Studio 17 – an arena for today’s changemakers.

A good learning environment is the physical expression of the values, beliefs and pedagogical practice shared by the teachers, school management and students at the school. By changes in the learning environment new opportunities to support, develop and change the local learning culture is created. 

Consequently, it is instrumental to consider how the learning culture can define how the learning environment is designed – not the other way around. Having this in mind we designed Studio 17 as a concept for interior design of learning environments meant to support hands-on learning and innovation. 

The focus of this concept is to enable young people to unfold their creativity and address the global challenges outlined in the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).  A Studio 17 is set up and owned locally. It con-stitutes a shared resource for the school or a community of schools in the local area. 

In a Studio 17 the work is based on five foundational elements: 

Projects: 

The teaching situation are designed so that students work on the own projects that are relevant to them.Typically, the point of departure will be the students’ own ideas and materialized by learning methods based on practice. 

Passion: 

The students are encouraged to follow the track of their own passion since we know that they will work more concentrated and diligent when they are working in projects that are relevant and thus motivating. 

Co-operation: 

The students are encouraged to work in teams since learning is a social process. 

Play: 

The students are encouraged to learn through play, exploration, creativity, wondering, experiments, and art. 

Authentic Role Models: 

When the students work together with a local company, a NGO, an art museum, an engineer or construction company they have the sense of being taken seriously. In this way the project become realistic, meaningful, and relevant. 

Studio 17 is: 

– Didactic, craftmanship, technology, art, STEAM and Open School. 

– Hands on, persistence, design thinking and Project Based Learning. 

– Cross sectorial cooperation. 

– Continuity, structure, and experiential learning. 

– Networking and sharing of experiences. 

– A concept for the interior design of schools working on practice-based learning. 

– The space in which students can try, fail, and try over again. 

The three foundational principles: 

1. The learning environment must support the learning culture. 

The workshop should function as a learning space that support wondering, professionalism, exploration, creativity, and a point of departure for learning outside as well as inside school. 

2. School and local area meet. 

Out-door areas should be seen as an extension of the in-door learning environment and vice versa. 

3. Transparent and multidisciplinary. 

There must be openness and a wide view over the workshops, so that eagerness to create and cross curricular working approaches are 

stimulated.