I have begun a multi-phase research project aimed at aligning the design of informal learning spaces more strongly with institutional values and mission.  I am concerned especially with libraries, information commons, and computing laboratories. Individual institutions might be interested in participating in Step 2 of this project, described below.  Please use the contact information at the bottom of this page to express your interest, however tentative, in participating in this research.

I anticipate the research project will comprise three steps:

STEP 1: POSING CRITICAL FIRST QUESTIONS

Jeanne Narum, Director of Project Kaleidoscope, argues that "questions about the nature of the educational experience [that is desired in a given renovation or construction project] . . . are questions that must be asked first and asked persistently throughout the [planning] process."  My paper, “First Questions,” poses six questions, several of which are conceptually based on the NSSE benchmarks of effective educational practice:

1. What is it about the learning that will happen in this space that compels us to build a bricks and mortar learning space, rather than rely on a virtual one?
2. How might this space be designed to encourage students to spend more time studying and working more productively?
3. For what position on the spectrum from isolated study to collaborative study should this learning space be designed?
4. How will claims to authority over knowledge be managed by the design of this space?  What will this space affirm about the nature of knowledge?
5. Should this space be designed to encourage student/teacher exchanges outside of the classroom?
6. How might this space enrich education experiences?

STEP 2: IDENTIFIYING FAVORED LEARNING SPACES

In surveys of students and faculty on individual campuses, I ask them to:

• specify what learning behaviors are personally important to them
• indicate how well physical spaces on their campus support these behaviors
• identify the physical spaces they favor for these behaviors or where these behaviors commonly happen

The survey instruments may be consulted through the following links:

The results of this three-part inquiry at one liberal arts college are reported on, along with other new survey data on related topics, in my paper, "Designing for Uncertainty: Three Approaches." I expect to test these survey instruments on at least two additional campuses during 2006-2007.

STEP 3: CHARACTERIZING EFFECTIVE LEARNING SPACES

Drawing on the survey data just described to identify a number of learning spaces thought to be successful, I will devise a method to understand and assess their effectiveness. Doing this will also provide some measure of the pertinence of the evaluation criteria proposed in Step 1. Tentatively, the method will involve:

• determining key attributes of the space (e.g., size, traffic flows and distance from building entrance, availability of natural light, adjacencies, etc.) by using floor plans and pictures of the selected spaces.
• constructing inventories of furniture, technologies, telecommunication, and other equipment provided in the selected spaces.
• making observations of selected spaces during at least an afternoon and evening period over a number of days to document occupancy levels and the occurrence of a set of student learning behaviors.
• conducting focused interviews and standardized surveys of students to strengthen the understanding of the relationship between design features of the space and the behaviors the spaces enable.

Scott Bennett
Yale University Librarian Emeritus
711 South Race Street
Urbana, IL 61801-4132
217-367-9896
www.libraryspaceplanning.com
Email