As part of the Mandel Graduate Unit’s “Graduates Host” program, on December 6, 2016, Eilat Deutsch, a graduate of Cohort 9 of the Mandel School for Educational Leadership who serves as the deputy director for R&D and evaluation of the AMIT educational network, hosted Mandel graduates for a learning session that explored questions related to the design of learning spaces and its impact on teaching and learning.
The session took place at the AMIT Gogya Center, which was founded in 2015 at the AMIT Kfar Batya campus in Raanana. This innovative state-of-the-art learning center, the only one of its kind in Israel, is the network’s hub for educational innovation and staff development. It imagines and models the school of the future, and serves as a meeting place for development, inspiration, sharing, and learning for educational staff.
At the beginning of the session, the participants toured the site and were introduced to the Gogya approach, which includes comprehensive cultural change, educational learning communities, and a change in the concepts of “learners” and “teachers” – a change that comes from the field alongside cutting-edge knowledge from around the world. The center’s innovative learning space has an effect on the type of learning processes that take place in it, on pedagogical approaches, and on ways of learning. As a result, the space also
impacts the content of the learning and the evaluation methods used.
Following the tour, Eilat described the challenges raised by the Gogya approach and elaborated on questions and considerations that arise from the innovative design of its physical space. Dr. Reut Gordon, a graduate of Cohort 5 of the Mandel School for Educational Leadership, then presented a historical review of the architectural attributes of school buildings in Israel. During the ensuing discussion, the participants shared their personal and professional experiences and perspectives on this issue.
