Teachers as Researchers in Innovative Learning Environments

This book presents and discusses the results of the ‘Plans to Pedagogy’ (P2P) project that was implemented across 13 diverse Australian and New Zealand schools, each with a unique school context and specific learning environment issue. The project employed a participatory approach, where academic researchers partnered with school leaders and staff in each school to co-design, implement, and evaluate research targeting the school’s chosen issue. It explores and analyses the case studies from the project and discusses a range of topics, including how space can be used as a pedagogic tool, determining the affordances of learning environments to engage students, how teacher collaboration can be enhanced in flexible spaces, and how furniture influences student engagement and teacher pedagogies. It also provides school leaders with authentic examples of how research can be utilised to drive evidence-based discussions about teacher practices and student learning. Finally, it also illustrates how teachers can design and implement powerful studies that underpin better pedagogies in their schools.