Type of Document	Thesis
Author	Attia, Mohammed E.
URN	etd-07102006-185824
Title	Educational Facilities: Discipline, Surveillance and Democracy
Degree	Master of Fine Arts
Department	Interior Design, Department of
Advisory Committee	Advisor Name Title Ricardo B. Navarro Committee Chair Jill B. Pable Committee Member Tock Ohazama Committee Member
Keywords	Middle Schools Educational Facilities School Buildings
Date of Defense	2006-06-30
Availability	unrestricted
Abstract Learning is a continuous process of information that occurs in every day life. The school building is not the only environment in which learning takes place, but it is a place of learning, where space is designed to host special learning activities. Historically speaking, school design has been based on a subject specific classroom. A subject specific classroom would accommodate for designated periods during the school day, one teacher, and a group of students. This subject specific classroom planning strategy has been used to develop many existing school facilities. Immediately after the First World War, educational theory picked up on distilling concepts, which emphasize the importance of freedom rather than restraint, stressing the primacy of emotions over and above intellect. The research project aims to reach through an informed decision making process built on the accumulated base of knowledge and research in the fields of education and the science of learning; a design proposal that would be complementary to the educational philosophy practiced within the educational facility. This study is concerned with a research model that would revolve around the needs of the local community, developing a cooperative role between the university and the local community. The study provides an overview on the historical development of the appearance of the modern day classroom, and the educational theories that influenced change throughout that development. Furthermore the study’s focus is on project TEAMS (Technology Enhancing Achievement in Middle School) a middle school instructional program founded in 1990 at Florida State University with Dr. Sally Butzin and Dr. Bob Reiser and Fairview middle school, one of the prototypes for the TEAMS educational philosophy. Built in 1970, the school was designed in the open concept model. Finally, in 2005 permanent walls transformed the school in to an enclosed classroom system. This phenomenon, which Fairview middle school went through over a period of three decades, is unique in its nature due to correlation between the changing instructional policies and the spatial morphology of the school. For that reason, the school provides a good study model for the topic of this research. The project explores how the implementation of the TEAMS educational theory could influence the architectural design of Fairview middle school educational facility. Interviews with the school community as well as the founders of the educational program created a dialog that is crucial to the design proposal. Modern theories of learning science, such as Howard Gardner’s multiple intelligence theory, brain based learning theory, and adolescents learning science theories are explained and reflected on to derive design recommendations for learning environments and middle school design. This approach creates of smaller learning communities by way of dividing the school to four equal quadrants, each with a courtyard, play ground and utilities. The four sub schools are organized around a central courtyard and connected through a visually continuous corridor in an effort to provide environmental support to adolescents. The design proposes a contrast of open, semi enclosed and enclosed areas in a spatially interesting composition to better support and enhance brain activities according to brain based learning research creating visually interesting environments, providing safe and easy access, and creating patterns that would enhance brain activities and give construct to the content of the subject matter. The design incorporates the TEAMS Philosophy due to the positive effect on the physical interior environment of the school. The design implications derived from the TEAMS philosophy lead to smaller learning environment within the school as subunits or communities within the school environment. Furthermore, the proposed design achieved a better student per classroom ratio, and reduced the required square footage. This new proposal gives appearance to new open areas for congregation and play.
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