Learning Resources

Book Review: Academic Library Makerspaces

A Practical Guide to Planning, Collaborating, and Supporting Campus Innovation

By: Karen Merritt, PhD

Built on the authors’ wide-ranging examination of the literature and examples drawn from a variety of higher education institutions, this book offers a detailed roadmap of steps and strategies for planning these facilities and successfully integrating them into the academic fabric of an institution.

From Volume 49 Number 2 | January–March 2021

Abstract: by Katy B. Mathuews and Daniel J. Harper
Rowman & Littlefield: Lanham, MD: 2020
166 pages
ISBN: 978-1-4408-7206-6
ISBN (e-book): 978-1-4408-7207-4

Institutions Mentioned: Ohio University-Main Campus
Planning Types: Campus Planning
Tags: Active Learning Environments, Learning Environments, Library, Library Planning, Maker Space

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De-Densifying Classrooms in the COVID-19 Era

A Scalable and Accurate Non-Linear Model Projects New Distanced Space Capacities

By: Kimberly S. Koverman and Ann P. Kalayil

Columbia College Chicago’s “logistic growth model,” a mathematical model that is adaptable to highly variable campus spaces, gives priority to human-centered solutions while also promoting physical and emotional well-being. It can flexibly accommodate instructors, teaching assistants, and students for different pedagogical uses and within different types of facilities.

From Volume 48 Number 4 | July–September 2020

Abstract: Campus space planning generally involves the use of linear models that apply a simple square-foot-per-person calculation to determine capacities for different room sizes. Most return-to-campus strategies following the easing of COVID-19 shelter-in-place restrictions involve modification of these models, increasing square-footage-per-person to accommodate six feet of distancing. This provides reasonable upper and lower capacity estimates, but it does not yield accurate estimates across different room sizes and room types. Columbia College Chicago has developed a non-linear model that is both scalable and accurate, resulting in estimates that match test fits across all observed spaces.

Institutions Mentioned: Columbia College-Chicago
Planning Types: Campus Planning
Tags: COVID-19, Facilities Planning, Flexible Learning Spaces, Learning Environments

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Universal Design in the Age of COVID-19

Changes Are Demanding That Campuses Include All Learners

By: Greg Havens

Demographics on campuses have changed, expectations for accessibility have increased, and the COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the need to provide inclusive experiences for all learners. Thirty years after the ADA was signed into law, much has been achieved; however, there is more to be accomplished at colleges and universities if we are to provide inclusive experiences for all learners. A renewed approach to campus planning and design, informed by the principles of Universal Design and Universal Design for Learning, and with a commitment to delivering hybridized online and in-person models of educational delivery, is needed now.

From Volume 48 Number 4 | July–September 2020

Abstract: In context of COVID-19, institutions are developing new approaches to online learning at an unprecedented pace. Looking ahead, this great experiment may offer lessons for broadening the definition of accessibility. Three decades after the Americans with Disabilities Act established minimum accessibility standards for the built environment, this moment of accelerated change presents a unique opportunity to utilize hybrid delivery models and universal design principles to rethink accessibility. Sasaki principal Greg Havens examines how continued emphasis on improvements to the physical environment, when combined with hybrid learning and services, could transform the way we plan the human-centered, accessible campuses of tomorrow.

Institutions Mentioned: Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Lincoln University of Pennsylvania
Planning Types: Campus Planning, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Planning
Tags: Accessibility, Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), COVID-19, Facilities Planning, Learning Environments, Online Learning, Underserved Students

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Challenging “If You Build It, They Will Come”

Success of Active Learning Is About More Than the Space

By: Jeffrey Ashley, Susan Frostén, Jeffrey Klemens

Active learning spaces can be catalysts for improved teaching and learning. Yet the key to planning for and effectively implementing them on campus is faculty who are willing to change, accept, and evolve their instructional delivery.

From Volume 48 Number 2 | January–March 2020

Abstract: Five years ago, Thomas Jefferson University East Falls Campus (formerly Philadelphia University) planned and implemented an initiative to more mindfully design spaces that optimize active and collaborative teaching and learning. For active learning spaces to be true change agents at the institutional level, we suggest colleges and universities ground an active learning space initiative in the institution’s mission and strategic goals, designate a coordinator to involve stakeholders throughout the entire project, identify faculty members willing to participate, and build a network of support structures within which those faculty members can share their ideas and experiences.

Institutions Mentioned: Thomas Jefferson University
Planning Types: Academic Planning, Campus Planning
Tags: Active Learning Environments, Engaging Stakeholders, Faculty, Learning Environments, Teaching and Learning

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Super-Sizing Active Learning

The University of Illinois at Chicago had small spaces. It was time to trade up.

By: Ellen Bailey Dickson and Sara Gaum

Campuses are familiar with small spaces outfitted with active learning design, but what could be added to a large space—such as a lecture hall for freshman pre-requisite courses—to keep students engaged in the instruction?

From Volume 48 Number 1 | October–December 2019

Abstract: While small-scale active learning classrooms are common on campuses, large-scale active learning environments are just being explored. This University of Illinois at Chicago study explores the research, planning, and communication that was required to develop large-scale active learning environments that incorporated innovative teaching, immersive education, and cutting-edge technology to contribute to student success.

