Vocational Performance Analysis

Designing “learning spaces”

These are exciting times for Performance Analysis at Cardiff Metropolitan University, with investment in people, resources, spaces etc. For example, the creation of the outdoor lab environment on the new 3G football pitch has immediately transformed our practice (see AP Capture). The next wave of constructing sport and learning facilities requires time to reflect on the journey so far, what has worked (and how), what hasn’t (and why), what is yet to be explored, and how to maximise the opportunities to integrate technology and platforms to maximise teaching/learning, research and enterprise. I have pulled together some resources that helped to frame the thought processes behind the forthcoming developments.

The way we design physical and virtual “learning spaces” (spatial layout, IT etc.) and deliver curricula in those areas will have a huge impact on the quality of learning. They need to shift to meet the needs of today’s learner to enhance learning promoted through authentic, ubiquitous learning interactions (Slideshare). “Thoughtfully designed learning environments can help students work together more effectively”, and help “create optimal spaces for learning” (Lippman, 2013). This includes “ambient characteristics such as sound, light, temperature, air quality, and spatial support for bodily movement affect how individuals acquire knowledge, but social relationships and cultural values play an important role in students’ level of engagement in learning” (Heron and Heward, 1988).

Building learning spaces is an expensive long-term resource that needs to be well thought through, considering the following elements:

• Flexible — to accommodate both current and evolving pedagogies
• Future-proofed — to enable space to be re-allocated and reconfigured
• Bold — to look beyond tried and tested technologies and pedagogies
• Creative — to energise and inspire learners and tutors
• Supportive — to develop the potential of all learners
• Enterprising — to make each space capable of supporting different purpose

Core Principles from the SKG project established 7 principles of learning space design (CAFEBAR):

• Comfort: creates a physical and mental sense of ease and well being
• Aesthetics: recognition of symmetry, harmony, simplicity and fitness for purpose
• Flow: state of mind felt by the learner when totally involved in the learning experience
• Equity: consideration of needs of cultural and physical differences
• Blending: mixture of technology and F2F pedagogical resources
• Affordances: the “action possibilities” the learning environment provides (kitchens, natural light, wifi, private spaces, writing surfaces, sofas etc.)
• Repurposing: potential for multiple use of a space

When deciding on the investment in spaces and people, there are key considerations for the design process to invent the pedagogic vision of the future. The key questions are:

• What do we want our graduates capability to be?
• How do people really learn?
• What is the CPA end purpose?
• How do we build the courses/environments/opportunities to create these outputs?

The investment into the infrastructure should driven by pedagogical principles rather than be led by technology; both should obviously promote learning, but can we realise the potential of new technology to enable exchange and transform learning.

“When well-designed, learning spaces are then complimented by the use of technology (such as digital video, interactive whiteboards, mobile devices & wireless networks) new levels of learning and education are potentially achievable.” (Upton, 2013)

Both pedagogy and technology will however, change; requiring us to be agile to learn, unlearn and relearn continuously… so both space and people need the flexible/fluid mindset, capacity and time to grow and transform, to respond and adjust to the advancements in education/technology.

There needs to be a coherent flow of a rich, relevant authentic learning journey and landscapes. Knowledge is not a disjointed collection of isolated bits waiting to be arranged and organised by the learner to ‘create’ understandings. “Curriculum integration is not done by artificially blending together curriculum areas in a way that is not authentic to the real world for the topic being studied” (Milligan, 2013).

Ultimately, we are trying to create agile classes, courses, curricula and environments to maximise engagement of both staff and students and facilitate learning. But this needs to go beyond content-rich learning to be complimented by less structured informal experience-rich learning — provide guided discovery tasks/support that provides context for students to view and participate in the real world to learn the PA landscape

The curriculum design for work-based learning needs to reflect the culture of continuous learning. It is important to also involve learners in aspects of the design. This signals that they can have a measure of control over the learning environment and over their own learning (JISC, pg4). Ultimately, this needs to inspire a “holy curiosity of inquiry” (Einstein) that drives critical thinking, collaboration, creativity and future ideas/development.