Ideal Learning Spaces for 21st Century in Higher Education

1. People learn best when:

a. They are or they have been motivated to learn

b. They are in an environment conducive to learning which means:

1. The place of learning is dynamic, congenial and "smell" of the place encourages you to    learn. Learning Spaces in the 21st century will be conducive to all kinds of learning in a dynamic sort of manner. Moving from teacher centric to student centric. From Hierarchical Individual to Hierarchical Collective and as and when required to Distributed Individual and Distributed Collective. For this to happen not only spaces have to be dynamic and re configurable, these also have to have connectivity not only with the environment but also with community shared spaces like libraries, museums, sports complexes and parks etc. with in or outside the institute in the city.

2. I am not getting into the details of management, data collection for need of new learning spaces, financial closures and all that though these are important.  Instead I am on a journey to "imagine, what is the physical and digital space where you would experience and do this type of learning?" I bring in my sixty years of experience so far as a student, researcher, teacher, manager and educationist to base my ideas on.

Some thoughts on this are:

I am mostly talking about learning spaces in higher education from undergraduate to post graduate levels of learning. That's where my experience has been so far and what I think will be my learning theory for the future, from now onwards to say 50 years from now?

a. I do believe that the learning spaces for adults and young students kind of mutate and usable across learners age.

b. Its like a huge joint family or community in a big house hold space. As and when required one can utilize any space in the house. One can join the elders and take part in their conversation (learning!), one can get into the playing space of the young ones thus learning and making them learn. One can go into the spaces like living rooms to stretch and share ideas with others and one also has his or her own space - be it a bed room or study room or a corner in the courtyard / balcony / deck or just your own space under a tree for reflection, learning by yourself.

c. Learning vision for me is life long learning and "learning How to Learn". How this can be achieved with present and future infrastructure.  Shantiniketan of Tagore was designed so that students learn, classes happen, discussion takes place san boundaries with in Shantiniketan. Learning environment was in kind of dynamic equilibrium with nature. 

Taxila  (more than 2500 years ago) was a huge learning place and still does not qualify as a university because there were no standardized degrees. Students used to learn with teachers in the teachers quarters. There was no fee for learning except “Guru Dakshina” or a gift for Guru at the end of the learning. The period of learning could be up to eight years - after the age of 12 or 14 - depending on the progress of the student. Though learning was teacher centric but the progress of learning was student centric.

Introduction

A learning space should be able to motivate learners and promote learning as an activity, support collaborative as well as formal practice, provide a personalized and inclusive environment, and be flexible in the face of changing needs. The part technology plays in achieving these aims is an important consideration too.

Learning Spaces in the 21st century will be conducive to all kinds of learning in a dynamic sort of manner. These spaces will also be integrated in a seamless manner with ICT and other education specific software and hard ware required for learning under all the four quadrants. For this to happen not only spaces have to be dynamic and re configurable, these also have to have connectivity not only with the environment but also with community shared spaces like libraries, museums, sports complexes and parks etc.

Having said that we can not ignore the learning spaces already with us since centuries and these are also evolving mostly to accommodate hierarchical individual hierarchical collective learning. For these spaces to be relevant in the present century we need to first understand the student teacher, student-student, teacher-teacher and community and environment interaction needs not only to enhance the learning but also take care of the physical, cognitive, social, cultural and emotional interaction. The learning spaces design should enhance these experiences towards optimum learning and overall development.

                                                        Learning Quadrants

 A Simple Frame Work for developing 21st Century Learning Environments will start with the  following points:

1.The briefing:

My theory of dynamic spaces and encompassing all the quadrants (hierarchical individual, hierarchical collective, distributed individual, distributed collective) will have a major impact on what the Learning Spaces in the 21st century will be. These spaces should be conducive to all kinds of learning in a dynamic sort of manner. These spaces will also be integrated in a seamless manner with ICT and other education specific software and hard ware required for learning under all the four quadrants. For this to happen not only spaces have to be dynamic and re configurable, these also have to have connectivity with intranet and internet. Spaces will be more effective if nature is allowed to intrude into the spaces in a manner that enhances the feeling of being one with the nature. It could be achieved through natural light, seeing out / seeing in through the two-way or one-way see through glass panels. Sound needs to be zoned as per the requirement of the learning space. The community shared spaces like libraries, museums, sports complexes and parks etc. need to be braced as learning spaces as well.

