Spanish Brand ACTIU work on the philosophy that they contribute to improving the well-being of their users with pieces of furniture designed by and for people.
Specializing in innovative products for the workplace, educational facilities and public spaces, here is Actiu's thoughts on innovating for education and how we can create a connection and facilitate learning:
Process innovation, the search for and retention of talent and technology have led to traditional teaching methods being questioned and, in turn, educational spaces being rethought. There is an increasing need for a connection between what students study in the classroom and what companies want from their future employees.
Traditional educational models have become obsolete with the irruption of new technologies, as well as new forms and channels of communication derived from them. The world of work is also beginning to demand innovative thinking and the ability to solve problems as a primary value above knowledge, and therefore the creativity needed to produce it: focusing efforts on learning skills, i.e. applying the knowledge learned.
Faced with the need to adapt to change, many schools and new regulations in many advanced countries have begun to promote and make use of new learning methods so that their students are better prepared for the challenges of the future.
They are called active learning methods and are a set of techniques and strategies that place the student at the centre of learning, promoting an inclusive and more participatory model of education. Methods such as: Project Based Learning, Cooperative Learning, Gamification, Design Thinking, Thought-Based Learning and Skill-Based Learning.
The new working methods, the unstoppable advance of technology and the new profiles and characteristics of the new generations create an unprecedented scenario, whereby not only do we have to understand it, but we also must evolve with it in order to promote effective and quality teaching.
We need to rethink educational spaces.
The implementation of new methodologies, competencies and skills in the classroom has meant that traditional educational facilities need to be adapted to accommodate the effective development of this new era of learning.
It is important to design spaces that offer students and teachers learning solutions that help to connect, inspire and ultimately lead to deeper and more lasting knowledge.
The classroom of the future is showcased as a configurable, dynamic, flexible, connected environment capable of adapting to each methodology or pedagogical objective. In addition, the classroom overflows, completely encompassing all the spaces of the educational centre and turning them into places of learning.
Furniture is the key to the change.
When it comes to configuring these new spaces, furniture is the tool, together with technology, that facilitates the educational transformation.
In order for the new learning spaces to fulfill their purpose, furniture in schools, colleges, universities and training centres must be agile, efficient, flexible and connected. Among the most important trends are, on the one hand, the ergonomics and comfort of the furniture, which has become an indispensable variable to ensure that pupils and students can concentrate and develop their skills.
Another trend that is gaining ground, even in higher education, is versatile furniture that is easy to move and is adaptable, so that if individual or group work dynamics are suggested, it is easy to move and reconfigure the space. This then crosses over to the current workplace trend of collaborative works spaces which highlights the importance of gearing educational spaces towards the students future place of work.
Actiu...in constant evolution
