Skip to main content

Advertisement

Log in

Teacher adaptation to flexible learning environments

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Learning Environments Research Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Teaching practices respond to the prompts, resources and inherent potential of a school’s physical, social and cultural landscape. This study involved how teachers adapt their practice in response to contemporary flexible learning environments. An Australian case study focused on how teachers framed and enacted changes in practice by perceiving action possibilities of the flexible environment and (re)configuring the classroom environment over time through their professional agency. An enactment model of teacher adaptation is proposed, based on the case study and the relevant literature. The model suggests that the phases in the adaptation process are awareness, experimentation and coherence.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Aldrich, H. E., & Pfeffer, J. (1976). Environments of organizations. Annual Review of Sociology,2, 79–105.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Alterator, S., Deed, C., & Prain, V. (2018). Encapsulating teacher expertise in action. Teachers and Teaching,24(4), 450–460.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Altmann, J. (1974). Observational study of behavior: Sampling methods. Behaviour,49(3), 227–266.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Biesta, G., Priestley, M., & Robinson, S. (2015). The role of beliefs in teacher agency. Teachers and Teaching,21(6), 624–640.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Boudett, K. P., Murnane, R. J., City, E., & Moody, L. (2005). Teaching educators how to use student assessment data to improve instruction. Phi Delta Kappan,86(9), 700–706.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Boys, J. (2010). Towards creative learning spaces: Re-thinking the architecture of post-compulsory education. Abingdon: Routledge.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Bronkhorst, L., Meijer, P., Koster, B., & Vermunt, J. (2011). Fostering meaning-oriented learning and deliberate practice in teacher education. Teaching and Teacher Education,27, 1120–1130.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brown, J. S., Collins, A., & Duguid, P. (1989). Situated cognition and the culture of learning. Educational Researcher,18(1), 32–42.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Caballero, R. (2014). Thinking, drawing and writing architecture through metaphor. Ibérica,28, 155–180.

    Google Scholar 

  • Carlgren, I., & Lindblad, S. (1991). On teachers’ practical reasoning and professional knowledge: Considering conceptions of context in teachers’ thinking. Teaching and Teacher Education,7(5–6), 507–516.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Charteris, J., & Smardon, D. (2018). A typology of agency in new generation learning environments: Emerging relational, ecological and new material considerations. Pedagogy, Culture & Society,26(1), 51–68.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cheng, M. M. H., Tang, S. Y. F., & Cheng, A. Y. N. (2012). Practicalising theoretical knowledge in student teachers’ professional learning in initial teacher education. Teaching and Teacher Education,28, 781–790.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Choi, J.-I., & Hannafin, M. (1995). Situated cognition and learning environments: Roles, structures, and implications for design. Educational Technology Research and Development,43(2), 53–69.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Clandinin, D. J. (1985). Personal practical knowledge: A study of teachers’ classroom images. Curriculum Inquiry,15(4), 361–385.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Clarke, D., & Hollingsworth, H. (2002). Elaborating a model of teacher professional growth. Teaching and Teacher Education,18(8), 947–967.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cleveland, B. (2016). Addressing the spatial to catalyse socio-pedagogical reform in middle years education. In K. Fisher (Ed.), The translational design of schools (pp. 27–49). Rotterdam: Springer.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Cleveland, B., & Fisher, K. (2014). The evaluation of physical learning environments: A critical review of the literature. Learning Environments Research,17(1), 1–28. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10984-013-9149-3.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Coburn, C. E., & Turner, E. O. (2011). Research on data use: A framework and analysis. Measurement: Interdisciplinary Research & Perspective,9(4), 173–206.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cochran-Smith, M., & Lytle, S. L. (1999). Relationships of knowledge and practice: Teacher learning in communities. Review of Research in Education,24, 249–305.

