Insights into the UK’s education-led learning spaces with Terry White

On Wednesday 16 June, Terry White, a UK based educator and passionate proponent of Learning Led Design, presented to a packed house at the Ministry of Education’s national office, Matauranga House.

Terry has held an influential position in the development of a large number of school projects across the UK, moderating the space between educators and architects and recently has assisted Freemans Bay School in Auckland with their major re-development. Terry provided a compelling argument not only for the learning at a local level to drive design but for educators to be converts for a pedagogy they know, understand, and enact long before they enter their newly built working environments.
 
He described several projects he had worked within, as examples of projects working successfully with both use and expectation well understood during the design phases, driven by well researched and conceived expectations of how spaces and arrangements would support learning.
 
Terry candidly described in the UK, the inevitable rise and fall nature of the political engagement in the value of what we call innovative learning environments, noting that while we did not necessarily always maintain an engaged parental community, our government agencies are undoubtedly supportive.
 
He made a strong plea for evidence based, education-led development to an engaged and appreciative audience.
 
Terry is the current Chair for the UK Region of the Association for Learning Environments (A4LE).