Architecture + Design Scotland have commissioned education and design experts to create a short learning note for our web series; “Better briefing for education benefit” to support and expand on the learning points captured from the world café session at the Scottish government schools estate conference, November 2013

Each piece responds to a particular Issue raised from the world café session, capturing knowledge, opinion and experiences and highlighting how these lessons can be transferable for future scenarios.

The sixth publication of the series, describes the ongoing research by the National College of Art and Design (NCAD) Dublin, Ireland, who are actively exploring the potential of working outside the complexity of the formal school setting as a way of developing educational practice in line with current educational reform.

Do our current school buildings support and enable the shift towards students taking ownership over their own learning, academically and personally, to become self-directed learners and to work with and learn from their peers?

Do these schools enable educators to experiment with their practice, to adopt new approaches, and to support skill and competence development among students?