    Google Scholar 

  • Connelly, F. M., Clandinin, D. J., & He, M. F. (1997). Teachers’ personal practical knowledge on the professional knowledge landscape. Teaching and Teacher Education,13(7), 665–674.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cox, P., & Edwards, D. (2014). Restructuring teaching and learning in open-plan schools. In V. Prain, P. Cox, C. Deed, D. Edwards, C. Farrelly, M. Keeffe, et al. (Eds.), Adapting to teaching and learning in open-plan schools (pp. 61–78). Rotterdam: Springer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Craig, C. (2018). The contexts of teaching: More to know and more to know about. Teachers and Teaching,24(4), 329–331. https://doi.org/10.1080/13540602.2018.1433285.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dane, J. (2016). The effective teaching and learning spatial framework. In W. Imms, B. Cleveland, & K. Fisher (Eds.), Evaluating learning environments: Snapshots of emerging issues, methods and knowledge (pp. 211–228). Rotterdam: Sense.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Daniels, H., Tse, H. M., Stables, A., & Cox, S. (2017). Design as a social practice: The design of new build schools. Oxford Review of Education,43(6), 767–787. https://doi.org/10.1080/03054985.2017.1360176.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Deed, C. (2015). A model of teacher adaptation to open-plan settings. In V. Prain, P. Cox, C. Deed, D. Edwards, C. Farrelly, M. Keeffe, et al. (Eds.), Personalised learning in open-plan schools (pp. 27–42). Rotterdam: Sense Publishers.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Dewey, J. (1938/2008). Logic: The theory of inquiry. The later works of John Dewey (Vol. 12). Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press. (Original work published 1938).

  • Donhost, M. J., & Anfara, V. A., Jr. (2010). Data-driven decision making. Middle School Journal,42(2), 56–63.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Edwards, A. (2005). Relational agency: Learning to be a resourceful practitioner. International Journal of Educational Research,43, 168–182.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Edwards, A. (2015). Recognising and realising teachers’ professional agency. Teachers and Teaching,21(6), 779–784. https://doi.org/10.1080/13540602.2015.1044333.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Elbaz, F. (1991). Research on teacher’s knowledge: The evolution of a discourse. Journal of Curriculum Studies,23(1), 1–19.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Emirbayer, M., & Mische, A. (1998). What is agency? The American Journal of Sociology,103, 962–1023.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Eraut, M. (2004). Informal learning in the workplace. Studies in Continuing Education,26(2), 247–273.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Flores, M. A., & Day, C. (2006). Contexts which shape and reshape new teachers’ identities: A multi-perspective study. Teaching and Teacher Education,22(2), 219–232.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gholami, K., & Husu, J. (2010). How do teachers reason about their practice? Representing the epistemic nature of teachers’ practical knowledge. Teaching and Teacher Education,26(8), 1520–1529.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Greeno, J. (2009). A framework bite on contextualizing, framing, and positioning: A companion to Son and Goldstone. Cognition and Instruction,27(3), 269–275.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Grimm, V., Revilla, E., Berger, U., Jeltsch, F., Mooij, W. M., Railsback, S. F., et al. (2005). Pattern-oriented modeling of agent-based complex systems: Lessons from ecology. Science,310(5750), 987–991.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gulson, K. N., & Symes, C. (2007). Knowing one’s place: Space, theory, education. Critical Studies in Education,48(1), 97–110.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Holling, C. S. (2001). Understanding the complexity of economic, ecological, and social systems. Ecosystems,4(5), 390–405.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kelly, P. (2006). What is teacher learning? A socio-cultural perspective. Oxford Review of Education,32(4), 505–519.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Korthagen, F. A. (2010). Situated learning theory and the pedagogy of teacher education: Towards an integrative view of teacher behavior and teacher learning. Teaching and Teacher Education,26(1), 98–106.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Leiringer, R., & Cardellino, P. (2011). Schools for the twenty-first century: School design and educational transformation. British Educational Research Journal,37(6), 915–934.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Levin, S., Xepapadeas, T., Crépin, A.-S., Norberg, J., De Zeeuw, A., Folke, C., et al. (2013). Social-ecological systems as complex adaptive systems: Modeling and policy implications. Environment and Development Economics,18(02), 111–132. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1355770X12000460.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lin, X., & Schwartz, D. L. (2005). Towards teachers’ adaptive metacognition. Educational Psychologist,40(4), 245–255.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lindblom-Ylänne, S., Trigwell, K., Nevgi, A., & Ashwin, P. (2006). How approaches to teaching are affected by discipline and teaching context. Studies in Higher Education,31(3), 285–298. https://doi.org/10.1080/03075070600680539.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lovejoy, V., Mow, L., Edwards, D., Waldrip, B., & Prain, V. (2014). Adapting to teaching in open-plan up-scaled learning communities. In V. Prain, P. Cox, C. Deed, D. Edwards, C. Farrelly, M. Keeffe, et al. (Eds.), Adapting to teaching and learning in open-plan schools (pp. 107–123). Rotterdam: Springer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lunenberg, M., & Korthagen, F. A. (2009). Experience, theory, and practical wisdom in teaching and teacher education. Teachers and Teaching,15(2), 225–240.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McNeil, J., & Borg, M. (2018). Learning spaces and pedagogy: Towards the development of a shared understanding. Innovations in Education and Teaching International,55(2), 228–238.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mehta, J. (2013). From bureaucracy to profession: Remaking the educational sector for the twenty-first century. Harvard Educational Review,83(3), 463–488.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mulcahy, D., Cleveland, B., & Aberton, H. (2015). Learning spaces and pedagogic change: Envisioned, enacted and experienced. Pedagogy, Culture & Society,23(4), 575–595.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Oblinger, D. G. (2006). Space as a change agent. Learning spaces,1, 1–2.

