Harte, VA

Stewart, J

English

Leeds Beckett Repository

ALT JOURNAL NUMBER 7: WINTER 200942This article reports on the research findings of an evaluation of the Enterprise Learning Space at Old Broadcasting House (OBH), part of the Institute for Enterprise, a HEFCE-funded Centre for Excellence in Teaching and Learning. There appears to be a shift taking place within higher education with respect to the spaces where learning takes place.  This relates to the many notions of space such as physical, virtual, social and mobile.  In some circumstances the shift is obvious and straightforward, particularly in relation to the latter three because of advances in technology, universities’ capitalisation of off-campus delivery and certain suggested learning preferences of some students (Oblinger, 2003; Van Note Chism, 2002 & 2006; Lomas & Oblinger, 2006). However, in relation to physical learning spaces, the shift is less obvious, more complex and sophisticated and is taking longer to effect. It is evident from the literature that the ‘death of the lecture theatre’ could be imminent. The traditional classroom with four walls, a whiteboard and rows of tables and chairs, it is postulated, could also be a thing of the past (Oblinger, 2005; Van Note Chism, 2006; Banning & Canard, 1986; Long & Ehrmann, 2005). This is a regularly occurring theme in the literature on physical learning spaces which has gained momentum within the last ten years, particularly with the work of agencies such as the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) and the Higher Education Academy. This topic is now firmly placed on those agencies’ agendas (Temple, 2007). A recurring theme is the different terms scholars are using for these physical spaces. What once was traditionally called a ‘classroom’ is now being referred to as a ‘new’ learning space. Two factors make this shift in the spaces where learning takes place complex. First, what is a learning space? What does it look like? What makes it different from a ‘classroom’? The second factor is the theories of learning that are being applied, particularly those from cognitive psychology. It is postulated further that there is a ‘new science of learning’ (Kolb & Kolb, 2005) that supports Vygotsky’s constructivist theory of learning where individuals socially construct their knowledge through investigation and exploration, terms known to the academic community as collaborative, active and experiential learning. Theories and methods such as these suggest that the most widely used teaching and learning model, known to most as the didactic or transmission model, is becoming obsolete because of the limitations it imposes on students’ learning. The suggestion is that the transmission model is ‘one-way traffic’; the lecturer is the giver of knowledge and students are the receivers of that knowledge without any interaction, discussion or questioning, hindering a student’s development (Van Note Chism, 2006; Whisnant, 1971). Such arguments are, however, primarily anecdotal and in some cases may well be due to the individual’s preferred style of teaching. Little or no evidence-based research exists that correlates an enhancement in the student’s learning with teaching via the constructivist approach as opposed to the transmission model. It was in the context of this research that we undertook our evaluation of the learning space at OBH. The space was designed to offer non-traditional learning opportunities for students and staff to experience and widen their approaches to new forms of assessment, learning and teaching (ALT) discussed above. The space can be configured in completely flexible ways, similar to that of a tutorial room or set up for small groups working in parallel. Even though the space is referred to as the ‘Enterprise’ learning space, it is open to anyone to use, internal or external. From the evaluation perspective, we did not seek to determine whether activities were explicitly related to enterprise because much enterprise activity is implicit. In some respects, interpretation was significant in analysing data to determine whether an activity was ‘enterprise-related’. A multi-method research design was adopted in the form of questionnaires, telephone and face-to face-interviews, and observations of the space while activities were taking place. The observations proved the most rewarding in terms of value to the research because seeing first-hand how individuals interacted with the physical environment was the key to researching a physical learning space.The types of events that have taken place in the learning space are core ALT activities, core ALT assessment, student exhibitions, external exhibitions, Enterprise Week, student conferences, the Festival of Assessment, Innovation, Learning, Teaching and Enterprise, external events with speakers, master classes, technology-driven events, PR events, competition launches and the International Entrepreneurship Educators’ Conference. Numerous examples could be discussed but we have chosen just a few to describe the kind of events held in OBH and judged by students to be stimulating.“What can students do in here that they can’t do anywhere else?” Victoria Harte and Jim stewartALT JOURNAL NUMBER 7: WINTER 2009 43Case study 1: Our City Our Music Project – Innovation NorthBen Halsall and colleagues from the Visual Media School in Innovation North are involved in a location-specific project developing a ‘geolocated music album’ across Leeds, consisting of 12 bands and 12 film-makers. They have used Old Broadcasting House a number of times, initially to get the project going. First, a panel of experts selected the bands and film-makers who would participate in the project to create the album. They then ran a series of workshops for the bands and film-makers on mentoring, sound production and the use of editing software such as ‘Final Cut Pro’. The use of the large learning area enabled the small workshop groups to co-habit the space without any disruption to each group. However, one of their primary reasons for choosing OBH was because of the preferred learning styles of the successful candidates. Musicians and film-makers needed a space that offered the flexibility, technology and open space within which to be creative: the existing traditional teaching layouts were unable to provide this.Case study 2: I-Camp – Innovation and