Developing Teachers’ Spatial Competence Using Design Thinking and Co-design Methods

A new school building can be understood as a finished beginning, where teachers are required to actively reinterpret and take ownership of physical spaces rather than simply accepting them as given. Teaching is inherently spatial, yet many teachers are not adequately equipped to shape their physical environments in ways that support pedagogical aims. This chapter therefore argues for the importance of strengthening teachers’ spatial competency and introduces a designerly approach to teacher professional development. Research suggests that teachers’ ability to appropriate and reconfigure space is central to effective teaching. Spatial competence refers to the ability to perceive and intentionally reconfigure physical learning spaces as active and responsive components of the educational process. When such competence is developed, space can be understood and used as an intentional pedagogical resource rather than a neutral backdrop. The chapter explores how spatial competence can be developed through design thinking and co-design methods that foreground the relationship between space and practice. This is illustrated through two practice-based design research studies: an in-situ training programme at a primary school and a diploma course for education professionals. The studies employ design methods to investigate how teachers learn to engage with and transform learning spaces. Data is generated through co-design workshops, semi-structured interviews, photo documentation, evaluations, and participant observations. The chapter concludes by outlining a design thinking framework for developing teachers’ spatial competency and calls for a shift in teacher education, where training in spatial competence is integrated as part of professional development, enabling teachers to more intentionally shape learning environments in support of student learning and well-being.