Over the course of four years, students spend over 1500 hours in classrooms that physically communicate universities’ values and vision of teaching and learning. Active learning spaces promote active and collaborative learning, while lecture halls perpetuate a transmission approach to teaching and learning. In the last few years, there has been a huge increase in universities’ commitment to virtual environments, from the flipped classroom to MOOCs. These virtual environments have implications for the types of transformative educational experiences that universities can offer students. While universities have been exploring the challenges and opportunities of the virtual world, for many students, Canadian universities continue to be primarily campus-based (and non-virtual) classroom experiences. Considering the virtual and physical learning environment as a coherent whole brings forward important questions related to universities’ visions of teaching and learning and implications for rethinking physical campus space.
Current campus renovations are built with the intention of lasting and meeting university space needs for the next 20+ years. What types of learning do we want to promote on our campuses, and what does this mean for physical learning spaces? Session participants will consider a number of emerging questions about the physical learning environment in light of changes to the virtual learning environment: Are we building the types of spaces that students and faculty on our campus need given the potential impact of these virtual environments now and in the future? Where will teaching and learning occur? If many courses take advantage of flipped learning, are lecture halls still necessary? Is there still a purpose of separating classrooms and teaching labs? Can our flexible spaces adapt to future needs? Will informal spaces ultimately replace the formal classroom spaces? This session will discuss the impact of virtual environments on campus learning space needs and the possibilities for addressing these needs as we move forward in the 21st century.