Seriously Cool Places: The Future of Learning–Centered Built Environments – William Dittoe

Follow-up to Challenging Traditional Assumptions and Rethinking Learning Spaces – Nancy Chism from Inspires Learning - Robert O'Toole

Chapter 2 of the Educause Learning Spaces¹ e-book finds William Dittoe (of Educational Facilities Consultants, LLC) describing an experimental learning space design from the Marianist Hall at the University of Dayton. The facility contains many of the now familiar features (informal and reconfigurable furniture, wifi, screens, whiteboards, cafe). However, it is deployed within the curriculum in quite a radical way. The space is dedicated to a single group of students. Their curriculum is constructed around the capabilities of the space. Other students at Dayton follow more traditional patterns.

As Dittoe explains:

The key, therefore, is to provide a physical space that supports multidisciplinary, team-taught, highly interactive learning unbound by traditional time constraints within a social setting that engages students and faculty and enables rich learning experiences. s.3.9

A day in the life of a student is documented, illustrating just how far the curriculum, teaching and learning methods, and the space are from the norm. The whole day is spent in the space, working with other students and faculty according to a variety of patterns each suited to a particular purpose. The timetable is devised to fit the teaching, rather than the teaching being forced into inappropriate slots. Learning is a continuum of concentrations and movements:

To provide the proper space for teaching and learning, we need more than a single place—educational activities are organic; they ebb and flow. What we really require is a complex of spaces—interconnected and related spaces designed to support learning. s.3.9

This raises a challenging question for all those universities who have rushed headlong into creating new learning spaces. Perhaps without a complimentary redevelopment of the curriculum, organisation, teaching and learning methods, the potential of such spaces is never exploited.

I'm also wondering about what kind of technology is required to support this kind of learning continuum, with an ebb and flow between spaces (offline and online)?
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¹Oblinger, D. Learning Spaces, Educause e-book, 2006 (available for download at http://www.educause.edu/learningspaces)

Robert O'Toole : 08 Jul 2009 21:17 |  Tags: Bibliography Chapter Educause Inspiration |  Comments (0) |  Report a problem