Let’s zoom in on …. Informal Open Learning Spaces
This feature looks in detail at a specific space within our new building. This week Larry MacPhee from Northern Arizona University asks - how do students use the spaces that we provide for them outside of the traditional classroom?
"How do we most effectively design such informal learning spaces? We know that the type of work can affect the spaces students seek, whether quiet spots for solitary study or areas suited for collaboration, so we should consider — and ask about — student needs in different locations.
For example, a study space in the student union or library could include quiet areas for individuals and other areas with larger tables and multiple chairs for group collaboration.
Many remodels and new building designs incorporate informal learning spaces. Typically, these look like study areas for small groups of students, with tables and comfortable chairs, and sometimes a large computer screen to which students can connect their own laptops. Only surveys of student needs and studies of usage can determine whether a space should be designed for quiet study or for collaborative study.
Sometimes these study spaces are glass-enclosed for soundproofing; in other cases, they are located in relatively high-traffic areas or just outside classroom doors. Often they include or are close to cafes or other food service options, and wireless internet access is standard. They can provide places for collaboration and study to occur before
Oblinger on Learning Spaces
Each week we’ll bring you a key text relevant to the issues around shifting pedagogy and the use of new learning spaces. This week we suggest a whole e-book on learning spaces ! Don’t panic - no need to read it all but it’s a really good resource to dip into. It also has many case studies which might be of interest :
http://www.educause.edu/research-and-publications/books/learning-spaces
or after class.
Incorporating informal learning spaces is part of a movement to make buildings more inviting to students so that they will stick around between classes rather than “learn and leave.” But do students in study areas outside classrooms always use these spaces in the intended ways? If they don’t, is this necessarily a problem?
We all need to carefully consider how we feel about students sleeping, playing video games, eating, and socializing in spaces we created for them to use for learning. And regardless of how we feel about unplanned uses of a learning space, what matters is that students find the space inviting and use it."
© 2009 Larry MacPhee. The text of this article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 license
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