Society for College and University Planning

Learning Studios: Case Studies of Colleges Reinventing the Learning Space

Gain the perspectives of practitioners and leaders in higher education who have consulted and guided community colleges and universities on how to utilize space as a tool to increase active and collaborative learning, strengthen student/faculty interactions, and provide a supportive learning environment. Four colleges committed to reinventing learning spaces and classroom research will be featured.

The “Learning Studio” is a design solution for obstacles inherent in traditional “space-challenged” classrooms that impact pedagogy, fixed roles, engagement, and flexibility. Millennial students are often “out of sync” with traditional learning spaces and tend to disengage from learning. Learning Studio design features reframe the relationship between teacher and student to greatly increase engagement, active and collaborative learning, interaction, and supportive learning environments.

Handouts will include the presenters’ PowerPoint and other supportive articles for your reference.

Discussion Points:    

• Assess design features of the Learning Studio model, how they can be incorporated into new/remodeled facilities, and how success can be measured.
• Understand strategies for institutional change for a new era of learning spaces in higher education.
• Discuss the characteristics of Millennials, and the challenges of educating a younger generation in an older generation learning environment.

Who Should Attend? 

• Campus leaders responsible for shaping the learning environments of their campus.
• Campus planning teams will also find this a valuable step in building a common vision for shaping a physical environment for learning that supports their vision for the intellectual and social learning environment.
• Architectural firms may find this webcast of benefit in sharing with their institutional clients.

We recommend that you watch this program with your team and use it to stimulate dialogue on your own campus.

There will be time for questions during the program and you will be able to ask them via text or phone.

Moderator:

Michael McGoff, Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education and Strategic and Fiscal Planning, Binghamton University

Michael F. McGoff is the vice provost for undergraduate education, and strategic and fiscal planning at Binghamton University (State University of New York – SUNY), and also served as acting vice president for administration last year. In his role as vice provost, he provides administrative coordination for the undergraduate programs in the various schools at Binghamton University. He is responsible for developing fiscal allocations for the University's units and for developing strategies, assessments, and information that guide decisions about University program development. Michael’s responsibility also includes the Office of Institutional Research and Assessment, the Center for Learning and Teaching, the Institute for Student-centered Learning, the Office of External Scholarships, Fellowships and Awards, the General Education Program, and the Office of Space Planning Resources. Prior to joining the provost’s staff, he was the associate dean for academic affairs and administration at the Thomas J. Watson School of Engineering and Applied Science. He is the editor of The Ehrensperger Report, an annual collection that describes the status of current research in the field of Onomastics. He earned his Ph.D from Binghamton University.

Presenters:

Homero Lopez, Pioneered the Learning Studio at Estrella Mountain Community College 

Homero Lopez is a higher education consultant and was the founding president of Estrella Mountain Community College of the Maricopa Community Colleges (Arizona) where he pioneered the Learning Studio initiative. He recently retired after 32 years of accomplishments as an instructional and administrative community college leader. He built Estrella Mountain into a nationally recognized showcase of innovation including its “Learning Studio” model classroom design in partnership with Herman Miller, Inc. and the EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative (ELI). He was a long‐time consultant‐evaluator for the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools and served on the American Association of Community Colleges Commission on Academic, Student and Community Development. He served on the National Advisory Boards for the Community College Survey of Student Engagement (CCSSE) the EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative ELI, and the National Community College Hispanic Council (NCCHC). He was known locally and nationally as a visionary leader and was recognized as a "Distinguished Graduate" of the Community College Leadership Program of the College of Education at The University of Texas at Austin. He was selected as Laredo Community College's (Texas) Top 50 Distinguished Alumni. Homero holds the B.A. and Ph.D. from The University of Texas at Austin (Community College Leadership Program), and the M.A. from the University of Michigan. He also received an A.A. from Laredo Community College (Texas).

Linda Garcia, Completed dissertation study on the Learning Studio

Linda L. García has conducted research on the Learning Studio environment and the Millennial generation students.  She has facilitated focus groups with faculty and students to understand how the Learning Studios impact engagement in the classroom. She has served as a higher education consultant to colleges and to the Learning Spaces Research Program initiative conducted by Herman Miller, Inc. As a former development research associate at The University of Texas at Brownsville and Texas Southmost College (UTB/TSC), Linda had the experience in developing grant proposals (state, federal, private) with administrators, faculty, local schools, and community organizations. The goals were to increase college retention, graduation rates, and help students transition into the workforce or the next level of higher education.  Linda has also worked for ADISA Public Relations, Inc. as a public relations assistant; the National Institute for Staff and Organizational Development (NISOD) as a Hook'Em Up newsletter editor and membership liaison; and Estrella Mountain Community College (Arizona) as a doctoral intern. She earned her Bachelor's in Journalism and Doctorate in Educational Administration from The University of Texas at Austin, and she received her Master's in Interdisciplinary Studies from The University of Texas at Brownsville.  Currently, she is employed at Lone Star College-Tomball (Texas) as a Project Manager for Educational Services, and she is the Lead for Achieving the Dream (AtD) at this campus.

Questions? Please contact Kathy Benton at kathy.benton@scup.org.