Every international school in Ho Chi Minh City has a makerspace, a library, and a bright open atrium. Every prospectus photographs them. None of this tells you whether your child will learn there.
The research is unusually clear on this point, and mildly awkward for schools. Classroom design accounts for around 16% of the variation in a primary pupil’s learning progress over a year. The whole-building features, the ones on the tour, account for roughly 3%.
This article sets out the main types of learning spaces, explains what actually makes them work, and gives you something to look at on a tour that is more useful than the atrium.
Table of contents
- Key Takeaways
- Learning Space or Learning Environment?
- The 11 Main Types of Learning Spaces
- 1. Traditional Classrooms
- 2. Collaborative Learning Spaces
- 3. Flexible or Adaptive Learning Spaces
- 4. Library and Digital Media Centres
- 5. Science and STEM Laboratories
- 6. Creative Arts Spaces
- 7. Makerspaces and Design & Technology Labs
- 8. Outdoor Learning Spaces
- 9. Digital and Virtual Learning Spaces
- 10. Quiet and Reflection Spaces
- 11. Informal and Social Spaces
- What the Evidence Actually Says
- What to Look For on a School Tour
- Learning Spaces at The ABC International School
- The Room, Not the Building
- Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Key Takeaways
- The room a child sits in every day matters far more than the impressive shared spaces. This is a finding, not an opinion.
- A learning space is a room. A learning environment includes how safe and focused a child feels inside it. Schools use the words interchangeably; they should not.
- Light, air, temperature, and noise do more work than furniture. They are also the things nobody puts in a brochure.
- Over-decoration is a real cost. A wall covered edge to edge harms young children’s attention rather than helping it.
- The useful tour question is not whether a space exists. It is whether it gets used when nobody is visiting.
Learning Space or Learning Environment?
These are used as synonyms and they are not.
A learning space is physical. A classroom, a laboratory, a courtyard. It has walls, light levels, and a temperature. You can photograph it.
A learning environment is the space plus everything that happens in it: whether a child feels able to ask a question that might be stupid, whether the teacher knows their name, whether the group at the next table is welcoming. You cannot photograph it, which is why prospectuses show you spaces.
The distinction matters because a school can buy the first and cannot buy the second. Our articles on school environments and a positive learning environment cover the human half. This one covers the rooms, and what the rooms actually do.
The Environment as the Third Teacher
Educators sometimes describe the physical environment as the third teacher, after the parent and the classroom teacher. The phrase comes out of the Reggio Emilia tradition and it is more than a slogan.
A room instructs children continuously. Rows facing forward say: attention flows one way. A circle says: you are expected to speak. A cupboard the children can open says: you may start without asking. None of this is written down, and all of it is learned.
Which means a poorly designed space can undermine a strong curriculum, quietly, for years.
The 11 Main Types of Learning Spaces
Each of these does something the others cannot. Each also has a failure mode, which schools rarely mention.
1. Traditional Classrooms
Traditional classrooms remain a core part of school life. These structured environments provide a clear setting for teacher-guided instruction, helping students build strong foundational knowledge and develop essential academic skills.
For many learners, this sense of routine and clarity creates a supportive framework for understanding new concepts.
2. Collaborative Learning Spaces
Collaborative spaces are designed to encourage discussion, teamwork, and shared problem-solving. Often arranged with group tables or open layouts, these environments support project-based learning and peer interaction.
In these settings, students can exchange ideas, challenge perspectives, and develop communication skills that are valuable both in school and beyond.
3. Flexible or Adaptive Learning Spaces
Flexible learning spaces are designed to adapt to different teaching and learning activities. With modular, movable furniture and open layouts, these environments can be quickly reconfigured for group work, whole-class discussions, or independent study.
This adaptability allows lessons to respond more closely to students’ needs, supporting a more dynamic and student-centred learning experience.
