Spaces for Knowledge Generation

Workshops at the SKG's first Forum produced a series of design sketches.

Three break out sessions at the first SKG Forum on May 28 have produced the raw materials for a range of design prototypes for university learning spaces.

Designing more effective collaborative learning spaces, facilitated by Matthew Riddle and Dr Rosaria Burchielli (Law and Management, La Trobe) used a technique dubbed ‘beyond the comfort zone’ to look at design for collaborative learning spaces. The workshop was based on the real world scenario in which a Business Ethics subject is being redesigned to make use of an Enquiry Based Learning (EBL) approach. Students were asked to trade places with staff during a trial of a pedagogical design, and followed by reflective exercises by participants and the group as a whole to develop learning space designs.

Sunburnt wifi: what makes a really great outdoor learning space? was facilitated by Prof Gráinne Conole (IET, Open University) and Prof Mike Keppell (Charles Sturt University). This session investigated how we can plan outdoor learning spaces in a way that meets the needs of students now and in the future and produced some very imaginative ideas.

The corners of our minds – how should we be using eddy spaces was facilitated by Rob Bienvenu from Kneeler Design and focussed on the design of informal learning spaces. When designing learning spaces in universities, some valuable spaces are left out of consideration, yet students use them all the time. “Eddy spaces” exist in corridors, lobbies, and in the strangest nooks and crannies of university buildings. These informal learning spaces are rarely well designed and are frequently inadequate for the purpose.

The first Forum of the Spaces for Knowledge Generation project was held today at La Trobe University in Melbourne. The SKG Project Team gave a presentation on the Study Tour, conducted in January to set the scene for the day. Professor Gráinne Conole from the Open University, UK, addressed the Forum on the topic of personal learning environments.  Her presentation is now available to download in Powerpoint format here:

Personal Learning Environments: interface between physical & virtual spaces (PPT: 5.4Mb)

Dr Rosaria Burchielli presented an example of Evidence Based Learning to a break out session on collaborative learning spaces.  Her presentation on the redesign of the subject Business Ethics is available here:

EBL for Business Ethics (PowerPoint: 40Kb)

Five members of the Spaces for Knowledge Generation project team conducted a study tour during January 2009 aimed at collecting case studies of a range of different learning spaces from tertiary institutions renowned for their teaching excellence. Site visits, meetings and videotaped interviews were conducted at a variety of places including:  Stanford University, Apple, Harvard University, MIT, Kings College London, University of Cambridge, The Open University (UK), Sheffield Hallam University and TU Delft (Netherlands).

The SKG team interviews Rich Holeton at Stanford University, January 12 2009

During these site visits we conducted a series of semi-structured interviews with people involved in the design and management of learning spaces at each institution.  We ask them about what has and hasn’t worked in each of the spaces. These interviews have been very enlightening and we anticipate making extracts available on the project website.

One of the highlights of the tour included a visit to Wallenberg Hall at Stanford, a $15M facility featuring a series of innovative collaborative learning spaces.

Wallenberg Hall, Stanford University

Informal learning spaces were also a focus of the tour. Student Street, which runs inside the Stata Center at MIT is an excellent example of the way student life can be enhanced through the provision of study friendly seating, power, wifi networking, alongside student services and food outlets.

Student Street, Stata Center, MIT

We returned to Student Street a number of times in the two days at MIT and we noticed that every one of the spaces was used extensively, yet it never seemed crowded.

The SKG Project postcard.

Download the SKG Postcard (Adobe PDF).

After the first meeting of the Reference group we have been able to formulate a number of key principles. There was general endorsement of the following principles: 

1. Importance of withholding 15% of building budget to modify and adjust spaces after construction. 

2. Learning space designs must be context-specific.

3. Spaces should be ‘future proofed’ and non-deterministic: that is should incorporate maximum adaptability and not be unduly dependent on current technology.

4. Students’ own technologies and technological preferences should be supported.

5. The importance of student-driven design: generally speaking this is not done well, and we should be seeking student input.

6. The crucial elements of informal learning: comfortable seating; protection from weather; access to power; wifi; extended hours of access; access to food; lockers;  and reconfigurable spaces, including lighting and furnishings.

7. The need for a systematic way to design informal learning.

8. ‘Sandpit’ or experimental spaces should be used to develop and test prototype designs. This also supports the professional development of teaching staff.

9. Desperate need for a range of spaces to support (formal) active learning.

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