Lawrence Tech Staff Visit Rogers Students for an Interior Design Study

On January 16, three Lawrence Technological University (LTU) employees, the Director of Interior Design, an architectural designer and researcher, as well as a researcher and instruction in game design visited Rogers TK students to take part in interior design research. The LTU staff came to Rogers to complete a research activity focused on learning environments. Students engaged in a play-based design game where children redesigned their classroom. The game blended story-driven play, modular design pieces and sensory exploration to gather not only creative insights but also a greater understanding of how their minds and bodies respond to space.

As the activity began, students started with an exploration phase of free play with tokens and swatches, transitioning into a story-card round with short scenarios they solved by rearranging elements. The next portion was an exercise in emotion and sensory mapping, where children placed tokens on what they liked and disliked, as well as on their sensory needs. This was followed by a reflection and wrap-up that consisted of sharing and naming the space they created.

Students enjoyed the activity and were invested in the game. This project helped the LTU researchers learn the following:

• Attention and distraction (what students noticed or ignored)
• Emotional regulation (when students felt calm, excited, or needed a break)
• Sensory preferences (light, sound, texture, color, geometry, etc.)
• Insights on how interiors shape learning, behavior, and well-being

Meghan Ashkanani, Assistant Superintendent of Teaching, Learning and Technology, shared that the District was selected as a partner with LTU because of how much student voice was included during the District-Wide furniture implementation as part of the 2023 Bond. 

"Stantec, the architects on the Bond projects, saw how we included student voices in survey data, student focus meetings and gathered their feelings and input during the Pilot Classroom Furniture phase of the project with our furniture firm, Interior Environments. Stantec recommended us to LTU for this important interior design research because it fit with our vision to empower our students to ‘Find Their Voice,’ a unit of Leader in Me’s Habit 8," Ms. Ashkanani shared.

Through this collaboration, students shared their experience and feedback for the greater good and could help make learning environments kid-friendly and an equitable place to learn