Dr Fiona Young: Innovative learning environments and why spaces matter.

Welcome to the next episode of The Art of Teaching. I have the great pleasure of introducing you to another phenomenal guest, Dr Fiona Young. Dr Young is an architect and researcher in the field of learning environments. As Studio Director at Hayball in Sydney, her focus is on Education and GLAM (Galleries, Libraries, Archives, Museums) sector projects.

Her research focus is on learning environment affordances that support deep and playful pedagogical practices. Conducted through the Innovative Learning Environments and Teacher Change (ILETC) project at the University of Melbourne, Fiona’s PhD research identifies strategies to support teachers in recognising and using the affordances of innovative learning environments. Central to her role is enhancing learning opportunities through design and interpreting and bridging understanding between educators and architectural teams. 

Fiona has extensive experience in integrative briefing processes, workshop facilitation and master planning. She has developed a number of successful community consultation strategies, engaging leadership teams, staff, students and broader communities as co-designers in the project process.