond experiences when they are at home.
Give students ideas or things to research that will get them out of
the house and into a different environment
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Figure 23. (Reach Out, 2014)
Explaining some of the benefits of ‘bringing learning outside the
classroom’. Showing how beyond the classroom space doesn’t just have
to excursion and field trips, it can be any curriculum and any activity.

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Further Resources
 The Victoria Government has some great information on school
policies and student safety when participating in excursions or
activities
 There are some excursions and incursions at could be used
within an inquiry unit or general studies:
- Dinosaur unit: dinosaur diggers incursion, dinosaur walk
at the Melbourne Museum
- Insect unit: reptile encounters incursion or minibeast
incursion
- Nature unit: visit to the local park or nature reserve to
observe and interact with the environment
- Science unit: visit to science works
- Space unit: Expidition to the M.A.R.S base (VSSEC)
excursion or STARLAB incursion
- Mathematics: using the outside environment for
mathematical equations and tasks
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THE LIMINAL
The liminal space can be described as
the ‘in-between space’ of not knowing
to knowing (Liminal space, 2016).
One way it can be explained is:
1. You are standing on one side of a
tunnel - this is the point of not knowing
or understanding
2. You then have to travel through the
tunnel - this is the processing and
constructing of learning (the liminal
space)
3. You then exit the tunnel - you now
clearly know, understand and
comprehend the content
The liminal space is an extremely
important learning space as it is where
students go through the process of
learning (Meyer, Land & Baillie, 2010).
Figure 24. (Gardening Class. 2013)

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Strengths and Challenges
STRENGTHS
For Teachers:
 If teachers can see that students are in
the liminal space, they can know the are
in the process of learning and making
connections
For Students:
 They are actively participating in their
learning by thinking, processing,
engaging and making connections
 It is an individual space, meaning their
take responsibility for their own learning
and understanding
CHALLENGES
For Teachers:
 It is an intangible space so teachers ay find
it hard to know where their students are at
or whether their students are within this
space
For Students:
 Everyone’s liminal space will be different
lengths, as every processes and comes to
understanding at different times, so
students may feel uncomfortable if they still
don’t understand a concept (still in the
liminal)
 May not understand this space because it
isn’t physical and it is a more complex
space
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Figure 26. (Agnesi, 2013)
The liminal is very personal learning space
as students will be at different stages of
their process of learning.
Figure 25. (Price-Mitchell, 2015)
It can feel uncomfortable and annoying
when you or students are stuck in the
liminal space.

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Approaches and Strategies to
Consider
 The liminal space is an extremely important space where the
‘process of learning’ occurs (Liminal space, 2016). Teachers
need to have a strong understanding of the liminal space and
need to be able to recognise when students are in this space
 To get students to start understanding the liminal space there
should be a class discussion on what you feel and think when
you are unsure, don’t know or are trying to understand a task,
concept or idea
 As teachers in this redevelopment you need to make sure your
students understand the importance of the liminal space. You
could get them to conduct research into the space or present
their understanding of it to their peers to further and deepen
their knowledge
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Figure 27. (http://www.ee.ucl.ac.uk/~mflanaga/popupLiminality.html)
Diagram showing the steps of learning.

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CONCLUSION
All six learning spaces need to be incorporated into the students
learning and environments. The learning spaces work together
to shape students into critical thinkers who have social skills and
initiative, as well has being able to take responsibility for their
learning.
As teachers we need to show, use and teach these learning
spaces to our students. With this redevelopment you should be
aiming to include and incorporate all six learning spaces into your
students learning environments.
All six learning spaces are connected to each other and work with
each other to benefit the learner. Students need to understand
these spaces as they are vital for their education, their
understanding, their knowledge and their learning.
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