Transcript Slide 1

Learning Spaces for Active
Learning: Design and evaluation
Carolyn Roberts, Martin
Jenkins and Andy Pitchford
Centre for Active Learning
University of Gloucestershire
HEA Conference, University of
Warwick, March 2007
What’s CeAL about?
“Tell me and I will forget. Show me, and I may remember.
Involve me, and I will understand”
Confucius 450BC
The Centre for Active Learning is an
international centre of excellence reviewing,
developing, promoting and embedding
inclusive and exemplary active learning for
students in geography, environment and
related disciplines such as landscape
architecture, community development and
heritage management
The Gloucestershire
approach to active learning
The distinctive feature of
the University of
Gloucestershire definition
of active learning is that it
centres on the mastery of
theory within a ‘learning
by doing’ approach
involving working in real
places with actual people
and live projects
The Gloucestershire
Approach to Active Learning
• Linking the thinking, doing and reflecting
• Innovative ways of linking the theory and
practice
• Embedding active learning in all teaching
• Innovative methods for developing blended
learning
• Active involvement of external agencies
• Creative ways of assessing active learning
• Underpinning practices by pedagogic research
• Involvement nationally and internationally
• Maintaining inclusivity
• Making learning enjoyable for everyone
Four Key Questions
• What is appropriate space for active
learning? How do we know? Can we
design space to facilitate the change to
learner-centred pedagogy?
• Who makes the decisions? Whose views
are consulted? Whose views are
considered?
• Can we facilitate community engagement
strategies?
• How do we evaluate success?
(Al-Mahmood et al, 2006)
Early development of the
idea
• Discussions with the architect about the
external elevation
• Key visits to other locations
• Not much accessible guidance about HE
building design
– Informed by ‘Information Commons’
(Mountifield, 2004)
– JISC ‘Designing Spaces for Effective
Learning’ - came later
What is appropriate space for active
learning? How do we know? Can
we design space to facilitate the
change to learner-centred
pedagogy?
Building Design Constraints
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Limited time to develop the bid
Grade 2 listed historic campus
Small size
Footprint and height of new building
also determined by existing
premises, and constrained
Francis
Close Hall
Campus
aerial view
Who makes the decisions? Whose
views are consulted? Whose views
are considered?
Liaison with University
Management
• Represented by the Vice
Chancellor, who selected the site
• Some separate discussions
between University Senior
Management and architects
• Strong interest in environmental
sustainability, ISO14001/BREEAM
Sustainable Development
‘underpins each of the University’s
strategic priorities and informs all
elements of University life. The
University promotes sustainable
development, locally and globally,
through teaching, research,
knowledge transfer and the general
conduct of its business.’
UoG Buildings and Estates
• Include a historic zoo and botanical
garden with lake, plus ‘listed’ sites
• New buildings are designed to conform
with BREEAM standards of excellence,
with high standards of energy utilisation,
sustainable materials, sustainable
drainage, building management
systems/intelligence, low water use
• Some are being used as pilots nationally
(e.g. photovoltaic roof on one major
building)
CETL bid team
• Clear pedagogic ideas developed
through experience, research and visits
• Limited experience of developing
premises and furnishing
• Assistance available from Learning and
Information Service staff, especially on
ICT
• ‘Strong’ brief developed, with scenarios
and vignettes of future use
University academic and
support staff
• Needed space to experiment, to move
away from traditional conceptions
• Symbolic of CeAL aspirations
• Initially conservative in relation to
premises potentially supporting active
learning
• Some practical issues e.g. cleanability
• Interested in ‘quality’, furnishings, ICT
novelty
• T &L ‘Vignettes’ developed on which to
consult
Consulting and involving
students
Meeting the needs of students is almost
impossible without an informed
understanding of their approaches to
learning
(McInnis, 2003)
• Student representatives, used to being involved,
and keen to contribute
• Diverse students eg. young and mature
students, disabled students, distance learners
• Lack of understanding of the full range of issues,
but with clear ideas on generic matters
‘A really cool place’
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•
•
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24/7 access
Food and drink on hand
A place to hang out, social purpose
Comfortable and stylish
Awesome…Wicked… Sweet…
Attractive…?
Architects
• Feilden Clegg Bradley
• Long association with the University
(but contract potentially subject to
tender/OJ etc)
• Interested in a striking building
Quote from Peter Clegg
• ‘.. A strong aspirational brief from you and from
the University….a very strong brief in terms of
how you wanted the spaces to work, and they
were radical, multi-use spaces… recognising
the fact that learning was not confined to
laboratories or lecture theatres or seminar
rooms or the conventional kinds of formats,…
but it was relaxed, and that people learned by
actually chatting to each other…that was quite a
radically new brief for us to have - the
architectural interior design aspects -to create a
really attractive space.’
