Browsing by Author "Reinius, Hanna"

Target: This study aims to find out what kind of activities deskless school as a physical space brings out among pupils and teachers. It also studies what kind of significances pupils and teachers gave to deskless school and to the possibilities it was creating. The target of this study was to increase the knowledge about how the changes of learning environment affects pupils’ and teachers’ activities and how meaningful changes in learning environment can support interactive learning, knowledge creation learning and the growth of pupils’ agency. As a theoretical background the affordance theory and different space theories were used to understand how the learning spaces in schools are taking shape. Method: The data was gathered in Helsinki capital area from a newly build school, where the spaces were furnished from deskless point of view. The data consisted of one second grade class pupils and their two teachers. Research method was exploratory case study and both observations and interviews were used. Results and conclusion: Results showed that deskless school generates new kinds of learning and teaching activities. Pupils got used to concentrate on their school work even if there was movement in the class. They also utilized movement in their own activities and strengthened their own agency with movement and freedom of choice. Freedom of choices concerned also work practices. It was common to work with a pair or in small groups, which emphasized cooperation in school work. Deskless school was given several meanings that reflected what pupils and teachers were valuing in their school. Pupils highlighted tranquility during the classes, possibility for cooperation in learning activities and the free choice of places and way of studying. Teachers highlighted also the importance of cooperation and how the school environment enabled cooperative learning. Teachers viewed the spaces especially through their quality of enabling new kind of activities: support for teachers’ cooperation, co-planning and co-teaching. Conclusion was that planning the school environments matters. With thoughtful planning can school environments support deeper cooperation between teachers and pupils, cooperative learning, knowledge sharing and even raise pupils’ agency. However, the space itself does not make any change, but it enables new kind of thinking and activities.