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 decided to study what teachers might say about SEL strategies when considering the built environment, specifically flexible spaces as an intentional part of school design. We wanted to know if these types of spaces made a difference, or not, in the way teachers facilitated age-appropriate strategies that result in the intended soft skills that SEL purports. We found the results to be insightful, both to the design audience, and the educational leader audience.
Please enjoy our latest original research study, in conjunction with The University of Texas at Tyler. We continue to be proud of the work of VLK│EDGE®, remaining steadfast in contributing to the educational discourse about best practices, as well as to our design professionals. Ensuring the inclusion of design in the canon of educational literature continues to highlight the importance of the curricula and learning environment intersection, regardless of political rhetoric.
Sincerely,
VLK Architects
Dalane E. Bouillion, Ed.D., Chief Development Officer
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Explore the full document here: Original Research Document No. 5
Additional Resources: https://scholarworks.uttyler.edu/education_fac/36/