How dynamic learning environments at schools encourage creativity to help students excel
- Classrooms and other teaching spaces must be inspiring, engaging and safe so children can study, play and thrive, says Richard Vanderpyl, head of Christian Alliance International School
- Its Hong Kong campus offers five science labs, gym with climbing wall, rooftop football pitch and art rooms, while outdoor after-school and holiday programmes cultivate other skills
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Why dynamic learning environments enhance student creativity
Talented teachers can help students to learn anywhere, but holding lessons in an engaging environment will significantly enhance their learning experience, Richard Vanderpyl, head of school at Hong Kong’s Christian Alliance International School (CAIS), says.
“Spaces are incredibly important,” Vanderpyl says on his return to EdTalk, South China Morning Post’s recurring video series of interviews, in which teaching experts discuss pertinent issues surrounding education. “They can spur creativity, curiosity and be a place in which students learn to interact with each other.”
However, Vanderpyl, whose school has over 1,600 students representing more than 26 different nationalities, says to ensure a school’s physical spaces are environments conducive to learning, educators need to be designing interiors that are inspiring, engaging and safe for children.
Educators should be asking themselves questions during the design stage, he says, such as “Are there colours, interesting things on the wall and sculptures around the place to create a sense of wonder? Is it comfortable?”
CAIS – a through-train school offering the Alberta curriculum and International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme, which caters to children aged five to 17 at its preparatory, lower and upper primary, and secondary sections in Lai Chi Kok, Butterfly Valley, Kowloon – prides itself on offering these types of dynamic learning environments throughout its campus’ facilities.
