Teaching mathematics in innovative learning environments—The entangled tensions between the learning environment and pedagogy

Abstract

New school buildings are often designed for flexible innovative learning environments (ILEs) to support learning future skills better than before. However, little is known about the relationship between environment and pedagogy. This article examines the relationship between the environment and pedagogy from the perspective of primary school teachers in the context of teaching mathematics. We interviewed 26 teachers from 10 Finnish ILEs and did a thematic analysis. The relationship between the environment and pedagogy forms a complex network of entangled tensions between teacher's inner space, community's social space and physical space. When the tensions between these spaces were resolved in a positive way, ILEs enabled pedagogy that diversified mathematics education, improved student cohesion and teachers' well-being at work. However, the ILEs' transformation process often appears to be left unfinished, leading to unsuccessful resolution of tensions. Further, our findings highlight the importance of four-dimensional environmental competence in exploiting the affordances enabled by ILE.