The Enactment of Teacher Collaboration in Innovative Learning Environments: A Case Study of Spatial and Pedagogical Structuration

Abstract

AbstractImplicit within the design of many Innovative Learning Environments (ILEs) in New Zealand primary schools is the intention of a group of co-located teachers working together with an ‘up-scaled’ community of students. To some these socio-spatial settings are suggestive of pedagogical and spatial freedom, of high levels of professional and student agency, and a transformation away from routines established in previous traditional classroom environments. The shift into ILEs may therefore encourage possibilities for novel approaches, the utilisation of individual strengths and opportunities for teachers to determine together how facets of learning, time and space are organised. However, the level of structure required by teams to successfully and collaboratively achieve this presents as a complex, and time-consuming task, with teachers often finding themselves in a space between practicality and potential. This paper draws on observational and interview data from one primary school ILE—part of a wider case study of teacher collaboration in six New Zealand schools. It considers the role of pedagogical and organisational structures alongside levels of autonomy experienced by teachers on adapting to new spaces. The findings indicate that while the occupation and ongoing inhabitation of Innovative Learning Environments may well present opportunities for teachers, tensions may be felt between predominating or created structures, and aspired or idealised practice.