In this episode of All Things Marketing and Education, Elana sits down with Dr. Robert Dillon, School Designer, Author, Speaker, and Learner. Bob, as she likes to call him, has earned a doctorate in educational leadership and administration, and brings over 20 years of experience as a teacher, school principal, and director of innovation at multiple school districts; he is the author of five books, including the ones we dive into today: The Space: A Guide for Leaders.
In this episode, Bob and Elana discuss the crucial role of redesigning learning spaces in education, emphasizing that it's far more than just updating bulletin boards. Classroom space has a significant impact on student engagement, sense of belonging, and overall well-being—for both students and teachers.
Make sure to listen until the end as Bob explores the relationship between physical learning spaces and EdTech products, highlighting the importance of considering equity and the needs of marginalized students in the design process. Bob also shares practical tips for educators to create flexible, inclusive, and technology-integrated learning environments.
Whether you're already back in school or preparing for the upcoming year, this episode is packed with valuable tips and ideas to help you optimize your classroom space.
Enjoy!
Questions covered:
What are the benefits of rethinking physical learning spaces?
What are the prevalent myths that you just HATE hearing about learning spaces in schools. Let’s debunk them.
What are the coolest learning spaces you’ve seen? What impacts did you see?
How do you see physical learning environments complement pedagogy?
How would you like EdTech to best evolve their products to align with learning spaces that are more flexible, collaborative, inclusive etc.? What’s most important?
What are some things you’d like EdTech to stop?
What are some practical ways that teachers who are listening can evolve their space in low-cost easy ways? What are some things they should not do?
Resources Mentioned in this Episode:
Great books to support change and design in schools.
The Space: A Guide for Leaders by Dr. Robert Dillon and Rebecca Louise Hare (the main text we reference throughout this conversation)
Powerful Parent Partnerships by Robert Dillon and Melissa Nixon
THE SPACE: A Guide for Educators by Rebecca Louise Hare and Dr. Robert Dillon (Author)
Redesigning Learning Spaces by Robert Dillon, Ben Gilpin, A.J. Juliani, Erin Klein
Leading Connected Classrooms by Robert Dillon
Engage, Empower, Energize: Leading Tomorrow's School Today by Robert Dillon
Classroom Design Essentials for Educators: an Edutopia resource on this topic.
Teacher inspiration boards on Pinterest: a way for teachers to gather inspiration for their classroom space.
Dr. Robert Dillon: Website | Twitter | Instagram | LinkedIn | Medium
Elana Leoni, Host
Elana Leoni has dedicated the majority of her career to improving K-12 education. Prior to founding LCG, she spent eight years leading the marketing and community strategy for the George Lucas Educational Foundation where she grew Edutopia’s social media presence exponentially to reach over 20 million education change-makers every month.
Dr. Robert Dillon, Guest
Dr. Robert Dillon has served as a thought leader in education over the last twenty-five years as a teacher, principal, and director of innovation. Dr. Dillon has a passion to change the educational landscape by building excellent engaging schools for all students. Dr. Dillon serves on the Leadership Team for Connected Learning, a Saint Louis-based organization designed to reshape professional development to meet today's needs. Dr. Dillon has had the opportunity to speak throughout the country at local, state, and national conferences as well as share his thoughts and ideas in a variety of publications. He is the author of many books on intentional design in learning, Leading Connected Classrooms Engage, Empower, Energize: Leading Tomorrow's Schools Today, Redesigning Learning Space, The Space: A Guide for Educators, The Space: A Guide for Leaders, and Powerful Parent Partnerships.
About All Things Marketing and Education
What if marketing was judged solely by the level of value it brings to its audience? Welcome to All Things Marketing and Education, a podcast that lives at the intersection of marketing and you guessed it, education. Each week, Elana Leoni, CEO of Leoni Consulting Group, highlights innovative social media marketing, community-building, and content marketing strategies that can significantly increase reach, relationships, and revenue.
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