Question: What do aquariums, indoor trees, therapy animals and rooftop gardens have in common? Answer: They all feature in my students’ library designs. Video showcase of final projects. Music: "Get Happy" by Purple Planet Music. Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution License 3.0. Retrieved from www.purple-planet.com It was during a meeting with my school leadership team and an architect. We were meeting to plan a redesign of the secondary library. The plan so far was to keep the existing structure, but remap the interior to better suit the needs of the stakeholders – students, library staff, parents, teachers, ancillary staff. The group were discussing specific user needs and possible solutions, when I was reminded of Hilary Hughes’ work on designing learning spaces through participatory design processes.
It was essential that the students were involved in the process. As my main stakeholders, their needs were central to my practice as a Teacher-Librarian and needed to be central to the redesign. By being involved with the design process, students would also gain a sense of ownership of the space (Lackney, 2007). But how could I get them on board? That’s when inspiration struck. “Lighted Incandescent Bulb” by Gursharndeep Singh (2018). Licensed under Pexels License. Retrieved from https://www.pexels.com/photo/lighted-incandescent-bulb-2938278/ Games. I needed a game that was accessible, free, easy to use and which the students loved. That game was Minecraft. Thus, the project “Craft the Library” was born. This project was an optional extra-curricular activity which students signed up to by attending the first meeting. During the first meeting, a briefing was provided where students were given the parameters of the project. The students then divided into self-selected groups to collaborate on their designs in their own time. Students who needed technical support with Minecraft were provided assistance. With excitement, they brainstormed and jumped right in, adjusting as they progressed. They each had different levels of skill and many dynamic conversations were witnessed as they solved problems together. Year 7 boy: "I'm not really good at this Miss, but I'm trying.“ Some used the existing library floor plan as their guide, others worked with ideas rather than accuracy. I regularly checked in with groups as they were working to assist where required. On another occasion the following conversation occurred: Student 1: "Oh no, someone spawned chickens." Student 2: "Sorry, that was me." Student 1: "We have to get rid of them now, help us." (All students frantically try to get rid of the chickens). Student 3: "No, now we are wrecking the walls! Slow down everyone." (A student from another group overhears the conversation). Student who overheard the conversation: "You can get rid of them in one go. I can show you how to code it." (Students learn to remove chickens using code). Many mistakes were made. Some mistakes were critical (i.e. loss of worlds). The result was messy chaotic learning as it happens in the real world. Although I didn’t provide a methodology, on reflection, the students naturally followed a loose version of the design thinking process. Approximately a month later, we met again as a large group to share drafts, and provide peer-feedback. The groups then adjusted their work and recorded their final designs for presentation to the school’s leadership team. The presentations were conducted during two lunch breaks in the library. The school’s Principal and Deputy Principal were our guests of honour and were invited to complete feedback forms for each group, with the understanding that some of the student’s design elements were to be communicated to the architect for integration into the actual design. Feedback form. Not only did I meet the goal of integrating student voice into the design of the learning space, but student feedback showed that they were positively impacted by the experience. How have you used Minecraft in your library or in your classrooms? I’d love to hear from you.
-BJK
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