One of the top curriculum trends in recent years doesn’t involve resources and material themselves, but rather the space in which learning occurs — shifting from post-industrial rows of desks with a teacher in front talking at students to a more free-form model that inspires creativity rather than compliance.
For Robert “Bob” Dillon, the director of innovative learning for the School District of University City in Missouri, that shift requires teachers to transition from a “decorator” to a “designer” mindset. After taking on the position four years ago, Dillon set out to find what systems in schools were inefficient for students and teachers, and where friction existed.
