Use Of Learning Spaces Research Articles

Reimagining Library Learning Spaces, or Risking Digital Piracy in Universities: Students Views on Spatial Boundaries, Time, and Self-Study Modalities in the Post-Digital Era of AI

Higher education (HE) is changing. Students are crossing boundaries, such as physical (those of countries) or digital (through distance learning). During COVID-19, the concept of a learning space was redefined, for many studied at home. As the student experience changes, so does the use of learning spaces. This article focuses upon ‘post-digital’ learning spaces and goes on to frame a narrative about how our HE institutional environments need to sharpen the now much hazier boundaries between the physical, digital, spatial and temporal realms; by drawing upon research with 103 Chinese postgraduates in a Sino-British university, it demonstrates piracy of ebooks as one indicator – and disruptor – of a shift in post-digital lived experience (analysis shows how students turn to online ‘shadow libraries’, to save not just money, but time and space too, redefining universities, reading and information retrieval practices); it concludes by discussing how institutional repositories need to be transformed into multifunctional spaces where students can access resources in various ways, not just in hard copies of books. In consequence, it positions the need for a future ‘post-digital library’ in universities as a place of collaboration, creativity, enterprise and critical thinking, not as one of stacked shelves.

Facilities Beyond Physical Spaces: A Case for the Intentional Design and Use of Learning Space

In 2022, the state department released new standards and a competency-based education curriculum. Simultaneously, the Toledo Creek School District has experienced an unprecedent shift in the student population demographics. The shift has resulted in two distinct zones, east and west, with income averages on the two extremes of the income spectrum. Given the shift in both the curriculum and demographics, the superintendent in consultation with stakeholders decided to implement project-based learning (PBL) as the district’s instructional model. PBL has a significant research-based supporting implement for authentic learning as intended by the new standards and better supporting deeper learning among all students. One barrier to implementation is the existence of aging facilities. The poor quality of the facilities has caused tension among the district’s stakeholders. This case study aims to promote an understanding of issues related to school facilities, and bond and facilities planning for the intentional design and purposeful use of learning spaces aligned with a constructivist instructional model, in this case PBL. How can conflicting views be leveraged to engage stakeholders in productive discourse about school facilities that results in the equitable use of financial and physical resources?

Affordances, Architecture and the Action Possibilities of Learning Environments: A Critical Review of the Literature and Future Directions

This paper critically reviews the body of literature on affordances relating to the design and inhabitation of school buildings. Focusing on the influence of learning spaces on pedagogical practices, we argue that links between affordances, architecture and the action possibilities of school-based environments have largely been overlooked and that such links hold great promise for better aligning space and pedagogy—especially amidst changing expectations of what effective teaching and learning ‘looks like’. Emerging innovative learning environments (ILEs) are designed to enable a wider pedagogical repertoire than traditional classrooms. In order to transcend stereotypical understandings about how the physical environment in schools may afford teaching and learning activities, it is becoming increasingly recognised that both design and practice reconceptualisation is required for affordances of new learning environments to be effectively actualised in support of contemporary education. With a focus on the environmental perceptions of architects, educators and learners, we believe affordance theory offers a useful framework for thinking about the design and use of learning spaces. We argue that Gibson’s affordance theory should be more commonly applied to help situate conversations between designers and users about how physical learning environments are conceived, perceived and actioned for effective teaching and learning.

ABSTINÊNCIA E CONSUMO DE BEBIDAS ALCOÓLICAS ENTRE OS ALUNOS DO ENSINO SECUNDÁRIO

Abstract:ABSTINENCE AND ALCOHOL CONSUMPTION AMONG SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTSA young person tend to drink alcohol due to the curiosity, imitation belonging to a peer group and in some cases the motivation of the family. Alcohol is therefore socially tolerated moderate alcohol consumption can lead risk forms of consumption. The study shows that attempts to understand the consumption and abstinence from alcohol consumption among young people in secondary education who attend a school in the district of Evora in co use of learning spaces and leisure. The research was qualitative in nature developed using the direct method of data collection. Ten interviews were held, five to five to young consumers and non-consumers, the students of the 10th and 12th grades. The results point towards the first contact with alcoholic beverages held in nocturnal atmosphere by active or tacit influence of peers. The alcoholic behavior is common and inherent in party environments. A behavior modification, group membership, seems to indicate the change of individual behavior in relation to alcohol consumption. Young people are not consumers have tried drinking alcohol however, want the taste of some, or the effects they cause, are not stimulating consumption, unnecessary considering your intake to personal recovery and for peer interaction.Key-words: Alcohol, youth, consumption, abstinence.Resumo:Os jovens tendem a ingerir álcool em função da curiosidade, imitação, pertença a um grupo de pares e, em alguns casos, a motivação dos familiares. O álcool é tolerado socialmente e, em consequência, os consumos moderados de álcool podem conduzir a formas de consumo de risco. O estudo que se apresenta procura compreender o consumo e a abstinência da ingestão de bebidas alcoólicas, entre os jovens do ensino secundário que frequentam a mesma escola e que utilizam coincidentes espaços de lazer. A investigação foi desenvolvida numa escola do distrito de Évora (Portugal). Foi de caráter qualitativo recorrendo ao método direto de recolha de informação. Realizaram-se vinte entrevistas, a dez jovens não consumidores e a dez consumidores, alunos do 10.º e do 12.º anos de escolaridade. Os resultados do estudo apontam no sentido do primeiro contacto com bebidas alcoólicas decorrer em ambiente noturno por influência ativa ou tácita dos pares. O comportamento alcoólico é comum e inerente a ambientes de festa. Uma alteração de comportamento, do grupo de pertença, parece indicar para a alteração do comportamento individual, em relação ao consumo de bebidas alcoólicas. Os jovens não consumidores já experimentaram tomar bebidas alcoólicas, todavia, quer o sabor de algumas, quer os efeitos que provocam, não são estimuladores do consumo, considerando desnecessária a sua ingestão para a valorização pessoal e para a convivência interpares.Palavras-chave: Álcool, jovens, consumo, abstinência.

