Learning in Space?

Academics love a good theory. We like to theorise beyond theory. We like to create ideal types beyond the ideal. We like to unpack concepts before they've been packed. We like to deconstruct discourses before they have been constructed. This is the task of the modern post-modern academic.  We love a good theory…. 

But when it comes to practices we are notoriously entrenched. Please don't interpret this as a stubborn outlook or recalcitrant sensibility. We love our practices, perhaps even more so than our theories. Yet there is a disconnect in the theory of learning and the practice of learning. We are (quite rightly) encouraged to think imaginatively about curriculum and pedagogical design, but we assume that this has no concrete implications in terms of the spaces of learning. 

For the past five months, I have been involved in exploring the spatial dimensions of learning  within the Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities at the University of Westminster. As project lead I have reflected quite deeply on the space of learning within the social sciences, law and humanities. In many respects these spaces were intended to be utopian spaces: flexible resilient learning environments which are colourful, comfortable, and adaptable for the future learning needs of our students.

The Project

The SSH Learning Spaces Pilot has involved the Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities working with colleagues in Estates, Information Services and Learning Technology to look at innovative ways of supporting student learning through an integrated approach to classroom design, technology and spatial planning. 

The project was initiated in June 2014 and this has involved examining existing space utilisation to identify areas in which current classroom practices can be developed to support student-centered approaches to learning and teaching. This pilot has involved six spaces in both Regent Street and Little Titchfield Street.

The primary objective of the pilot is to develop classroom environments that are conducive to ‘flipped’ or ‘blended’ approaches to learning. This means that classrooms should take advantage of the wall space to combined traditional technologies (e.g. whiteboards) alongside digital spaces (e.g. wireless streaming, plug ‘n’ play technology). We have also installed new furniture that changes the way students and teaching staff interact with space. This has involved using furniture from the Steelcase range, including Node Chairs, group work tables, and ampitheatre style seating in rooms.

The Rooms

Regent St Room 351

Regent St Room 357