Abstract:

This paper addresses innovation in learning environments (ILE) and highlights the role of teacher training as a lever for transforming school spaces. The experience analysed is part of the Co-ILE research project, promoted by the University of Cyprus and funded by the Erasmus+ KA2 2024 programme. Within this framework, the project developed the “Train the Trainer” programme, aimed at preparing teachers with expertise in innovative learning environments who subsequently act as facilitators and trainers within their schools.

The pedagogical and methodological rationale of the programme—structured into five modules developed by the project partners—was defined by the Spanish teams. The programme was delivered over three days at the Politecnico di Milano and involved primary school teachers from Cyprus, Spain, Italy, and Latvia. Participants were organised into international groups to foster exchange across different educational contexts.

This contribution focuses on the third module of the “Train the Trainer” programme, developed by the interdisciplinary team of the Politecnico di Milano and the University of Milano-Bicocca, entitled “Co-creation of ILE through a collaborative approach at the school level”. The module aimed to promote the use of design thinking in innovation processes related to learning environments, to test collaborative design approaches at the school level, and to initiate co-design activities for ILEs in simulated contexts.

The training was organised as a laboratory-based design activity, inspired by teaching practices in the Politecnico di Milano’s schools of architecture and the primary education programmes at the University of Milano-Bicocca. Three simulated scenarios were developed from real-world data, reworked and combined for training purposes. Each scenario integrated physical-spatial dimensions, elements of the school’s social and administrative context—represented through floor plans and images—and pedagogical dimensions.

The latter were supported through the use of the Envirosphere tool, developed by the Australian project team, which enabled simulated observation of learning activities and analysis of the physical, pedagogical, and psycho-relational components of the environment. These were subsequently synthesised in post-walkthrough reflections. Each scenario was assigned to an international group of approximately ten teachers. The work progressed through successive phases of brainstorming and co-design in pairs, supported by shared design templates, followed by feedback sessions.

The paper discusses the methodological framework of the training module and analyses the outcomes of the three working groups, highlighting the design strategies that emerged, the main challenges encountered by teachers in translating pedagogical objectives into spatial solutions, and the potential of design thinking as a tool to support innovation in learning environments. Particular attention is given to the transferability of the model to the subsequent “Train the Trainees” phase, in which trained teachers are expected to apply the approach within their own school contexts.

Keywords:

Innovative Learning Environment, school space, co-design, teacher training.