Abstract
While much work has focused on pedagogical innovation processes within universities, less has been said of the processes and cultures which foster and give rise to creativity within higher education and the ways in which faculty members are encouraged to develop their pedagogy across disciplines and within their departments. This paper examines the ways campus spaces at a UK university are utilised by staff for peer learning and the barriers and affordances for innovation and creativity in educational practice. Utilising an interdisciplinary design, this paper suggests that the various spaces available to university teaching staff are able to be further utilised to support creative practice and peer learning, presented as four design principles: innovation happens in everyday spaces, communal spaces need social functions, forums have different scales, and collaborative spaces require a collective culture. The normalising of a culture of innovation requires both physical and behavioural adjustments to the use of space, suggesting that both faculty and institutions need to work together to reimagine spaces for faculty peer learning.
Highlights
Innovation in higher education has been the focus of much debate and research for many decades, pushing the modern university to reconsider what a ‘higher education’ consists of, looks like, and feels like to those involved, both as learners and educators (Brennan et al, 2014; Enarson & Drucker, 1960; Lindquist, 1974)
The need for a community focused approach to the organisation of spaces within universities is prominent in discussion: As recognition grows for the idea that knowledge and skills develop through, and exist on, a collective, social level and not just within the individual, university campuses will need to provide spaces that facilitate the formation of communities of common interest and enable greater communication, interaction and collaboration. (Jamieson*, 2003 p.122)
Building upon the intentions of the urban designers and thinkers who pioneered this approach, the portrayal of the use of university space using map and drawings elicited a series of design principles which arise from the data
Summary
Innovation in higher education has been the focus of much debate and research for many decades, pushing the modern university to reconsider what a ‘higher education’ consists of, looks like, and feels like to those involved, both as learners and educators (Brennan et al, 2014; Enarson & Drucker, 1960; Lindquist, 1974). As the decades have moved on, these debates have intensified with increasing pressure for UK higher education (HE) institutions to justify increasing fees, to widen their participation from marginal groups, and to respond to the needs of the economy and workplaces into which their graduates enter after study (Brown, 2015; Macdonald & Stratta, 2001). Many institutions are supporting educational innovation using cross-departmental models which enable educators to find the space and time to pursue new ideas and interventions within their practice. The need for a community focused approach to the organisation of spaces within universities is prominent in discussion: As recognition grows for the idea that knowledge and skills develop through, and exist on, a collective, social level and not just within the individual, university campuses will need to provide spaces that facilitate the formation of communities of common interest and enable greater communication, interaction and collaboration. (Jamieson*, 2003 p.122)
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