Beanbags, adjustable tables, retractable walls, high-speed internet and numerous digital devices dominate the current concept of the modern classroom. Urged by the Ministry of Education in New Zealand to build all new classrooms as Innovative Learning Environments (ILEs) (Ministry of Education, 2015), more and more students are finding themselves operating in spaces of various shapes and sizes. However, transforming pedagogy is not as simple as providing a new space. As a drama educator and advocate for embodied knowledge, Claire Coleman typically teaches in an empty room inviting her initial teacher education students not to receive but react, respond, move, share, explore and interact. She positions herself alongside students to work in what, she hopes, may become a process of collaborative learning. In considering her varying experiences in relation to innovative spaces and pedagogies, Coleman posits that while ILEs can undoubtedly influence teaching and learning experiences, they are only part of the puzzle. A climate of collaboration relies upon the ongoing relations of learning, embedding community and connection throughout the learning to ensure students question, explore and discover. Without cultivating a social climate of inclusion, participants will likely shun the risk taking, creativity and criticality sought by advocates of the ILE.