Learning Spaces
Notes from the Learning Spaces Project Committee meeting of November 1, 2000
Attending:
Sohrab Behdad, Rob Gander, Amy Green, Jessen Havill, Larry Murdock, Jason Shuba, Scott Siddall, Elizabeth Siwo
I. The next three meetings will be approximately once every other week.
Thereafter, we will meet monthly with communications maintained through
the use of the learningspaces@denison.edu
II. A major goal for this meeting was to discuss the general approach this committee wishes to take in the assessment and enhancement of learning spaces.
This committee should not be involved in micromanaging the fine details of maintenance of learning spaces, such as reporting broken chairs, burned out lights and the like. If procedures don't already exist to handle routine issues of this nature, the committee can propose some. Committee members named several examples of shortcomings from window treatments and carpeting to hallway lighting. Several questions were raised about the boundaries of the funds for this project; what are they expected to be used for, and what not? Scott will see that more information on this subject is brought up at the next meeting.
The committee discussed the need to focus on long-term strategies and principles of good design for learning spaces. It was suggested that we tour major learning spaces during our next meeting so that we can visualize some of our discussion topics. Tours of residence halls are being conducted (Jason is leading one on December 1); committee members should attend if possible (contact Mary Philipps).
Larry noted that some faculty are teaching in spaces that were not designed for the style of teaching they practice (lectures in seminar rooms, seminars in lecture seating, etc). He recommended that the committee help departments forumulate plans for each building so there is a balance in spaces to accommodate each style of teaching and learning.
A likely approach to our work will be to create two or three model classrooms representing different styles of learning, to be tested by classes for a semester before expanding the designs to other locations. Outside expertise and the experiences at other colleges may inform these initial experiments. We talked about a taxonomy of spaces based on the types of learning that they favor, such as presentation spaces, performance spaces, reading rooms, lounges, hallways, lecture classrooms, collaborative settings, mixed lab/classrooms and more.