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Learning Landscapes and the Idea of the University Efficiency, Effectiveness and Expression. What value is there in involving academics and students in the design of the learning environment? – efficiency lost in translation?. Jim McConnell Director of Estates. Contents.
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Learning Landscapes and the Idea of the UniversityEfficiency, Effectiveness and Expression What value is there in involving academics and students in the design of the learning environment? – efficiency lost in translation? Jim McConnell Director of Estates
Contents • Estates Responsibilities • Estates Experience • Estates Skills • Academic, Student and Estates relationships • Speaking another Language • Translation and Interpretation • Exercises • Design Processes • New Skills for Estates and Stakeholders • Lessons from the Project
Key areas directly affecting the development of Learning and Teaching Spaces Estates Responsibilities 2008 SURVEY
Estates Experience 2008 SURVEY
Estates Skills • Surveyors @ 31% RICS • Builders @ 22% CIOB • Engineers @ 9% EC UK • Architects @ 6% RIBA • Facilities Managers @ 30% BIFM • Members of HE Academy ? 2009/10 Report & Review
Academics, Students and Estates Relationships • Academics • Focused on research • Aim to minimise Teaching Time • Teach on a Tuesday and maybes a Thursday • Students • Focused on value for money from Learning • Aim to maximise Teaching Time • Turns up on a Thursday and maybes a Tuesday • Estates • Focused on cost, quality, timely supply of space • Regularly disrupt Teaching Time • Try to turn up Monday to Friday • AV, ICT, Telecoms, Security, room booking?
Estates speak the language of Location (Space) LEARNING CLUSTERS EXTERNAL SPACE LABORATORIES CONFERENCE HALL EXAMINATION HALL LIBRARY SEMINAR ROOM LECTURE THEATRE SOCIAL SPACE Simulation SPECIALIST SPACES Immersion Didactic Groups Tutorial Individual Debate Lecture Modules Informal BREAKOUT ROOM Blended Distance Role Play Academics speak the language of Pedagogy (Activity) Peer to Peer Speaking another Language?
Exercises • Translate • to turn from one language into another or from a foreign language into one's own • Interpret • to give or provide the meaning of; • explain; explicate; elucidate • to translate orally www.dictionary.com
Beard and Wilson (2006) Experiential Learning Beard, Colin., & Wilson, John. (2006), Experiential Learning: A Best Practice Handbook for Educators and Trainers, (2nd Ed.) London, Kogan Page.
Location, Location, Location Learning Cafe Postgraduate Centre
Skills for Estates • Appreciation of learning styles and theory • Kolb (experiential) • Gregorc (perceptual) • Understanding of pedagogy • The art or science of teaching • Flexibility! • Awareness of Audio Visual and ICT options • Integrated solutions • Standardisation? - Chalk or Visualiser! • Recognise the opportunity for Marketing • Learning and Teaching Space as the Student ‘Shop Window’ • Use L+T spaces to promote marketing messages
Skills for Stakeholders • Appreciation of Estates Processes • Project Briefing • Design stages • Understand every project is a prototype • Awareness of technical limitations • Building • AV/ICT • Flexibility • Sustainability • Be prepared to take ownership • Experiment pedagogically • Sign off accountability
Lessons from the Project • Academics • Add value by taking the lead and embrace the client role • ‘Teach with space in Mind’ adopting approaches to pedagogy that are clear and convincing • Students • Add value by acting as a client, consultant and ambassador for the learning landscape • Estates • Remember there is no ‘standard issue’ academic or student • Use ‘Walk around’ and reconnaissance to experience the learning environment • Translate and interpret what is possible rather than prescriptive • Use integrative , interdisciplinary and inclusive design approaches • Create a learning environment that is teacher-centred and student-centred • Remember students don't want to dance like their Dad • Experiment and rehearse the play together with stakeholders
Conclusions and Lessons Learned from LLiHE Project • Universities • Appoint a ‘Go-Between’ with Professional Expertise at Senior Management level • Introduce committees that promote innovative, creative and critical thinking • Don't have to be ‘funky’ or radical • Enable spaces to grow organically • ‘Talk your Future into Being’ by developing a ‘Common Language’ • Articulated and documented • Through conferences, Imagineering, workshops and projects • Local ‘dialects’ accepted
Hey Dude – where’s my Chalk? Abdulwahed, Mahmoud., Nagy, Zoltan.K., & Blanchard, Richard. (2008) Beyond The Engineering Pedagogy: Engineering The Pedagogy, Modelling Kolb’s Learning Cycle Proceedings of the 2008 AaeE Conference, Yeppoon