An information visibility-based university timetabling for efficient use of learning spaces (IVUT)

Academic institutions have limited resources that need judicious management. Building university timetables is a complex process that considers a big number of resources. Sometimes, allocating events takes place without seeing the full picture of the available resources. This leads to inefficiencies in utilization, especially with the absence of reevaluation techniques for timetables. Spaces could be underutilized or over-utilized but kept obscure due to lack of timely information. Providing updated information about spaces occupancy and utilization is important to construct resilient and adaptive timetables. Information visibility triggers re-scheduling and reallocation decisions. This paper introduces a new approach to construct resilient university timetables using genetic algorithms and data capturing technologies. The contributed approach adds a new dimension to solving the NP-hard timetabling and space allocation problems. It enables handling dynamic attendance patterns. By conducting periodical timetable assessments, appropriate spaces can be reallocated to suit the number of attendees in each event. This helps avoiding chaotic consequences resulting from space over-occupation as well as preventing the inability to use a space under the impression that is fully utilized. The developed solution relies on the use of RFID technology to enable information visibility. A case study was conducted at the Faculty of Commerce, Alexandria University, and the results are presented. Compared to current practices, the new concept proves to be an effective tool for managing timetables and resources in universities.

E-learning spaces and the digital university

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to share lessons already learned and work currently in progress from one higher education institution’s experiences of developing several flexible and technology-enhanced active learning spaces. It further proposes that the potential of such spaces can be more fully realised through the enactment of programmes of digital literacy development amongst their users. Design/methodology/approach – In identifying a convergence of profound challenges facing higher education and proposing that innovations in physical learning spaces are one approach to addressing such challenges, the paper examines a number of institutional policies and initiatives for rethinking and redesigning several physical classroom environments. It sets internal findings and position statements amidst a broader context of relevant field literature. Findings – The paper provides insights from several years of experience in higher education learning space development, including the benefits of iterative experimentation, the consultative role of a multi-stakeholder specialist group, the challenges of balancing pedagogic need with often conflicting institutional requirements and the value of varied programmes of staff development. Originality/value – This paper’s insights will be of value to individuals and institutions engaged in reconsidering their provision of physical classroom spaces in higher education and to those promoting the effective use of learning spaces in the digital university.

Noise in Schools: A Holistic Approach to the Issue

Much of the research evidence relating to the physical learning environment of schools is inconclusive, contradictory or incomplete. Nevertheless, within this confusing area, research from a number of disciplines, using a range of methodologies, points to the negative impact of noise on students’ learning. In this paper, drawing on our systematic review of learning environments we review the weight of evidence in relation to noise, considering what implications the results of these studies have for the design and use of learning spaces in schools. We make four key points. Firstly that noise over a given level does appear to have a negative impact on learning. Secondly that beneath these levels noise may or may not be problematic, depending on the social, cultural and pedagogical expectations of the students and teachers. Thirdly we argue that when noise is deemed to be a difficulty, this finding cannot simply be translated into design prescriptions. The reasons for this indeterminacy include differing understandings of the routes through which noise produces learning deficits, as well as relationships between noise and other elements of the environment, particularly the impacts of physical solutions to noise problems. Finally, we suggest that solutions to noise problems will not be produced by viewing noise in isolation, or even as part of the physical environment, but through participatory approaches to understanding and adapting the structure, organisation and use of learning spaces in schools.

Learning Spaces for Higher Education

Effective teaching and learning in higher education are often restricted because of the nature of available learning spaces. Both the planning and the use of learning spaces needs careful attention. Contributions from architects, users, educationists and students can be helpful in formulating decisions regarding the physical facilities for presenting information, for teacher‐student interaction and for other learning activities considered desirable in higher education.