Market your space design story to help your community understand why design is crucial to success
Have you ever walked into a school and felt like you were transported into learning spaces from decades or even centuries ago? In these moments, it becomes clear that many of today’s learning spaces are not the result of thoughtful strategy; instead, these spaces have been shaped by the momentum of tradition and thousands of micro-decisions that weren’t made over the years.
Think about the message this outdated design sends about the school’s values and priorities. Consider the story that takes shape in your mind about what the learning experience is like there. Notice how much you already feel you know about the place just from evaluating the space design.
Your own spaces are telling a story, too. Do you know what it is? More importantly, who is in control of the narrative?
Every space has potential waiting to be unlocked. To get there, you must first win support from teachers, students, families, and your community. That means crafting a compelling narrative about why space design matters and how it supports kids’ success, then marketing that narrative effectively. You’ll need to tell your story, repeat your story, and unpack your story to make sure it’s the one that sticks.
The power of space narratives
When someone else tells your story, it loses power. Each retelling further obscures the original context and eliminates details that are essential to understanding the intent. When school leaders allow this to happen to their learning spaces story, the changes can impact how the community perceives the spaces — and whether they support the decisions you make about them.
Tell your story
“They are just wasting money at that school.”
“Seems like they are experimenting on our kids.”
“The quality of learning has really dipped in the school. It seems sort of run down.”
People have strong opinions about their local schools, but these statements don’t necessarily match reality. When you walk into the schools, you’ll find teachers working hard in spaces they’ve spent lots of time meticulously crafting for learning. But without an intentional counter-narrative, these misinterpretations can grow and spread. You can begin to combat these negative perceptions by talking about your instructional vision, but telling a strong visual story in your physical spaces is far more compelling than words alone.
Repeat your story
Telling the story once at the beginning of the year is not enough. The world is a noisy place, and all successful communication requires that you frequently repeat yourself, rephrase your message, and return to your “why we’re doing what we’re doing” conversations.
Marketing’s Rule of 7 dictates that customers need to hear the same message at least seven times before a brand begins to earn their trust and business. The same is true in “selling” your space story. Once others understand and trust the story that you’re telling, they can begin to repeat it to others — accurately and enthusiastically.
Every shift in staff members, new students to the building, or new families moving to or visiting the community is an opportunity to talk about how spaces are actively supporting teaching and learning, as well as why you are investing money into the upkeep and enhancement of these spaces. Everyone in your community should be equally convinced that the learning space matters.
Unpack your story
How learning happens and what makes it excellent is a mystery for most families and community members. As a school leader, you’ll have to unpack those questions, including explaining the role the learning environment plays in enabling educators to do their jobs well. This can be a tricky task, as you’ll have to avoid jargon and use more accessible language to communicate with a wide variety of audiences.
For example, you might explain that redesigned spaces don’t just look good; they also provide a more effective and engaging place for small group instruction, innovative teaching, and deep learning. Outdoor classrooms aren’t a waste of green space; they build critical connections with the natural world, stimulate cognitive development, boost overall well-being, and model learning beyond the classroom. New furniture isn’t a replacement of tradition for the sake of it; it’s one way we can use the science of learning to give our kids a stronger foundation for success.
Combined with the excellent efforts of your teachers, strategic spaces can have a monumental effect on learning.
Communicate to extend the impact
If you’ve never tried to market something before, it can feel daunting. Try to leverage the experience and expertise of those around you, including coordinating your strategy with district communication officials. And when in doubt, use the following goals as a guide:
Make sure that individuals know how to answer simple questions posed by students and families
Create an experience for visitors that’s wrapped in the importance of space as a catalyst for learning
Use as many channels as you can (social media, the web, print, video, in-person events, and more) to share your story beyond school walls
Educate Your Educators
Equip every member of your staff to talk about the essential attributes of an effective modern learning space. When a change is made, make sure everyone can talk about why — why that space, why that change? Can they explain what impact the change will have on learning? Share simple, templated responses that make it easy to understand and share the narrative. Remember, repetition is key to building buy-in among your learning community.
Strengthen your message with visual aids
Most people outside of education don’t have a sense of what a modern learning space looks like. The visual narrative that is locked into the community scheme is a set of desks, a teacher’s desk, and some places to write on the wall. One way to change this narrative is by sharing pictures and videos of your spaces. When you do, make sure to share your strategy for each space at the same time: zoning, student choice, flexibility, and other intentional elements. Do this whenever your space evolves in a meaningful way, whether that’s a furniture purchase or an entirely new approach to the design.
Invite the community into your space
You need to open the doors and invite everyone in to experience the power of modern learning spaces firsthand. Ideally this would be in person, allowing people to fully immerse themselves in the environment, but you can also do it virtually if needed. This will help them truly understand why the space needs to be a priority, turning the conversation away from “this isn’t how I learned, it’s all a bit much” to “I wish that I could have learned like this, it feels incredible!”
Make a lasting impact
Combined with the excellent efforts of your teachers, strategic spaces can have a monumental effect on learning. School leaders can’t let confusing, inconsistent, or missing messaging undermine those efforts. Don’t leave the narrative up to chance — especially when your community is investing money into revitalized spaces.
Before you make a big purchase or undertake a spaces project, have a plan about how to talk about the changes, when to bring people into the story, and how often to share information. It’s the only way that learning can fully link with the learning design for a positive impact on teachers, students, and the community.
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About the Author
Dr. Robert Dillon has served as a thought leader in education over the last 20 years as a teacher, principal, and director of innovation. He is passionate about changing the educational landscape by building engaging schools for all students. Dr. Dillon has shared his thoughts and ideas in a variety of publications, and at local, state, and national conferences throughout the country. He is also the author of five books on intentional design in learning. You can find Dr. Dillon on Twitter @drrobertdillon.
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Demco aims to maximize positive outcomes for all learners by offering educators innovative and inspired solutions for their classrooms and libraries. We believe that every learner should have access to optimized spaces, innovative learning tools, and essential resources that maximize potential.