Designed for young thinkers The construction of Mar Jok Elementary School By Tammy Schuster
Dusty chalkboards, small metal desks, and cold drafty classrooms. The learning environment of the past is, well, a thing of the past. Mar Jok Elementary School in the city of West Kelowna is an example of the collaborative learning environments of the future. During the design and construction of the one-year-old school, it was also an example of a collaborative working environment. Opened last fall, the K-6 school was designed to incorporate 21st century learning principles – a more tailored style of teaching promoting digital literacy, critical thinking, and problem solving. Classrooms were built with moveable partitions and sliding doors to accommodate different methods of teaching. 24
Ops Talk • Fall 2015
Whether it’s a one-on-one lesson, a small group session, or several classrooms combined together. “This school was designed with flexibility and adaptably in mind,” says Todd Dust, architect from Thinkspace and lead architect on this project. “Rather than the stand-and-deliver model where people would stand in front of a class and lecture, it’s more flexible giving kids the ability to learn in the way they are most comfortable.“ Dust says this method of teaching had to be reflected in the design of the school. Schools are typically designed with double-loaded corridors, meaning there are classrooms on either side of each corridor. Corridors were not used in the design of Mar Jok. Instead, pods were created.
The two-storey school has pods on both levels that house four to five classrooms. Those pods open up onto the learning commons allowing for further flexibility. All the classrooms can open up and expand into that space. “There is no hiding in hallways,” says Alida Privett, principal of Mar Jok Elementary School. “There are no hallways.” She says students are less distracted because they have become used to working with constant movement and activity in the common spaces and classrooms. The open design and natural light makes for a more comfortable learning space for students and teachers, and makes the building more energy efficient. “Mar Jok Elementary is designed