    Google Scholar 

  • Paechter, C. (2004). Metaphors of space in educational theory and practice. Pedagogy, Culture and Society,12(3), 449–466.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Prain, V., Cox, P., Deed, C., Edwards, D., Farrelly, C., Keeffe, M., et al. (2015). Personalising learning in open-plan schools. Rotterdam: Sense Publishers.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Priestley, M., Edwards, R., Priestley, A., & Miller, K. (2012). Teacher agency in curriculum making: Agents of change and spaces for manoeuvre. Curriculum Inquiry,42(2), 191–214.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Putnam, R. T., & Borko, H. (2000). What do new views of knowledge and thinking have to say about research on teacher learning? Educational Researcher,29, 4–15.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Saltmarsh, S., Chapman, A., Campbell, M., & Drew, C. (2015). Putting “structure within the space”: Spatially un/responsive pedagogic practices in open-plan learning environments. Educational Review,67(3), 315–327.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sfard, A. (1998). On two metaphors for learning and the dangers of choosing just one. Educational Researcher,27(2), 4–13.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shulman, L. (1987). Knowledge and teaching: Foundations of the new reform. Harvard Educational Review,57(1), 1–23.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Toom, A., Pyhältö, K., & Rust, F. O. C. (2015). Teachers’ professional agency in contradictory times. Teachers and Teaching,21(6), 615–623. https://doi.org/10.1080/13540602.2015.1044334.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Van der Heijden, H., Geldens, J., Beijaard, D., & Popeijus, H. (2015). Characteristics of teachers as change agents. Teachers and Teaching,21(6), 681–699.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vygotsky, L. S. (1980). Mind in society: The development of higher psychological processes. Boston: Harvard University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Woolner, P., Thomas, U., & Tiplady, L. (2018). Structural change from physical foundations: The role of the environment in enacting school change. Journal of Educational Change,19(2), 223–242.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yin, R. K. (2009). Case study research: Design and methods (4th ed., Vol. 5)., Applied social research methods series Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

This study was funded by an Australian Research Council project entitled Improving Regional Low SES Students’ Learning and Wellbeing.

Funding

Funding was provided by Australian Research Council (Grant No. LP150100558).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Craig Deed.

Additional information

Publisher's Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Deed, C., Blake, D., Henriksen, J. et al. Teacher adaptation to flexible learning environments. Learning Environ Res 23, 153–165 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10984-019-09302-0

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10984-019-09302-0

Keywords

Navigation