Complexity in spaces for learning

Just starting to go through some of the interview results I have from my student teachers reflecting on their time in school. There were only four students tracked in detail, but it is obvious that they all use both space and technology in very different ways. Some make a lot of use of Face book for contacting others on the course and sharing ideas and resources, whilst some don't. Some prefer to work in school and then leave time to get away from the pressure at home. Others feel safe working at home. All identify the car/bus as a fantastic place to reflect and plan. All make use of laptops, but some like to use the net extensively whilst others don't. I've also collected detailed written reflections about placements, learning and space. Intend to begin to look through these in the next few days.

Looking at complex spaces

I'm about to start a new research project working with Dr Paul Warwick (also in the School of Education) and the Stduents' Union at Leicester. We are trying to understand the use students make of the various spaces they inhabit whilst studying at the university. Obviously, they use a number of spaces during a typical week, including managed spaces such as lecture theatres and labs, but also many other spaces (both physical and virtual) such as bedrooms, cafes, libraries etc. We will try to find out which spaces are important, and the types of activities which go on there, including the use of technology.

Thinking about learning spaces - student views

Over the past few days I've been involved in doing some small-scale research focusing on the spaces which students learn in. From visual diaries, concept maps and interviews, it seems that students generally feel that the spaces which the university provide are received positively. The learning environment is seen as inherently collaborative in nature, whilst home spaces are seen as personal and reflective. This clear dichotomy is seen as a natural system with social learning being seen as important whilst at the university, whilst spaces such as offices and bedrooms at home are seen as a more positive space for quiet work to extend and reflect on the understanding considered in university sessions. The only space which was considered to be underrepresented in the university campus were social spaces, seen as having great potential for more informal social learning - especially where WIFI is available.

Educause - useful resources

There are two fantastic resources at Educause which focus on elements of learning and learning spaces. The first is a free access e-book on Learning Spaces which looks at advances about leanring spaces in HEIs, whilst the second takes a look at the Net Generation and its links to learning. Both are really interesting takes on teh developing fields of leanring spaces and e-learning.

21st century schools - the development of blended spaces?

Click here for a video which considers the infusion of technology in schools, and the resultant enriching of learning spaces. Technology is forefronted in this video - do we need to give equal consideration of the spaces in which they are used?

Creating a flexible space

As well as developing computer mediated learning through the use of blogs and wikis, I'm also trying out a different way of organising the physical space in my teaching area. With collapsible tables and netbooks, as well as four small whiteboards around the walls of the room, I've been able to make the space far more usable, even though the space available for 14 students is limited. In past years the tables have been set out in a conference layout, with little movement of furniture etc for activities.

Now, we tend to keep the tables together in a conference format when in individual or paired work, like above. However, the students have been given the choice of how to set the room up for all learning activities, and as a result are using the space far more creatively, especially in conjunction with the netbooks available. this second photo shows how the students have reorganised the room to complete an exercise on designing an 'eco-city'. The activity had been uploaded as a basic website onto the VLE which they could access via the netbooks. They grouped the tables and then used the information from the website and links to the web with the whiteboards to note down ideas and draw their designs before coming back to the group to present their ideas - some using power point to summarise ideas through the digital projector. In talking to the students after the activity there was an obvious feeling that they played a large part in deciding the organisation of their own learning space and found the simple addition of whiteboards extremely useful to their learning. As such, they felt that the integration of ICT and flexible space is a real positive.

Getting started

I'm currently developing a blended learning approach to work I do with student teachers. I'm interested in both Web 2.0 applications and flexible/agile physical learning spaces. As a result, I've taken the plunge over the past month or two to set up a very different course for my PGCE geography students. The basic idea of the blend is given in the diagram below:

The VLE component of the approach I'm taking acts as both a store of information and resources, and a platfrom for reflective personalized learning units which students can use to deepen and broaden their understanding of an area of work. They are also working in pairs to develop a series of blogs focusing on the concepts which make up the Key Stage 3 (11-14 year olds) programme of study for Geography, e.g. on interdependence etc. These blogs are intended to be a thinking and development space for a 20 minute lesson which each pair will teach to the rest of the group in a month's time. There are various other components which are being developed alongside this.

I've also focused on developing a more flexible physical space for learning. The room which sessions are held in is a standard teaching room with interactive whiteboard and room to seat about 16 students. By introducing webbooks, collapsable tables and four small white boards around the room, we're beginning to experiment with alternative layouts, ways of learning etc to develop alternative learning environments even though we are restircted by the original (early 20th century) architecture.

My main area of interest in setting up these various changes is to develop our understanding of the linkages we want and need to make between the face to face developments and the computer mediated developments.