Alternative classroom design could be key to better learning

Fuji Kindergarten in Tokyo, Japan is not an ordinary school.

Hailed around the world for its innovative design, the school is circular and above the wide-open class space is a donut shaped roof, which is a giant play area the kids can explore and run around.

As part of our project By Design, we're going back to school... and back to the drawing board when it comes to how we imagine our schools.

Thank you to Sarah Tabata for translation when speaking to Sekiichi Kato, principal of the Fuji Kindergarten. 

Have a look inside Fuji Kindergarten

Architect Takaharu Tezuka is one of the designers of the Fuji Kindergarten in Tokyo, Japan. 
 

Canada may not have a school quite as open as Fuji Kindergarten but there are districts that are experimenting with alternative classroom designs.

From Vancouver to Regina to Nova Scotia - you'll find a slow change from the traditional, so-called "cells and bells"... to something a little more open and flexible.

• Maureen O'Shaughnessy is an architect with C S and P Architects in Toronto who has worked on schools in Canada and other countries.
• Daniel Del Bianco is the Senior Facilities Officer with the Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board. He was in Hamilton, Ontario.
• Neil Gislason is a high school teacher in Toronto.
   

What do you think about the ideas you've heard about alternative classroom designs? You can send us your thoughts... and your pictures too.

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This segment was produced by The Current's Liz Hoath.