Exploring the ways in which campus open space design influences students’ learning experiences

ABSTRACT

Recent research conducted on campus learning environments suggests that more learning takes place outside of class time than ever before; thus, students seek alternative learning spaces in campus settings. This research focuses on open spaces within university campuses, defined as ‘campus open spaces’, as alternative learning settings and aims at answering the following questions: 1) How is learning experienced in campus open spaces? 2) What are the design attributes of learning in campus open spaces? 3) Do design attributes significantly affect learning in campus open spaces?

The paper presents an exploratory inquiry conducted with 60 students from the campus of Middle East Technical University, Turkey. By using qualitative and quantitative techniques, the paper validates that learning is experienced not only in formal learning spaces but also in informal open spaces. It presents the ways in which campus open space design influences students’ learning, offering recommendations for campus open space design.

KEYWORDS:

• Learning
• learning space
• campus design
• open space design

Acknowledgements

The authors thank the British Institute at Ankara for supporting the production process of this article.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1. Behaviourist Approach (lecture-based, teacher-focused, structured, reward-and-punishment based learning in traditional classroom layout); (2) Cognitivist Approach (curiosity-driven, inquiry-oriented, effective information organisation based in classrooms allowing interaction with outdoors); (3) Humanistic Approach (student centred and personalised, actively engaging in segmented learning places); (4) Social Learning Approach (observation and interaction-based within social spheres and contexts); 5) Constructivist Approach (experience and dialogical-based in spaces promoting communication and dialogue; 6) twenty-first Century Skill Approach (an education standards and reform movement to train children in life and career skills, global themes, information and technology, collaboration and innovation skills) (Jenkins, 2009; Jordan et al., 2008, p. 79).