2. The design phase is a highly consultative process that includes academics likely to teach in the facility, and enables confirmation of the brief. In this case we are presupposing that my theory of learning is the way to go in higher education.

3. Educational technology to enhance teaching and learning should be considered and incorporated in both the briefing and design phases.

ICT and many of the collaborative technology in class room, in campus and off campus to be taken into consideration.

4. The resultant design is the product of a partnership between the facility manager, the architect, the information technology manager and academics teaching in the space. First make a prototype of each space. There will be a prototype like a classroom catering to the anticipated pedagogy and Learning Commons and other spaces as per the learning quadrants requirements and human factors requirement.

5. Professional development should be implemented to allow teachers to discover the teaching and learning potential of the facility, and adapt their practice if necessary.

6. The institution should publicise the new facility as a means of promoting good teaching and learning practice, across the institution/university. 

21^st Century Learning Spaces for World

Most of the world population (>50%) and hence the learners live in India, China, Pakistan, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Nigeria, Brazil and other developing countries.  Learning Spaces for higher education in these countries cannot be the replica of the learning spaces designed for the developed world. However some of the core design requirements catering to the teacher centric and student centric learning will however remain the same.

Core Design Requirements:

We are assuming that in the present institutions running the higher education courses such as colleges, professional institutes and universities have the space designed for hierarchical individual and in some cases hierarchical collective pedagogy. There will be a central library, departmental libraries. There are sports and cafeteria facilities and also some facilities for big assemblies and performing arts, such as an auditorium. Even in the new institutes we tend to have the learning spaces designed on the basis of old blue prints for class rooms, seminar rooms, dinning facilities, student living spaces etc. This arises from the fact that pedagogy more or less remains the same revolving around hierarchical individual. However with Internet access through mobile and tablets even in the small towns and villages knowledge and information is accessible with ease. Resources like MIT Open Course Ware, edX and other MOOCs have brought the paradigm shift in the ways of learning for learners as well as teachers. Focus has shifted from “What “, to “How” to learn. Learning interaction also is shifting to digital interaction albeit slowly. Present day  students are more equipped to “enhance “ their learning in the classroom and beyond rather than getting the basics of subjects from the teacher. Teacher role is evolving towards “guide on the side” from the “sage on the stage” so far. In nutshell we are moving towards pedagogy and modes of learning encompassing all the four quadrants we have been exploring in the course.

For encompassing all the four modes of learning in a frugal institute – majority of the institutions in the developing countries and third world are resources and cash strapped - our prerequisites will be:

1.     Motivation for learning.

Students in the developing world have more hunger for learning and education because that’s the only way they can uplift themselves  

and their families economically and socially.

2.     Laws of the land.

This is a tough one. Some govt. body or the other for standardization and “quality” adherence controls most of the higher educational institutions. The rules are framed more in terms of the size of the class rooms, land titles, number of teachers, syllabi, evaluation of the performance by way of external exams and so on. And this kind of regime is an impediment to adopting new modes of learning and learning environments. However things are changing; with economic progress and compulsion of demography. India for example has to harness her demographic advantage where 65% of the population today is below 35 years of age. To provide skill at such a scale with speed we need to push learning with all the learning modes in our new pedagogy.

3. Resources to provide state of the art ICT and learning infrastructure cannot match the developed countries even in the next couple of decades. Taking cognisance of these facts we suggest the following:

Classroom / Learning Centre:

Classroom:

A typical classroom toady has a teacher standing on the raised platform, white board at the back, students sitting in rows facing the teacher. By providing tables and chairs with castor wheels we can reconfigure this space as and when required almost as a subset of learning space.

A Conventional Classroom – from Learning Space Design with an Inclusive Planning Process Promotes User Engagement Dec 2009 caption

Big classrooms on the ground floors with the windows opening out to the nature can be easily utilised as with some modifications as the Learning Centres. A Learning Centre will have space, with table and chairs placed like boardroom for discussion, presentation. There will be spaces for small group studies and meetings.   There will be facility for  “google hangouts” or Skype conferences with participation from any where in the world or just the project team from the institute from where ever they are. Location independent feature of collaborative learning makes learning easy and affects optimum output.  The  “hangouts” can be projected on a TV screen on the wall. There will be corners with side and centre tables for private or small group studies. Students can be allowed to have coffee or tea into the learning centre.

