Start exploring how you can experiment in your own classroom setting.
Join our free virtual interactive workshop.
How can educators, architects and designers support learning and well-being through simple and low-cost designs? This free interactive workshop will feature key ideas from the Faculty of the Learning Environments for tomorrow (LEFT) Institute, founded at the Harvard Graduate School of Education and Harvard Graduate School of Design.
An opening talk will offer participants an overview of key conditions for learning and well-being – senses of agency, belonging, curiosity, satisfaction. –and qualities of spaces, materials and objects that support them. Participants will choose a parallel break out session moderated by distinguished practitioners that will offer practical and low-cost strategies for supporting learning and well-being in a variety of school settings.
Breakout Sessions:
Designing for Engagement on a Budget
- What spatial moves create engaging learning experiences when resources are limited? This session shares findings from 9 Brazilian universities that redesigned active learning classroom spaces—including two with zero budget. Based on direct feedback from students and educators, discover the 4 interventions that had the biggest impact on learning. Walk away with a practical framework you can implement immediately in your own setting.
- Patricia Nobre — Principal & Studio Director, Gensler
Low-to-No-Cost Hacks for Transforming Your School Facility
- Discover smart, budget-friendly ways to transform your school into a more vibrant, student-centered learning environment! This workshop uses real-world examples to spark ideas for creating dynamic, engaging, and personalized spaces. You’ll dive in hands-on, tailoring concepts to your own school—and leave with practical, ready-to-use strategies to bring your vision to life.
- David Stephen — Architect & Educator, New Vista Design
Rewilding Hacks: Building Relationships with Nature in Any School
- Rewilding isn’t simply about adding plants to a room or campus; it’s about reawakening our innate relationship with the living world. Even in the most urban or indoor settings, we can cultivate moments that invite attention, awe, and reciprocity. This workshop invites participants to explore how small sensory experiences, mindful design choices, and place-based rituals can reawaken a school community’s relationship with nature and bring calm, joy, and focus into learning environments.
- Staci Jasin — Executive Director, COGDesign: Community Outreach Group for Landscape Design
