Day Care Facility Design: A Multimodal, Active Learning Process

ISSUE: Day care interior design is an emerging issue that deserves attention by both design educators and the design profession. Day care facility design offers an opportunity for bridging theory and practice in the classroom through focus on spatial implications of children's developmental needs. An active learning approach builds students' competence and confidence by requiring them to apply what they are learning. APPLICATION: A multimodal, active learning process is described that takes students from personal experience, through study and observation of theory and practice, to application and evaluation in a seven–week project on day care design. GOAL: Knowledge of day care design is acquired within a conceptual framework linking children's developmental needs with aspects of the physical environment. This method provides students with a theoretical foundation for critical analysis of a day care setting. DESCRIPTION: Classroom activities (lectures/discussion, small group interaction, guest speakers, a class field trip) are supported by a variety of students' assignments (readings, library research, oral reports, site observations) that lead to applied problem solving in a demonstrated product (case study) for evaluation. CONCLUSION: With expanded knowledge of day care facility design, based on understanding of children's developmental needs and critical thinking and problem‐solving skills, interior design students will have an advantage in communicating with child care experts and, therefore, in promoting their design services in this important arena.