Pedagogical bodies & technological spaces

I mentioned the classroom design workshop to a group of postgraduate students whom were also doing their individual studies on various educational topics. And surprisingly, they were very interested in such issues. For example, they recognized that group discussions and group work were an important part of their learning experiences, yet the traditional classrooms in their home town universities were not too friendly to the way students are learning nowadays in higher education institutions. One of them told me that they’ve been telling the campus development people for years to pay attention to the need for flexible furnitures in lecture rooms, such as movable and re-configurable tables and chairs. And finally, the university purchased expensive re-configurable tables, which were too heavy for students to move them around without making lots of noises. So they finally gave up on using those re-configurable tables. Her point was that although the university had the money to refurbish learning spaces, and they listen to the users opinions, yet they still missed the chance to do it right, and would finally install expensive yet often under-use items.

I wondered to what extent the university really understood what my friend and others were talking about when they demand the furnitures to be movable and more flexible. My suspicion was that if they had understood that the issue was largely a teaching and learning one, rather than what new model of tables and chairs to buy, they would have made a different decision. Further still, if they understood or someone had informed them about how space can impact on teaching and learning experiences, they might even change their approach to space design when thinking about re-furbishing old classrooms.

Spaces are never just simple places where objects were placed. Even an empty space conveys certain ideas, certain norms of practice, and are embedded with people’s values, beliefs, memories and emotions.