DESIGNING FOR CURIOSITY

Reimagine CDRC Outdoor Learning Environment

PROJECT STATEMENT: Can the design of a space encourage children’s curiosity? Which design elements may afford behaviors related to children’s science/STEM learning? In this project, I tried to answer these questions while developing a reimagined CDRC outdoor learning environment (OLE), reflecting on what we found from our group research and reviews. In this project, I explore the potential of an outdoor environment for generating desirable learning behavior for children.

SITE: CDRC Outdoor Learning Space, Texas Tech University

PRIMARY GOALS: The three primary goals are

_Develop a tool for systematic evaluation of an OLE in terms of affordances for curiosity and science/ STEM learning.

_Develop a systematic observational tool to measure children’s curiosity and related learning behaviors.

_Design/reimagine CDRC OLE masterplan reflecting research and review findings.