Environments where we learn have a profound impact on learning outcomes and our sense of wellbeing. In partnership with librarians, educators, and students, we developed a game-based engagement tool that empowers students in the library design process while educating them about design-thinking. Outcomes include a prioritized set of design ideas and drivers developed from the dialog between students as they play the game.
Reimagining the K12 Library: A Student Driven Approach
The library has traditionally been the academic heart of every school. As access to information and resources has fundamentally shifted, so has the identity and function of the school library.
To remain relevant, libraries are becoming reflections of the needs and aspirations of the students and communities they serve and the unique places they inhabit. As a reduction in physical collections has left open space, other uses have been added to fill the void. Some libraries have added maker spaces, student commons or community forums. These libraries embody a new and evolving academic vision, and, if they don’t, they become largely underutilized.
Now is the time to redesign future K12 library and do it in a way that empowers and engages future learners in a dialog about their needs, experiences and vision for the future.
In partnership with librarians, educators and students, we developed a game-based engagement tool that empowers students in the design process while educating them about the design-thinking process.
The environments where we learn have a profound impact on learning outcomes and our sense of wellbeing. Learning environments should be designed through the lens of student experience and a deeper understanding about how the spaces we design impact a range of students. This requires a dialog directly with students to understand their unique experiences and emerge the needs and issues that are most relevant to them. Impactful design requires thoughtful dialog.
Librarians and Educators – This game is a tool for librarians and educators to engage students in a dialog about their needs, values and ideas about the future of libraries in a game-based approach that leverages and educates about the design thinking process.
Design Professionals – This is a tool for design professionals to emerge student voices in the design process, giving them more agency in their learning environments.
Students – This is a tool for students to develop their design thinking skills and to develop a collaborative dialog about their needs, values and ideas with other students.
The game is a collaborative programming tool, based on the design thinking process that gives students agency to influence the design process. To best serve students, school libraries should be designed through the lens of student experience, developed in dialog with the students that will be using them. This game facilitates a design dialog around ideas and values. The outcomes include a prioritized set of design ideas and drivers developed from a dialog between students as they play the game.
Charlotte D'Acierno
Designer
Emily Bello
K12 Design Lead
