Developing Mixed-Presence Spaces: Design Applications of Findings From Teachers in Emergency Remote Instruction

• In Event: Factors Contributing to a Positive Learning Environment in Various Contexts

Abstract

Online education was rare prior to the COVID-19 pandemic and associated disruption of education. To continue teaching safely many schools shifted to emergency remote instruction. We designed a qualitative protocol to create grounded theory from the stories of middle school teachers engaged in this dramatic shift. We then applied an evidence-driven design approach to create classroom design recommendations for organizations seeking to develop sustained applications of remote or hybrid teaching and learning. We present our recommendations with theoretical space renderings that demonstrate approaches to multi-channel information exchange, differentiated instruction in mixed presence contexts, and complex audio-visual profiles for learning spaces. We conclude with design cautions and recommendations for future theoretical and applied design research on mixed presence spaces.

Authors

• Michael C. Ralph, Multistudio

• Rayan Cheikh, Gould Evans

• Lexi Tengco, Gould Evans

• Ricardo Millhouse