4. Library and Digital Media Centres
Modern school libraries are far more than places to borrow books. They act as hubs for research, digital literacy, and independent study, offering access to both print and online resources.
In these spaces, students learn how to locate, evaluate, and use information effectively, skills that are essential for higher education and lifelong learning.
5. Science and STEM Laboratories
Science and STEM laboratories provide opportunities for hands-on exploration and experimentation. These purpose-built spaces allow students to move beyond theory and engage directly with scientific concepts in a practical way.
Through experiments and investigations, students can develop critical thinking skills and gain a deeper understanding of how knowledge applies in real-world contexts.
6. Creative Arts Spaces
Creative spaces, including art studios, music rooms, and drama areas, support self-expression and imagination. These environments are designed to encourage students to explore ideas, experiment with different forms of creativity, and build confidence in presenting their work.
For many children, these spaces play an important role in developing a well-rounded sense of identity and personal expression.
7. Makerspaces and Design & Technology Labs
Where an idea becomes an object. Genuinely valuable, and the most common tour prop in international education. The question is not whether the 3D printer exists. It is who is allowed to use it, how often, and whether they may break it. Closely tied to hands-on learning.
8. Outdoor Learning Spaces
Outdoor environments offer valuable opportunities for exploration, creativity, and physical activity. Whether used for structured lessons or open-ended discovery, these spaces provide a different context for learning.
For younger children especially, dedicated outdoor play areas can support sensory exploration, movement, and imaginative play, all of which contribute to early development.
9. Digital and Virtual Learning Spaces
Digital learning spaces extend education beyond the physical classroom. Through online platforms and interactive tools, students can access resources, collaborate with others, and develop digital skills that are increasingly important in today’s world.
These environments complement in-person learning and provide additional flexibility in how students engage with content.
10. Quiet and Reflection Spaces
Quiet spaces, such as reading corners or independent study areas, give students the opportunity to focus and reflect. These low-stimulation environments support concentration, deep thinking, and self-directed learning.
They can also play an important role in helping students manage their energy and maintain emotional balance throughout the day.
11. Informal and Social Spaces
Learning does not only happen during lessons. Informal spaces, including common areas, courtyards, and shared social zones, allow students to interact, relax, and build relationships.
These environments support social development and contribute to a positive school experience, helping students feel connected and comfortable within their community.
What the Evidence Actually Says
A study by researchers at the University of Salford assessed 153 classrooms across 27 schools and tracked the progress of 3,766 primary pupils over a year. Physical classroom design explained 16% of the variation in learning progress.
The finding that should change how you tour a school is the second one. The effect was concentrated at the level of the individual classroom. Whole-building features explained only around 3%.
The atrium is not doing much. The room your child sits in for six hours a day is doing a great deal.
The researchers grouped the effects into three families, which are a more useful checklist than anything a prospectus will give you.
| What it covers | What to notice | |
|---|---|---|
| Naturalness | Light, temperature, air quality, acoustics. The unglamorous half, and the strongest single group of effects. | Is there daylight? Can you hear yourself think? In Ho Chi Minh City, ask specifically about air quality and cooling. |
| Individualisation | Whether the room belongs to the children in it. Ownership, flexibility, displayed student work. | Is the work on the walls made by the children, or bought? Can the furniture move, and does it look like it ever has? |
| Stimulation | Colour and visual complexity. More is not better; the finding is that there is an optimum, and over-decoration is a real cost. | A wall covered edge to edge is not enthusiasm. It is noise, and young children pay for it in attention. |
Two caveats, since we would rather you trusted the rest of the page. The study covered primary pupils in England, so the figures do not transfer exactly to secondary or to Vietnam. And 16% is a share of variation, not a promise about any individual child.
What to Look For on a School Tour
The tour is designed. You will be shown the best rooms, on a good day, with the best classes in them. That is not dishonest, it is just marketing, and it can be worked around.
