How to teach new tricks to the original buildings on the
Culver City Middle School and Culver City High School campuses.

Consider the traditional model of a long, straight corridor flanked with identical classrooms. This model assumes that all activities and learning styles can be accommodated within one space (one size fits all). Assigned to a designated location, educators find it difficult to collaborate and use space outside of their four walls. The hallway is effectively wasted square footage because its only purpose is to move from one classroom to another. The arrangement makes collaborative work difficult; there are few opportunities and spaces for different group sizes and differentiated learning. Finally, the lack of variety and flexibility limits the ability to accommodate future change. The traditional model inherently made it difficult for socialization since space did not promote interaction but promoted lecture and direct movement. A learner could be lost in the numbers, and establishing strong connections with other learners and adults was intimidating and difficult, if not impossible.

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The following images highlight some of the critical steps in transforming a corridor building into a Small Learning Community.