New learning spaces: Transforming the way we teach, learn and research

Four AMICAL institutions will provide ideas on further design/redesign/transformation and evaluation of learning spaces, by sharing of their experience of conceptualizing the new spaces, and reflecting on what they have been able to achieve in terms of transformation of the processes (learning and working) taking place in the new spaces.

A common guiding principle for all our institutions when redesigning our respective learning spaces, appears to be the understanding that learning occurs anytime, anywhere, and is socially constructed, thus whether we will present from a teachers, learner, librarian, or designer’s perspective, we will look into how this principle has affected our design, work, and how it is experienced by students and teachers. While our experiences are broad, AUP and AUCA will stress on use for and effect on learning of a broad variety of learning spaces (classrooms, study areas, library, lounges and cafes) and the way these spaces support teacher-learner and learner-learner interactions. Forman Christian College and AUA will look more closely into the redesign of the Information Commons and Library respectively, and the librarians’ perspective on the way there spaces facilitate librarian- student collaboration but also how these spaces have affected students collaboration in a more strictly academic matter. All of us will also reflect on the way the new designs have affected the services (academic and extracurricular) we offer to students and faculty. We will be able to offer our audience a in-depth discussion about the designers’ ideas (the perspective of AUCA architect Henry Myerberg, and David Horn, Director of AUP Campus Planning and Facilities), the realisation of these designs, and the experience we - faculty and librarians, have had of these. We will also be able to report on how our respective spaces fit or change the urban landscape (AUCA, AUP, Forman Christian College) and what impact our spaces have on the larger community in our respective regions.