Bridges CETL

 

Background & Context

 

Start and End dates

 

Planning started in July 2005. Building finished in around Feb/March 2006.

 

What was the context of the development?

 

Bridges - a Centre for Excellence in Teaching & Learning (CETL) supporting Personal, Career and Professional Development through the Undergraduate Curriculum.

 

Type of project

 

The project was a refurbishment, the site originally was partly a bookshop, partly a rundown classroom and also a learning resources centre IT training space.

 

Case Study tags: learning spaces, refurbishment, university of bedfordshire, south-east england, higher education

 

What is it?

 

The whole space, which is divided into 3 distinct areas, is the Centre for Excellence in Teaching and Learning (CETL) in Personal Development Planning and Employability. One of the spaces is a 'Social Learning Space', a fairly open informal area with a reception area, some coffee space and tables just to sit and talk or work on projects. There is also the 'Formal Space'. This is a bookable, easily rearranged space more like a small conference room. The third space is a Creative Space with tables for four, access to comp

uters (removable laptops), specialist facilitation software and white walls all around the room. The space also has variable coloured lighting. Also there are the CETL offices and small shared meeting rooms.

 

What happens in the space?

 

The official launch was in April 2006 and in the early days it was used mainly by staff groups. Increasingly staff are teaching in the space and using the space creatively to its potential. The space, especially in the creative space, is used for supporting students in their personal development, for enhancing students' learning and allowing them to practice their skills to make them more employable.

 

There are different groups of students and staff using the space for typical lecturing or learning but it is also used for workshops, conferences, away-days, planning/strategy meetings, presentations and exams. The volunteering service brings groups of students for their workshops or for different projects. Aim Higher is using the space quite extensively with students considering studying at HE level; it has been used as an assessment centre and for recording interviews for future employment. The space is also used for collaborative activities.

 

As the space is multifunctional the social spaces are often used after an official staff meeting, for lunch or break times or for individuals to meet. The social space lends itself to networking opportunities promoting collaboration between colleagues in different departments around the university. Staff also bring visitors (academics, employers etc) to the space for informal discussions.

 

Students enjoy coming to this space and they appreciate having lectures and other activities here; they say it makes them more interested in the subject, more alert, and also they see this space as very professional and preparing them for future work-related activities.

 

Pedagogic principles have been behind the design of the space. The CETL wanted to have three kinds of teaching environment because they strongly believed that in order to learn effectively it is necessary to move between the formal, creative and social aspects of learning.

 

Funding Sources

 

CETL Capital Funding.

 

Cost of Project

 

£850,000 including cost of moving of the original IT training room.

 

Technology

 

There are 24 laptops and 6 different coloured round tables in the creative space, people are grouped in fours. The facilitator has access to a master PC and a variety of display equipment. The laptops are linked to a large screen visible to all in the room. This allows, in conjunction with specialist software, participants to work individually and confidentially, and then discuss ideas more openly.

Multimedia facilities and the ability to record different kinds of presentations are available. Facilitate Pro, sophisticated brainstorming software, is used for voting and showing instant results. This has proved to be very beneficial not only for brainstorming but for research, for on-line focus groups, for different discussions and for planning as well. Being anonymous both staff and students like it as it gives them a freedom to say whatever they feel.

 

Also available are storage for laptops so that they can be removed when not in use, a writeable wall covering most of the room, and a box of creative toys that are used for ice breakers and creating different models.

 

There is a lectern with 2 screens; one screen has the image projected on the screen behind the lecturer and the other one that the presenter can work on unseen by those present.

 

Adding Value

 

The University believes that pedagogy should be the driver not technology but obviously technology is very helpful. Feedback indicates that the Facilitate Pro anonymous brainstorming software and the walls are the key features of the spaces. Providing the two in one space enable seamless working - moving between the technology, the walls and discussion.

 

Success Factors

 

What Makes The Space Successful?

 

It is the three types of spaces within the CETL that interact and support each other. The networking and opportunity to go to different spaces and do things in different ways is very useful. Users believe it adds value, looks professional and that it is the kind of space that they want to come back to. More and more staff are coming here to sit and work on their laptops or to read a newspaper or to talk with colleagues from different departments. It's been very successful and useful.

 

The different coloured tables make it easy for presentations.

 

Laptops are not always on the tables as it is not the technology that drives the teaching; it is up to the staff member or lecturer to decide what to do.

 

Because the space has been successful other spaces in the University have been created and there are plans to develop a larger social learning space for students and new creative, project-based, spaces in Business during 2007. Each space is planned with different types of equipment and technology in them - but each with the pedagogy in mind.

 

What Is Innovative About The Design And The Use Of The Space?

 

People like using the writeable wall; its length and visibility allows detailed stories/timelines to be developed - and kept as ideas are further explored. Also the flexibility of the space, the ability to move between different modes of learning and its use for collaborative activities have been very successful.

 

Top Tips

 

• Make sure it is the pedagogy that drives the development of the space not the technology.
• Don't make technology intrusive.
• Consider maximising the flexibility for chairs, tables, equipment etc. so as not to be restricted in the space.

 

Lessons Learned

 

• The Creative Space was deliberately located furthest from the street so it is quiet but this means it doesn't have enough natural light as it only has one small window. This is why the artificial lighting is being enhanced.
• The Formal Space, on the main street, gets too noisy in the summer if the window is opened, so adding air conditioning is being considered.
• Booking criteria have been developed as the space is now very popular with staff and the booking diary is full almost all the time.
• At the time of creation the power supply was not fully considered and the lighting controls are too far away from the lectern. This is being rectified.

 

Post Occupancy: Changes Made As A Result Of Feedback

 

Feedback is through interviews using emails and 1-2-1 interviews but also via Facilitator-Pro software (online). A researcher conducts research across the university. Open questions are posed to encourage people to give full answers. After each session, information (teaching/meeting etc) is gathered using Facilitator-Pro - people enjoy this method of collecting feedback as they also learn how to use the technology.

 

To inform the future strategy, lecturing staff are directly emailed and interviewed about teaching and learning, their different uses of the space and what spaces will be needed in the future.

 

There are also some quick and dirty feedback forms for people to fill out and leave. This is an ongoing form of feedback.

 

24 students can use the Creative Space and the CETL is investigating how can accommodate more students at one time.

 

In the Creative Space it was found that the lighting was too strong and new adjustable lighting is being put in to give more control.

 

Contact details

 

Maja Jankowska: Maja.Jankowska@beds.ac.uk