Abstract for ISCHE 41st Annual Conference 2019 Spaces and Places of Education, held at the University of Porto, Portugal July 16 – 20 2019
Author: Petra Regina Moog, Sophia::Academy, Duesseldorf, Germany
In the years to come an anticipated 100 Billion Euro will be spent for the construction of schools and other educational facilities in Europe. Despite the fact, that more and more experts emphasize the influential role of architecture and space in modern education and pedagogics, this important topic doesn’t show up in the curricula of architectural faculties and universities nor within the professional upgrade training programmes for teachers, architects or government employees.
Educational buildings of the 21st century need physical and digital learning environments, that are flexible in their use and that can be co-designed and rearranged by its users, teaching staff as well as pupils and students. Pedagogs must participate within the development-, design-, and construction process.
As a pilot scheme the Erasmus+ project PULS+ offers an integral and advanced training and qualification program addressing architectural and educational practice on a higher education level. In the PULS+ program higher education, economy and public administration form a triangle of knowledge and experience. Offering an international learning and working environment, special business- and creative skills are trained and an intensive interaction between the different professions and disciplines takes place.
Within the PULS+ program the four modules – learning – space – developing – reflecting (academy) – form the centre of the course, accompanied by different workshops related to practice (“reality laboratories”), internships or excursions. All events are held internationally and are interlinked. The PULS+ modules are set up in a way that students and participants of the involved professional guilds will learn from and with each other cross-functionally.
Another aim of PULS+ is to publish and communicate this knowledge and the practical experience to the public internationally via the participating stakeholders and via different media.
Thus, the PULS+ project not only works on the level of a professional higher education leading to the new profession of a “Learning- Environment-Developer”, but also implements an interactive internet platform, that will work a digital learning- and communication device and for which an “Educational Building Compendium / Wiki” will be developed and offered to an interested public.
PULS+ understands itself not only as a teaching but also as a learning platform. Like that it becomes a generator for innovative learning and cooperating. Professional practice and theory are continuously experienced multi-professionally, trans-disciplinarily, inter-regionally and cross-sectional and become institutionalised by the yearly held “Academies” through discussions and reflexions. As integrated parts of the
PULS+ higher education program the “Academies” also serve as an exchange platform for the involved teaching staff from the universities and the other institutions for their personal and professional development.
Bibliography
Moog, P.R. (2017). Der Raum als „3.Pädagoge“ – Wie lassen sich stimulierende Lernumgebungen schaffen? – Schulleitung heute 7/1:1-3