Review Open Day Future Learning Spaces

On November 9, an internal open day took place at Future Learning Spaces. It was incredibly inspiring to share perspectives with all 35 guests. Through a tour, we visited all the Future Learning Spaces that are currently active on campus.

Experiment

First of all, we went to the Teaching and Learning Lab (TLL). Among other things, we told the guests how the idea for the Hybrid Active Learning Classroom (H)ALC originated from the TLL.

When Jasper van Winden (lecturer in the Biology program, UU) experimented with a flipped classroom in his teaching, the activating forms of work did not come out well, because he taught in traditional rooms with chairs in rows and the lecturer at the board. He spent two years converting the Teaching & Learning Lab into an Active Learning Classroom (ALC) for his teaching. This was so successful that Jasper has now had a teaching room at Utrecht University converted to HALC!

FLS is also working on a mobile set of hybrid education, based on an idea from teachers who taught in the TLL.

HALC

We also visited the Hybrid Active Learning Classroom on Bolognalaan where Len Dijstelbloem and Tom Frijns shared their experiences of what it is like teaching in the HALC. A recently published evaluation report from project FLS shows that teachers and students are very enthusiastic about the room and would like to use them more often. It became clear that didactic support for teachers in the educational design, such as the development of a lesson plan, adds value to the use of the rooms. Teachers indicated that they enjoyed doing this together with other teachers.

International visit

A delegation of staff from Aalborg University was also present during the open house. They were impressed by the program in which we discussed and showed the design, plans and results of Future Learning Spaces. The guests were particularly interested in how we at UU have organized Future Learning Spaces with an integral multidisciplinary team and the innovation cycle we use. They also showed interest in the methodologies we use for concept development. In this, they proved that Danes can actually LEGO better than the Dutch when they built prototypes for new concepts of educational spaces. For UU, it was especially inspiring to hear how Aalborg University uses outdoor space. For example, there are small glass greenhouses scattered around campus that are used as self-study spaces; students can use a communal vegetable garden; and routes have been created across campus with the goal of having consultations take place while walking.