Teachers’ Collaborations in a Secondary School Learning Commons: Designing for Success

Abstract

Few studies focus on secondary school teachers’ reactions to learning commons with respect to their collaborations with each other, and with teaching librarians—especially before and after a retrofit. The present case study gathered data from Canadian teachers about their former library, as well as a new learning commons. Teachers’ attitudes about the learning commons were significantly more positive compared to the previous library. Technology, communication, and flexibility were aspects noted to predict satisfaction. Teachers were concerned with the loss of desktop computers. This study showcases the importance of (and a method for) asking teachers how a learning commons affects their work.

Keywords:

• Learning commons
• teacher satisfaction
• teacher collaboration
• library
• secondary school

Acknowledgements

Special thanks to Graham McLaren for his support and enthusiasm for environmental psychology at the participating school. Thank you to Alex Bjornson, undergraduate Research Assistant at Vancouver Island University, for his assistance during site visits.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This research was partially funded by Vancouver Island University’s Research, Scholarly Activity, and Curriculum Development Grant.