Refurbished Classroom as General Purpose Learning Centre caption

Refurbished Classroom - flexible chairs and tables arrangement with embedded technologies caption

Redesigned and refurbished classroom as we can see provides many different kind of learning spaces, space for small group work (formal and informal). Small group workspaces where the interaction among the learners is more informal and open helps in developing the physical, cognitive, social, cultural and emotional interaction among the learners. A boardroom like space and the serious learning projects being done there develops confidence; emotional and physical. Helps in sharpening the cognitive skills by observation and quick challenges one has to tackle in real time.

Teaching Spaces Model

The above are reconfigurable spaces with a movable partition. We have boardroom like arrangement for teacher led learning, there are small group working space, individual workspaces, discussion and presentation space and fixed work stations on the network. We have Wi-Fi, USB port connectivity, mobile white boards and TV screens hooked to the laptop displays for presentations

Some institutions with budget and pristine surroundings can go for Learning Commons opening out to the nature with glass walls. Furniture and other facilities in these will be movable except some spaces along the opaque walls for computer workstations, charging sockets, printer and photocopier etc.

Some dynamically reconfigurable classrooms too can have one way see through glass walls for others from outside have a feel of pedagogy inside the classroom.

Laboratories and Vocational Spaces

These spaces except for the furniture lay out and provisions for individual projects may not be required to change much. With some fixed work benches, power points and equipment and facilities as per the subject (for example a chemistry lab may need water faucets and heating elements) and spaces with suitable furniture for doing inter institutional project may be provided.

Library and Learning Commons

This is one space, which can act as a catalyst for bringing in the change we need in the institutions for ushering in the learning as per the new pedagogy, learning modes, evolving ICT and education technology for facilitating group, interactive and collaborative learning not only with in the institution but across institutions around the world. In most of the universities library is one central big building and is designed to impress. Most of the journals now being subscribed by the libraries are in digital form and available online. Many books are also available and we envisage all of the books in the future will also be available in digital form. Already books available online are in millions. So the shelf space of the libraries will mostly be occupied by the old paper books and important libraries like Alexandria in Egypt will have original manuscripts for research and exhibition.

Its time that main library function be that of the depository of the resources and library staff to be available for guidance to use the old and as well as new digital resources of the library. Some area as a learner enters the library should be functioning as a Learning Common. This space depending on the size available can house in a fluid design manner the following:

In the above figure a Learning Common is depicted with all the activities it can support for student learning, social interaction and other creative activities. Picture is taken from taken from JISCs Design Spaces for Effective Learning A Guide to 21^st Century learning Space Design.

In the above Learning Common design we see that the space is on the way to library but provides many stand alone learning and other activities too. We can envisage most of the services and spaces students will need to learn and show case their talent is available. It’s also a social area providing physical and connectivity to virtual space.

Learning Street or Street

This is one space, which can be developed around a long and broad corridor of an institute building. Generally the location of such a space in an institution is not only central but may connect various parts of the building and its activities. More like a spinal cord in our body.

This space can act as formal / informal idea cubation space, various small groups meetings for multidisciplinary learning and work and other dropping in if interested. Individuals and groups can work on their personal interest projects in art, science, engineering or management, which can be further worked upon for Proof of Concept in the respective labs or idea lab.

We can very well see that the spaces discussed above provide immense opportunities and act as catalysts for  overall development of the learners (student / teachers) in a seamless manner 

Bond University Street with Learning Spaces

with focus on team work, experimenting with new ideas in their respective learning areas and beyond.

Technology Support for Learning

The usage and utility of Learning commons changes with the student calendar and evolving technologies such as

Mobile learning

Tablet PCs,
Smart phones,  Wireless keyboards, 
Digital cameras.

Connected learning

Wired computing
Wireless networks Wireless-enabled laptops/tablet PCs

Visual and interactive learning

Video conferencing, Video streaming, Image projection, Interactive whiteboards, Voting devices

Supported learning

Assistive technologies Accessible USB ports Audio-visual prompts Video recording facilities TV screen information points

Summary and Conclusions

In this report we have discussed the new generation learning spaces embedded with the affordable and available technologies. Most of the devices required for learning like smart phones, tablets and laptops are carried by the students of higher education in their backpack almost in any part of the world. Most of the college going students carry smart phone with data connectivity foe apps like Facebook. Given the connectivity and some education software in redesigned leaning spaces , we are good to take the 21^st Century learning experience to most of the higher education learners in the world.