1) According to the DepED EDUCATIONAL FACILITIES MANUAL (Revised

Edition of the 2007 Handbook on Educational Facilities - Integrating

Disaster Risk Reduction in School Construction) Educational facilities are
considered indispensable to a school; they do not only provide housing
for the school but also serve as facilitating agents for all the educational
activities that take place in a school. The availability of safe, secured and
satisfactory educational facilities (i.e., site, building, furniture, and
equipment) is one of the prerequisites for the opening of a new school.
The availability of safe, secured, adequate and satisfactory educational
facilities will support the teaching and learning processes and ultimately
improve the quality of basic education. And that the primary function of
educational facilities is to provide the proper school environment that is
most conducive to effective teaching and learning. It shall be responsive
to changes in teaching methods and school organization taking into
consideration the changes in educational process which has become
more active, interrelated, and has become an integral part of the wider
community. The playground shall be located in safe and sanitary area of
the school site. It shall be plowed, harrowed, level, and cleared of broken
glass, nails, wires, stones, and other objects which may hurt the children
while they are playing. Cemented areas must not be slippery. This material
puts together statutory provisions, rules, regulations, standards, guidelines,
and instructions (including illustrations, samples, etc.), on the effective
management and supervision of school facilities which otherwise would
not be easily accessible to the field, as well as pertinent provisions of
applicable laws on procurement, on accessibility, on classroom
allocation, disaster risk reduction, etc.
2) The Waterloo Region District School Board Design Guidelines for K-12
Outdoor Play and Learning Environments

Exposure to the natural environment can have a significant positive

impact on childhood development, in terms of physical, social, emotional,
and cognitive health. Current research makes it clear that our earliest
experiencesthe way we play, learn, and interact with the world around
us as childrenhave a profound and formative effect on our health,
thinking, and behaviour throughout our lives (Gopnik 2009).

This guideline encompasses design ideas, construction details, and site

management practices that incorporate innovation and long-term sustainability
into the planning and design of natural school grounds.
Spaces should encourage active play and vary in topography, incorporate
changes in height and physical fitness elements. These spaces feel energetic;
they promote fitness and health and support physical and social development
needs. While Individual spaces support quiet reflective moments, observation,
and listening. This type of space would accommodate one or two students and
could be on the edge of another play zone, most likely away from an active
play area. This space is for private time, a place for respite, retreat, and refuge,
away from loud noises. Individual spaces support cognitive and emotional
development needs. Gathering spaces can be for a large or small group. These
spaces foster social interaction. They offer seating and shade, and have a
balance of soft and hard features. They accommodate multiple uses (outdoor
classrooms, planned events) and users (children, staff, parents). They support
physical, social, emotional, and cognitive development needs. Fixed
components such as groves of trees, hills, rocks are the anchor points of the
landscape paths that form the framework of your key spaces. Arrange these
components to prioritize connectivity and maintain flexibility to support play,
learning, and developmental needs. The framework also includes a menu of
moveable components that can be incorporated into the space to animate it
and the list of moveable components is only restricted by your imagination. The
possibilities are endless for what can be used to enhance play and learning in
the outdoors.

3)CONSTRUCTING PLACE AND SPACE IN THE DESIGN OF LEARNING

ENVIRONMENTS FOR PBL IN MALAYSIAN UNIVERSITIES.