Innovative Physical Learning Spaces (usually shortened as Learning Spaces) have been an important issue for Higher Education institutions for several years now. Active Learning Classrooms, Collaborative Lecture Theaters, Learning Commons, Learning Centers and other Transitional Spaces are all examples of these new-generation spaces appearing on campuses.
Since 2016, UNIF has been monitoring Learning Spaces on an international scale, visiting more than 250 spaces on five continents, and building up an extensive documentary database. At the same time, we are conducting an international comparative study of strategic, operational, pedagogical and technological trends relating to these same spaces, which has attracted a great deal of attention, leading us to speak on the topic at major international conferences every year (in particular EDUCAUSE, see the corresponding reports) and to be regularly published in scientific journals in France and abroad.
These achievements have already enabled us to support several of our member institutions in various renovation and space conversion projects, and even campus relocations. UNIF has also been directly involved in setting up reference tools such as the French version of the Learning Space Rating System, or the FLEXspace database.
Aware of the inherent challenges in the middle and long term, and in particular the transformations related to the Hybrid and HyFlex configurations that have emerged from the COVID pandemic, we have decided to formally integrate the topic of Learning Spaces into our Professional Development Programs, in the form of a new dedicated course starting in early 2023. This addresses the issues of Learning Spaces in a comprehensive manner, integrating their typological, strategic, operational, and practical dimensions. We have thus developed six modules, organized into two parts, which concern stakeholders, project leaders, and future users, first and foremost teachers.
The Concepts & Fundamentals part will offer all audiences an approach to the different types of Learning Spaces: Multipurpose Active Learning Classrooms, Specialized Active Learning Classrooms, Collaborative Lecture Theaters, Learning Commons and Learning Centers, and finally Transitional Spaces. Each of the modules will present basic concepts as well as typical uses, all illustrated by several significant international examples.
The aspects related to Management & Design will concern on the one hand the questions of steering, integration into the policies of institutions, and quantitative and qualitative evaluation of the spaces, and on the other hand the aspects related to their design itself (furnishing and layout, power supply and acoustic management, audiovisual equipment and collaboration, adaptation of spaces to Hybrid/HyFlex configurations).
These different modules will be largely supplemented and illustrated by content (photos/videos/360° views/time-lapse), frameworks, tools, interviews, publications and other materials from our documentary collection, our international survey and our research activities. The purely pedagogical issues relating to these Learning Spaces, and in particular those relating to the redesign of courses in Hybrid and HyFlex configurations, will be addressed in our Teaching with Digital course.
This program is regularly updated to reflect the evolutions of these spaces.
Registrations for the different modules can be done as usual on our website. We are at your disposal for any further information: formation@unif.fr