- Watch the corridors between lessons. This is the one part of a tour nobody stages, and it will tell you more than the atrium..
- Ask to see an ordinary classroom, not the new one. The room your child will actually occupy on a Tuesday in March.
- Look up. Windows, daylight, glare. Then listen. If you are straining to hear the guide, so is a seven-year-old.
- Look at the walls, and count. Is the display work made by children, and is there some wall left blank? Both matter.
- Ask when the makerspace was last used, and by whom. Not whether it exists. A vague answer is an answer.
- Ask what happens on a bad air quality day. A school that has thought about outdoor learning in this city will have a real answer, immediately.
Learning Spaces at The ABC International School
We have been teaching in Ho Chi Minh City for over 30 years, across two campuses, and we would rather tell you what to check than tell you we are excellent.
Our Trung Son and Nha Be campuses have specialist laboratories, arts and design facilities, libraries, and outdoor space. So do our competitors. The questions above apply to us exactly as they apply to them, and we would encourage you to ask them.
Three things we will say plainly:
- Air quality is monitored on both campuses and published. In this city that is not a minor detail, and it belongs in the naturalness category that the evidence says matters most.
- Our class sizes are small enough that a teacher knows who is quiet. No amount of flexible furniture compensates for a room where a child can disappear.
- Specialist rooms are timetabled, not reserved for tours. Ask us how often. We will tell you.
We hold four consecutive BSO Outstanding inspection grades, most recently in January 2024, and are accredited by Cambridge International and AQA. Every year, over 95% of our graduates go on to study at universities across the world.
For families, understanding how a school uses its learning spaces can offer valuable insight into the overall educational experience. Visiting in person can help bring this to life and support a more informed decision about your child’s future..
- Trung Son Campus: #152-158, Street No. 1, Trung Son, Binh Hung Commune, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
- Nha Be Campus: #2, Street No. 9, Tan An Huy, Nha Be Commune, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
- Phone: +84 (0)28 7308 1828
- Email: office@theabcis.com
The Room, Not the Building
Learning spaces matter, but not in the way tours imply. The impressive shared spaces are the least of it. The daylight, the air, the noise, and the ordinary room your child occupies every day are doing the work.
Book a campus visit and ask to see a normal classroom on a normal day. Any school confident in its answer will show you one.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Traditional classrooms, collaborative spaces, flexible spaces, libraries, science laboratories, creative arts spaces, makerspaces, outdoor spaces, digital platforms, quiet spaces, and informal social spaces. Most schools have most of them. What differs is how often each is genuinely used.
A learning space is the physical room. A learning environment is that room plus everything happening inside it: how safe a child feels asking a question, whether the teacher knows them, how the group at the next table behaves. Schools use the terms interchangeably, but only the first can be bought.
Only if teachers use the flexibility. The evidence supports adaptable, individualised classrooms, but movable furniture that never moves is simply furniture. It is a fair question to ask a school when a given room was last reconfigured, and to notice how readily they answer.
Yes, measurably. A University of Salford study of 153 classrooms and 3,766 primary pupils found that physical classroom design explained around 16% of the variation in learning progress over a single year. The effect sat at the level of the individual classroom rather than the school building.
The unglamorous things. Daylight, air quality, temperature, and acoustics carried the strongest effects in the research. Colour and decoration matter too, but not in the direction people expect: there is an optimum, and heavily over-decorated rooms are worse for young children’s attention than restrained ones.
Ask to see an ordinary classroom rather than the newest one. Check the daylight and listen to the noise. Look at whether the display work was made by children and whether any wall has been left clear. Ask when the specialist rooms were last used and by whom. Then watch the corridors between lessons, which is the part of a tour nobody stages.
Children do not have fixed sensory learning styles, despite how often that idea is repeated. What is true is that the same child needs different things at different moments: a quiet room to write an essay, a loud one to build something. A school with a range of spaces serves the same child across the day, rather than serving different children in different rooms.
