In February 2017, a multiplier even of the project Looking @ Learning took place in Gulbene Cultural Center, Latvia. The event was called “Laboratory. Creative. Efficient. Ambitious.” The Laboratory was based on the believe that the best way to disseminate the project results is by actively involving everyone in experiencing and getting to know the project results.

Participants of this event were teachers, youth workers, policy makers and other people from different parts of Latvia involved in formal and non-formal education. After a short presentation of the project and all its stages, participants took part in different workshops. In total there was 5 laboratories: “Creative Pitstops”, “Discover what kind of learning environments foster creativity!”, “Innovation in education: The eduesc@peroom”, “River of learning, personal experience of effective learning”, “Freedom of choices”.

By participating in the above mentioned laboratories, participants gained insight into the creative learning environment and actual educational situation in Latvia, Spain and the Netherlands; discovered how can creative learning environment promote effective and enjoyable learning; got the idea of educational escape rooms or eduesc@peroom and different approaches to use the method the learning process; educators reflected on their own learning and shared experiences on how to create a creative learning environment for children and young people in formal and non-formal fields of education.

By reflecting, thinking and analyzing – person learns better, when he / she does it with pleasure, sees practical use of it, has a freedom of choice and motivation. The environment must be interesting, comfortable and useful. On the other hand, aimlessness, pressure from others, boredom, time limit and lack of support are the factors that hinder learning.

“Working on this project made my horizons wider on creating a learning environment. I gained great experience on diversifying the learning environment, adapting it to the needs of the students, because the student is mostly enjoying this type of environment. In my opinion, not only the adults of the school, but also the students must participate in the improvement of the learning environment. This realization came to me by allowing students to create their own space in school, the way they imagined it, the one in which they felt the best. In a self-created learning environment, students are more motivated to learn. Pupils like to go to nature during the learning process, because it is a change of the environment that motivates to see, hear, feel more, use all human senses, ”Jana Solovjova, a teacher at K. Valdemārs Primary School in Beļava Parish, Gulbene Region, shares her experience