12
BUSINESS NEWS HED PREK12 STUDIO LEADER TAKES DESIGN EXPERTISE INTERNATIONAL AT TRANSITIONS ‘19 RESEARCH SYMPOSIUM HED , a national integrated design and engineering firm, is pleased to announce that principal and PreK- 12 Studio Leader John Dale, FAIA, LEED AP, shared his expertise in flexible educational facility design at this year’s international Innovative Learning Environment and Teacher Change Transitions 2019 Research Symposium in Melbourne, Australia, in October. The Innovative Learning Environment and Teacher Change is an Australian Research Council linkage project that brings together the expertise of leading researchers and organizations in education and learning environments and learning environment design fromaround the globe to examine how teachers can use the untapped potential of Innovative Learning Environments to improve learning outcomes. “All over the world, governments are investing, or plan to invest, billions of dollars in Innovative Learning Environments to provide multi- modal, technology-infused, flexible learning spaces to accommodate the changing needs of students,” says Dale, “There is a compelling need to design educational environments capable of change, to accommodate and support pedagogies that are continuously evolving. As an architect, I advocate principles embodied in the Open Building movement,
employing strategies supporting future change.” Dale’s career has been dedicated to extending the life of the built environment and the ecological and cultural benefits that brings to learning communities and campuses. He is an industry leader and expert advocate in flexible facility design and Open Building principles. Dale’s research paper and presentation, “Planning for Changing Pedagogies – Flexible Facility Design” will define Open Building principles through concrete case studies, drawing on recently completed school projects from across the United States and presenting a qualitative evaluation of how these environments can allow for ongoing facility change in support of evolving, innovative learning. “What these environments share is their configuration to allow changes in pedagogy, program and even ownership,” says Dale, “The United States has been slow to adopt these Open Building principles, but these are not abstractions, they’re tangible practices that architects, administrators and instructors can explore to devise a spatial solution that acknowledges that education needs will continue to change. Done properly, in the future rather than deconstructing a facility, we will be able to implement strategic, economical and environmentally sound
changes that extend the usable life of these facilities.” “Planning for Changing Pedagogies – Flexible Facility Design” will be available digitally and free of charge to the public from Innovative Learning Environmentsand from HED in November. Dale is an architect focused on educational environments. Building on evidence-based research, he believes that students are healthier and more effective learners in sustainable, resilient environments. As 2016 chair of the AIA’s Committee on Architecture for Education and co-founder of the Council on Open Building, Dale has promoted research and design for changing pedagogies. He is also a board member and past-president of the Architecture and Design Museum, Los Angeles. HED seeks creative solutions that have a positive impact for its clients, the community, and the world. Since its founding in 1908, HED has earned a reputation for excellence in all facets of the designed and built environment, including architecture, consulting, engineering, and planning services. The firm of more than 400 people serves clients in a broad range of market from eight U.S. offices: Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Detroit, Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco, and Sacramento.
JESSE WOOD, from page 11
own pace, all while providing the necessary support such as additional training and mentoring. ❚ ❚ Incentivize. If some employees are more resistant than others to adopt new platforms, it doesn’t hurt to throw out some incentives to encourage them to embrace the change. Having perks such as free lunch with training will make those employees a little more enthusiastic about attending those meetings. Get creative with tying small rewards to the use of the new tech solution as well as implying bigger forms of recognition for demonstrating proficiency and enthusiasm for the new system. Letting them know that the skills learned from training will reflect across their entire career and showcase their adaptability. ❚ ❚ Listen to them. Taking in feedback is an important part of any business decision. Encouraging an environment where your colleagues can freely discuss their experience with the current processes and how introducing a new factor that will impact those processes will help inform how you build out your implementation roadmap and how you go about training. Being open to their ideas of how to transition and addressing their concerns will make them feel like part of the process and not feel like it’s being forced upon them. JESSE WOOD is the CEO of eFileCabinet, a best-of-breed advanced document management system that improves the lives of people, small to enterprise-level businesses, and their clients. Wood has 20 years of leadership experience innovating custom technical solutions for a wide range of business applications.
a roadmap for implementation is essential to make sure it all goes smoothly. More importantly, staying transparent with your employees on this roadmap is helpful in easing them into the new system. Letting them know what they can expect during the implementation period can give them ease and let them know that they have time to get used to the transition rather than just diving in. “It’s normal for workers to at first be apprehensive to big changes when they’ve grown used to the way things have been done for years. That’s why it’s important to see things from their point of view and understand that change can be tough.” ❚ ❚ Give them time. New technology always has a learning curve, and this is especially true for those who aren’t used to working with it as part of their job. While some are quick learners and early adopters, there’s often an equal number of people who will struggle learning how things work. They won’t get it overnight, so it’s important to be patient and encouraging. A transitional period where they’re still allowed to get their job done the old way while learning the new way is encouraged if possible. As long as they’re willing to learn and not resistant, it’s worth it to let them grow at their
© Copyright 2019. Zweig Group. All rights reserved.
THE ZWEIG LETTER December 16, 2019, ISSUE 1324
Made with FlippingBook Annual report