Franklin Hill & Associates
Futures Workshop on Educational Trends Impacting Design

Planning for the future of education and the changes that may result is not an easy task. Many times we focus on schools of the future (buildings), when in actuality we should be creating a school system for the future.

For a school system to change successfully it must look not only at the buildings, but also at the technologies, the people, and the way they deliver the curriculum.

Frank Hill & Associates views the future of education as a whole-systems issue including:

• Staff development
• Curriculum
• Technology, and then
• The learning environment (buildings)

Franklin Hill has developed a variety of "Workshops" that can successfully guide a school district to make informed choices about educational change and ultimately, facility design that is right for them. The workshop process can result in more effective use of existing buildings, sizing and design of new buildings, and even reaching clarity about building closure where buildings are totally dysfunctional programmatically.

Workshops available through Franklin Hill & Associates include:

• Trends in K-12 Learning and Design:

This workshop addresses trends in K-12 learning from the function and design of elementary classrooms and multimedia areas, to middle school house concepts, up through high schools and technical facilities dealing with advanced thinking in science, technology education, corporate partnerships, and more.

• Futures Workshop Based on Local Need:

FH&A prefers to conduct Futures Workshops based on an understanding of local conditions. This presents trends elsewhere in the nation in the context of the local school district. This technique provides better assessment of staff requirements, building enrollment size, and ultimately, facility management decisions.

• Impacts of Design on Cognitive Learning:

This specialty workshop focuses on impacts of school design on cognitive learning, multiple intelligences and modalities for learning, which respond to the learning environment. Emphasis is placed on the impacts of visual, auditory, and kinesthetic learning styles as they impact the design of all K-12th spaces.

Design issues apply to early elementary classroom layouts up through advanced-placement science labs and everything in between. Corporate partnerships and joint-use facilities are also part of this presentation. This workshop can have substantial application for remodeled as well as new buildings and was recently presented at the National School Board Association - ITTE conference in Texas as a half-day workshop plus a follow-up seminar.

Please call for information related to these workshop opportunities. FH&A prefers to conduct these workshops as part of a broader, district-wide facility planning process rather than as a stand-alone activity.

• Organizational Change-A Children's Book Metaphor:

As a result of Hill's planning of the Disney Celebration School, he authored a children's book entitled, Wings of Change. The simple metaphor about a caterpillar afraid to become a butterfly is symbolic of his understanding of educational change.
Many school districts are more like caterpillars, thinking singularly and with a limited perspective about the world around them. Hill sees schools of the future more like a butterfly-simpler, more dynamic, with a multidimensional approach to the world. This coincides with Hill's longstanding commitment to integrated curriculum, multiuse community facilities, and whole-systems organizational change.

Hill uses his children's book as a metaphor for organizational change and strategic planning district wide. Using a workshop technique, small-group activities, and local district understanding, his workshop strategy can be very creative, produce "out-of-the-box" ideas, and be very appropriate for annual retreats and other major strategy planning activities.

This workshop has been conducted for adults, continuing education groups, K-12 administrators, and even statewide conferences on special education.

"…Dr. Franklin Hill considers educational design change to be as significant as the transition from a caterpillar to a butterfly. Curriculum, technology, and organizational change are causing significant impact on new and remodeled school buildings..."