We know that good teachers constantly evaluate their practices, but how many tackle the tricky question “am I making the most of the spaces I teach in”?  All too often educators consider such evaluations to too difficult a challenge to undertake, because they require a level of expertise and a commitment of time that are beyond their resources.

The LEaRN group from the speakers host university has for many years assisted schools undertake such explorations.  Our experience shows such teacher-led assessments are totally feasible.  This address uses several such projects to illustrate that despite the fact no two schools are the same, and each has a unique ‘spatial challenge’, half a dozen methods can be used to address most issues. Time spent on these evaluations constitute the reflective practice expected of quality teachers, and it is time well spent because the spaces we teach in represent a powerful part of our pedagogic ‘toolkit’.