Learning Plaza

The melting pot where different forms of education meet simultaneously

How is the space used? 

A Learning Plaza is characterised by a varied and shared use of the space. The plaza offers a mix of functions for formal and informal learning, and for students and staff: instruction, discussion, group work, meetings, lunch, independent study, flexible workspaces, Active Learning Classroom concepts, and relaxation. These activities take place in different zones. The idea is that the space should be available as a place to study if it has not been fully booked as a location for formal education. An information screen at the entrance will show when the space is available. Instructors will be able to book the space for teaching. Depending on the number of students in the course, multiple instructors may be able to use the space at the same time. Different learning activities may take place in the various zones of the space simultaneously.

In development

This Future Learning Space is still being developed. This means that based on feedback of teachers and students, which is cumulated during the first period of the academic year 2022-2023, the Learning Plaza will be further adapted. These changes might be focused on improving acoustics, having more flexible furniture or using the space in a more informal way. The aim is to combine this feedback with experiences gained from research where a Learning Plaza has been applied on a smaller scale, such as the Coll@b and the PPE Commons room in Utrecht. Maastricht University has also recently launched a pilot with a Learning Plaza. Naturally, we will include their preliminary results in the follow-up, and we expect that we will be able to experiment with the concept in the Innovation Lab once it is complete.

If you have any experiences that you want to share with us, with regard to the Learning Plaza, or have any other feedback which we can use with the further development, please send an email to fls@uu.nl

Practical information

The Learning Plaza has been furnished at:

• Former canteen of the Minnaert building
• Capacity: 150

Reservations:

For recurring use of a Future Learning Space, please contact your faculty scheduler. An introductory interview is part of the process. Please note! Deadlines for booking an FLS for regular education are communicated via intranet.

For the occasional use of a Future Learning Space outside of regular education, you can use the self-service module TE Reserve.

Do you have questions or would you like a tour? Send an email to fls@uu.nl

Suitable for: interactive learning, group work, one-on-one interaction, computer labs (Bring Your Own Device), digital poster presentations, instruction for part of the lesson (this room is not ideal for lessons that are entirely composed of classroom instruction).