What Does a Classroom Look Like?

Yesterday in class we spent the first half of the day discussing different types of classrooms, and how they have evolved over time. We looked at photos from 2000 BCE to 1979, and watched a video of a Montessori school. We discussed what we saw in small groups, and then we headed downtown to the Sonic Pavilion Festival to begin our external investigation.

The Sonic Pavilion Festival was held at the Pritzker Pavilion in Millennium Park. We went as a school and after eating lunch arrived at the pavilion to begin listening to the pieces. We heard two separate pieces, Sonorous Admittings and Along Dusk. We went to the festival to experience a different sort of learning than what is expected in a traditional school environment. The piece Sonorous Admittings was by the artist Kioto Aoki. She plays two different types of Taiko drums in it. It might sound simple, but through the way the sound resonates across the pavilion it was definitely attention grabbing. I especially wonder how it was designed with all of the many speakers in mind, and how it switched sources so seamlessly.

Next, we will as a group use the information we have gathered yesterday to design the interior of a classroom at school.