Local community
• Visual appearance important
• Environmentally-sustainable
building
• Interest groups e.g. Cheltenham
Civic Society, local residents and
regeneration instrument
• Business conference aspirations
‘Space is neither innocent nor
neutral: it is an instrument of the
political; it has a performative
aspect for whoever inhabits it; it
works on its occupants. At the micro
level, space prohibits, decides what
may occur, lays down the law,
implies a certain order, commands
and locates bodies’
Pouler, 1994
Can we facilitate community
engagement strategies?
‘The building will provide a variety of
spaces designed to support the
development of capable and
enthusiastic active learners’
• Collaborative, innovative and social
learning
• Flexible environment for students and staff
• Student owned space
• Self supporting in layout and management
• Accessible for diverse student groups
• Exhibition space
Purpose signified through
the interior design
• Lived and learning space (Al-Mahmood
et al)
• Detail thought through from the start
• Stimulating but not ‘cluttered’ feel
• University colours for background
• Indicative (highlight) colours by floor signifying
busyness through to reflection, informal through to
formal
• Para-natural materials -wood, glass, steel
• Thought-provoking e.g. signpainted quotations
Staffing and support
• Designed to be self-supporting
–Screens
–Information Management System
• Staff Support
–Learning skills and technical
support
»Learning Mentors
»CeAL staff
–Roaming
–No fixed service point
During construction
• Repeated drift away from mission,
towards assumptions about traditional
layout and furnishing styles (ie ‘lecture
theatre’, ‘seminar room’, ‘laboratory’, staff
offices)
• Need to keep reminding everyone about
the pedagogic purpose, in straightforward
language, without ambiguity
• Some lack of clarity on appropriate
communication lines, responsibility,
autonomy and authority
• Very time consuming
• How do we evaluate success?
Evaluation of the building
as a learning space
• Approaches used
– Observation
• Photographic records
• Recording of use – use and numbers
• Learning mentors blog
– ‘student perspective’
– Module evaluations
– Learning Space Questionnaire
• All users
Level of activity
• Slow start to academic year
• Daily pattern – 11am-4.00pm focus –
social factor
CE002 Usage
18.0
16.0
14.0
Average No
12.0
October
10.0
November
8.0
December
6.0
4.0
2.0
M
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30
P
M
2.
30
P
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3.
30
P
M
4.
30
P
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5.
30
P
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6.
30
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7.
30
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8.
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12
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11
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0A
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Time
• Drop-in use concentrated in open access
room
Observations on student use
• Early use by individuals
– Taking advantage of ‘quiet’ space
• One girl was using CE002 all the time I was here,
and so I asked her why she was using this
building, and she replied because it is quiet...sure
is! (October, 2006)
• Increasing group activity
– Group activities
– Social space
• Said they much preferred working here over the
Learning Centre because of the kit, the desks, the
fact they can talk, etc. (November, 2006)
Learning mentors blog
• Used as means of communication
between learning mentors and with CeAL
staff
• Proved a valuable source of information
– Mentors observation on level and nature of activity –
‘student observations and reflections’
– There were no lectures on, so I feel that most people
therefore use this building (at the moment) to eat,
socialise, check work and to meet before lectures in
the building. (November, 2006)
Observations on the learning
environment
• Students welcome the informal nature of the
environment
– comfortable, relaxed atmosphere
– encourages discussion
• Good presentation space for students
• Has created opportunity for ‘change’
(Kember & Kwan, 2002)
• Staff more likely to want ‘fixed’ environment
• Intimidating building
– Reluctance to use ‘office space’ and enter teaching
rooms (elsewhere on campus these are locked)
Issues
• Provision of mixed teaching/learning space
– Interpretation by students as ‘off-limits’
– Learning space versus teaching space, rows
of chairs
– Compete with ‘bums on seats’ view
• Time needed for staff and students to explore
how the space might be used
• Support expectations from academic staff
– Expect a conference facility
• Overcoming ‘building management systems’
– Lighting, heating
‘We shape our buildings and
afterwards our buildings
shape us’
Jamieson et al, 2003
Kotter’s Eight Stages of
Change
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Establishing a sense of urgency
Creating a guiding coalition
Developing a vision and strategy
Communicating the change vision
Empowering broad-based action
Generating short term wins
Consolidating gains and producing
more change
8. Anchoring new approaches in the
culture
Kotter, 1995
The Ladder of Divine
Ascent metaphor
St. John Climacus’s text
explains the ‘journey to
Heaven’ as involving many
challenging steps. The icon
shows monks on the ladder,
demons trying to pull them off,
the mouth of Hades
swallowing up those who have
fallen off, the angels lamenting
over those who have fallen,
and people on the earth
praying for those on the
ladder. Christ is depicted at
the top of the ladder, waiting
for the successful ones to
enter His holy Kingdom.
Contact Details
CeAL Academic Manager
Martin Jenkins
[email protected]
tel:01242 714689
CeAL Director
Carolyn Roberts
[email protected]
tel: 01242 714559
CeAL Website
http://www.glos.ac.uk/ceal/index.cfm