enterprise Module David Griffin and Jackie Campbell from the School of Computing re-designed a module previously delivered in a standard way for the Innovation and Enterprise module into an innovative teaching and learning model. I-Camp was a week-long core ALT activity held in OBH with its primary focus being on the students developing a product and then turning it into an enterprise. There are 700 students on the Innovation and Enterprise module, which consists of music, multimedia and computing. The event was somewhat different from last year and the course leaders decided to develop the module around the space, with the added benefit that this would provide instant feedback to the students before they went off to complete the final assessment at the end of the semester. Traditionally, feedback to the students would take weeks and any momentum gained by the students would be lost in the delay. Students attended for one day during the week, were introduced to enterprise and related concepts through attending workshops, worked in groups developing their product or concept and finished off with a presentation about their product and how they would make it enterprising. Prior to the event David and Jackie produced YouTube films that explained the objective of the day and showed the students around the space virtually. The YouTube films were available to them prior to the event so they could visualise the space in relation to what they were being asked to do. Despite the changing landscape from classroom to learning space, an innovation in teaching and learning of this kind is still rare. David and Jackie developed the delivery of this module around the space which underpins the new theories informing evolving pedagogies, including the ‘instant feedback’ concept. This example encompasses the non-traditional delivery that the space was intended to engender, thus introducing students and staff to new forms of assessment, learning and teaching. In conclusion, the learning space is proving to be a popular venue with many communities such as academics, senior management and external speakers. Most importantly, students are benefiting from the flexibility of the space and the possibilities it opens up for core assessment, learning and teaching. We can also conclude that in addition to the mainstream core ALT activity there is also core ALT enterprise activity happening, as described in the two case studies above. This increases the significance of the learning space as a platform for the teaching of enterprise. This is still a highly contested concept and one which creates many challenges for a learning and teaching model of and for enterprise. Furthermore, the arguments for and against the transmission and constructivist models also challenge assessment, learning and teaching pedagogy itself, even without the challenges posed to enterprise pedagogy. Finally, we can say that the learning space supports both the transmission and constructivist models of learning and teaching, as has been shown by the types of events and activities that are held there. However, we cannot say that the constructivist model, nor the use of the learning space itself, will improve student learning. What it will do is enable students to experience a new form of learning that they may not experience in traditional spaces. As such, a learning space like OBH is a valuable and integral support to classrooms and learning spaces; and as for the ‘death of the lecture theatre’ – we’re not holding our breath.ALT JOURNAL NUMBER 7: WINTER 200944ReferencesBanning, J. & Canard, M. (1986) The physical environment supports student development. Campus Ecologist IV(1).Kolb, A. & Kolb, D. (2005) Learning Styles and Learning Spaces: Enhancing Experiential Learning in Higher Education. Academy of Management Learning & Education 4(2), 193–212.Lomas, C. & Oblinger, D. (2006) Student practices and their impact on learning spaces. In: Oblinger, D. (ed) Learning Spaces. Boulder, Co: Educause. Available at: www.educause.edu/learningspaces [Accessed 12 October 2009].Long, P.D. & Ehrmann, S.C. (2005) Future of the learning space: breaking out of the box. Educause Review 40(4), 42-58. Available at: http://connect.educause.edu/Library/EDUCAUSE+Review/FutureoftheLearningSpaceB/40565 [Accessed 12 October 2009].Oblinger, D. (2003) Boomers, Gen-Xers, and Millennials: Understanding the ‘New Students’. Educause Review 38(4), 36-40, 42, 44-45.Oblinger, D. (2005) Leading the transition from classroom to learning spaces. Educause Quarterly 1, 14-18.Temple, P. (2007) Learning spaces for the 21st century: a review of the literature. York: The Higher Education Academy. Available at: http://www.heacademy.ac.uk/ourwork/research/litreviews [Accessed 12 October 2009].Van Note Chism, N. (2002) A tale of two classrooms. New Directions in Teaching and Learning 92(2), 5-12.Van Note Chism, N. (2006) Challenging traditional assumptions and rethinking learning spaces. In: Oblinger, D. (ed) Learning Spaces. Boulder, Co: Educause. Available at: www.educause.edu/learningspaces [Accessed 12 October 2009].Whisnant, D.E. (1971) The University as a Space and the Future of the University. The Journal of Higher Education 42(2), 85-102. Victoria HarteResearch OfficerInstitute for EnterpriseProfessor Jim StewartRunning Stream Professor of Human Resource DevelopmentFaculty of Business & Law 

A tale of two classrooms.

Boomers, Gen-Xers, and Millennials: Understanding the ‘New Students’.

Challenging traditional assumptions and rethinking learning spaces.

Future of the learning space: breaking out of the box.

Leading the transition from classroom to learning spaces.

Learning spaces for the 21st century: a review of the literature. York: The Higher Education Academy. Available at: http://www.heacademy.ac.uk/ ourwork/research/litreviews

Learning Spaces. Boulder, Co: Educause. Available at: www.educause.edu/ learningspaces

Learning Styles and Learning Spaces: Enhancing Experiential Learning in Higher Education.

Student practices and their impact on learning spaces.

The physical environment supports student development. Campus Ecologist IV(1).

The University as a Space and the Future of the University.

“What can students do in here that they can’t do anywhere else?”

“What can students do in here that they can’t do anywhere else?”

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