Institutions Mentioned: University of Illinois at Chicago
Planning Types: Campus Planning
Tags: Academic Facility, Active Learning Environments, Facilities Planning, Learning Environments

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College Campus Landscapes Within a Learning Ecosystem

By: Kathleen G. Scholl,Gowri Betrabet Gulwadi

College campus landscapes may help restore student attentional capacity for learning when intentionally viewed as educational resources or integrated with academic content.

From Volume 46 Number 2 | January–March 2018

Abstract: College campus landscapes are touted as symbols of “greenness,” displaying trees, vegetation, and flowering bushes for aesthetic appeal. Features such as a lawn to sit on between classes or a tree to gather under for course sessions may collectively and purposefully enhance student capacity for cognitive functioning and information processing or, simply, “learning.” In a place of learning where virtual environments and campus landscapes coexist, attention is an essential element of perceptual and cognitive operations. A key goal of the study described in this article is to better understand how to leverage regular and purposeful interactions with campus landscapes to help restore student attentional capacity for learning.

Planning Types: Campus Planning
Tags: Landscape / Open Space, Learning Environments

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The Value of Higher Education Academic Makerspaces for Accreditation and Beyond

By: Vincent Wilczynski,Aubrey Wigner,Micah Lande,Shawn Jordan

Institutions of higher education are incorporating makerspaces and skills on their campuses in support of institutional goals and accreditation requirements.

From Volume 46 Number 1 | October–December 2017

Abstract: Over the last decade, many academic institutions, from elementary schools to universities, have added academic makerspaces to their campuses. This development has enabled students and faculty to come together and collaborate, design, fabricate, and learn in shared spaces. This article describes how the creation and incorporation of academic makerspaces in a university learning ecosystem can help achieve accreditation. Specific examples are drawn from ABET’s engineering accreditation criteria. The article also explores how academic makerspaces can enhance teaching objectives and student outcomes by providing a space for learning technological skills within social contexts in interdisciplinary communities of practice.

Planning Types: Campus Planning
Tags: Accreditation, Learning Environments, Maker Space

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Strategies to Successfully Navigate the Design of STEM Facilities

A Case Study at the University of Mississippi

By: Shirine Boulos Anderson,Maurice Eftink

Successfully planning interdisciplinary, inter-college STEM facilities requires a special set of tools to navigate the challenges that arise when dealing with a diverse set of users.

From Volume 45 Number 4 | July–September 2017

Abstract: Colleges and universities are increasingly planning interdisciplinary, inter-college STEM facilities and need tools to address the special challenges that arise when dealing with a diverse set of users. This article discusses the importance of articulating a STEM vision as a means to prioritize building program components while maintaining project goals. It describes effective strategies for organizing diverse user groups, anticipating potentially challenging group dynamics, in a programming process that yields consensus about common goals and shared resources. It discusses layout strategies that support the mission of the building and an approach to STEM building governance that is independent of a particular college or department. The University of Mississippi is used as a case study.

Planning Types: Campus Planning
Tags: Facilities Design, Interdisciplinary Learning Environments, Learning Environments, Science / Engineering Facility, Science Technology Engineering and Math (STEM)

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The Challenge of Making Buildings Flexible

How to Create Campuses That Adapt to Changing Needs

By: Cliff Cort,Glenn Cort,Rusty Williams

How can buildings be both flexible and concrete? The answer is critical as institutions try to keep up with rapid changes in technology, curriculum, teaching techniques, and demographics.

From Volume 45 Number 4 | July–September 2017

Abstract: How can buildings be both flexible and concrete? It’s a contradiction in terms and a huge challenge facing university planners and facility managers as they try to keep up with rapid changes in technology, curriculum, teaching techniques, and student demographics. This article explores some of these trends in education and how construction techniques are evolving to meet the need for reconfigurable spaces.

Planning Types: Campus Planning
Tags: Facilities Design, Flexible Learning Spaces, Learning Environments, Technology Infrastructure

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Is a Capital Project on Your Plate?

A Guide to Developing Effective Places for Teaching and Learning

By: Robert Mention

Here are eight steps proven to help planners navigate the complexities and avoid the pitfalls that are too often part of the process when planning and funding capital projects.

From Volume 45 Number 4 | July–September 2017

Abstract: Do you have facility needs, like the need for more/improved space for instruction or infrastructure upgrades? Is it time to address deferred maintenance issues? Do you have reservations about venturing into unfamiliar territory? You’ll have to wrestle with some vexing matters—plan alternatives, big budgets, illusive funding sources, and an uninformed public.
Your concerns are valid. With a rich background as architectural firm principal and later as a community college project manager, the author has been through the drill. This article’s thoughtful advice details a project’s first phases—from initial concepts to developed projects with funding. It will head you toward success by helping to avoid the pitfalls.

Planning Types: Campus Planning
Tags: Capital Planning, Communication, Community Engagement, Facilities Planning, Learning Environments, Town and Gown

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