The Learnscape site at Liberty Public Schools was chosen to offer easy access to both Discovery and South Valley middle schools while taking into consideration the schools’ future additions.
Following a number of collaborative sessions with district leaders and staff, the goals of the outdoor classroom were established to revolve around creating a platform for active learning. Serving as an extension of traditional classrooms, the flexible spaces allow for physical movement back and forth and accommodate a variety of lessons and teaching styles, including lectures on the learning stair or small group breakouts. In addition, the flexibility offers students the opportunity to choose how they’d like to learn and embrace different styles. As a central learning environment between the two schools, Learnscape encourages co-teaching and cross-mentoring to bring students together, while also including moveable walls to reconfigure spaces for multiple classes to occur at once. While the central service road could be seen as a divide, it will be purposed for various activities including grid increments for wind sprints, stair step exercises, long jumps and converting measurements, as well as serving as a canvas for chalk and art projects. The makerspace features pivoting tables for larger demonstrations as well as small group learning, and also captures rainwater for the garden. The Learnscape is built to provide a safe outdoor space for kids to engage in new ways and interact socially whether for club meetings, classes or simply waiting to be picked up from school.