Perspectives

Category: Research
Research

Collaboration Spaces and Middle School Students’ Engagement in Learning

Dear Reader, Our commitment at VLK to studying design and its impact on the end user is unwavering. I am pleased to share our sixth study, focused on seventh and eighth grade students’ perceptions regarding the renovated middle school where they attend. In this research, we deliberately focused on open collaboration spaces, as we wanted […]
Research

Social Emotional Learning Practices and Learning Spaces

Recently, Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) has become a hot topic in communities across Texas. For us educators, we know SEL as best practices that promote the soft skills that contribute to well-rounded students and productive citizens. For others, it has become a political platform. Because the process is crucial to teaching and learning, we […]
Research

Teacher Efficacy and Intentionally Designed Learning Spaces

Our partnership with The University of Texas at Tyler continues to develop, providing insightful information to direct our practice of architecture. Teacher efficacy is interesting to me, as those who perceive themselves as difference makers have the ability to instill a strong sense of the same in their students. Beliefs that guide students to learn […]
Blog, Research

Student Voice: VLK Spaces and Social Emotional Well-Being

The processes through which all young people and adults acquire and apply the knowledge, skills, and attitudes to develop healthy identities, manage emotions, achieve personal and collective goals, feel and show empathy for others, establish and maintain supportive relationships, and make responsible and caring decisions. (CASEL. “Fundamentals of SEL.” CASEL, 11 Mar. 2022, https://casel.org/fundamentals-of-sel/)
Research

Teachers’ Instructional Decisions and Student Agency in New Purposefully Designed Learning Spaces

The manuscript that follows, Teachers’ Instructional Decisions and Student Agency in New Purposefully Designed Learning Spaces, is the second scholarly study from the broader research conducted at a high school of choice in Houston Independent School District in Houston, Texas, in partnership with The University of Texas at Tyler. The authors designed this study to understand further how student […]
Research

Original Research – The Impact of Learning Environments on Student Engagement

VLK Architects partnered with the University of Texas at Tyler to conduct a study resulting in original research titled, The Impact of Learning Environments on Student Engagement. Uniquely, VLK Architects was awarded the design assignment for two replacement elementary schools that, while located in separate districts, would be rebuilt on their same sites; thereby, serving the same student […]