Learning Resources

Abstract: Makerspaces designed for collaborative learning are appearing on campuses throughout the United States, including at Drexel University. These spaces succeed because they permit students to collaborate, observe, and learn from professors and peers. Unique to the Drexel project is the intermingling of engineering undergraduates, graduate students, post-docs, faculty, and commercial interests in one facility with laboratories, machine-shop equipment, and informal study areas. Facilities that give students great visibility into nearby research, contain areas where they can take breaks without leaving the building, and lend themselves to informal encounters with peers, faculty, and others result in better academic experiences for undergraduates.

Abstract: Industry and academia are partnering like never before as entrepreneurship and maker culture become more important to our economy and a regular fixture in higher education curricula. With the influx of allied industry partnerships, evolving pedagogies, entrepreneurship programs, and a maker culture comes a pressing need for new spaces, ranging from fabrication and prototyping studios to innovation districts devoted to new kinds of research partnerships. Schools like the University of Washington, Babson College, and Arizona State University are leading the way on new collaborations. In this article, Sasaki planners and urban designers examine how design disruption will guide the development of campuses that enable 21st-century teaching, learning, and research paradigms.

Abstract: Leers Weinzapfel Associates recently talked with campus planners and facilities directors nationwide about the big issues driving campus planning. Rapidly evolving pedagogies are demanding radical rethinking of effective teaching and learning spaces. Better use and optimal configuration of these venues is key as the stereotypical “sage on the stage” mode of instruction rapidly expands through a wide range of interactive, hands-on, and socially enhanced settings. Several examples of the firm’s work—the University of Massachusetts Amherst John W. Olver Design Building, the University of Arkansas (Fayetteville) Stadium Drive Residence Hall, and the Wentworth Institute of Technology (Boston) Multipurpose Academic Building—substantiate these findings in practice.

Abstract: A critical concern of universities today is ensuring that students remain in their selected major and graduate promptly. In addition, there has been a renewed emphasis on scientific education presented to non-science majors. Through the renovation of the Ritenour Building, Penn State’s Eberly College of Science created an Academic Support Center as a hub of advising and assistance for prospective students, science majors, and science education. The center’s layout provides opportunities to share knowledge of science teaching with advising staff and the online learning department. The design of this space has been crafted to enhance these retention and educational goals.

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.

Abstract: The design of higher education facilities is increasingly seen by university leadership as a strategic tool to attract and retain top faculty, staff, and students. The design of space has also been linked to increased levels of innovation, creative thinking, and collaboration. But with greater pressure from state and national governments to cut costs, how can institutions of higher learning ensure that the buildings they design are cost efficient and still effective? In her article, architect and SCUP member Debi McDonald outlines five trends in higher education design and how they can assist institutions in meeting their objectives.

Abstract: This article describes the planning process undertaken at a large, regional comprehensive university to create a space within existing buildings aimed at improving student success in introductory mathematics. It demonstrates the need for integrated planning grounded in academic priorities and student success models.

Abstract: The demand for interdisciplinary teaching and research suggests the need to understand how universities are undertaking and fostering interdisciplinarity. Through an examination of strategic and master plans at 21 research universities, this article explores how institutions plan and foster interdisciplinary engagement through the use of space on campus. The construction of such space acknowledges that the discrete functions of the university, frequently attributed to the disciplines and departments, are not generally conducive to interdisciplinary engagement. Physical space is a necessary component for successful interdisciplinary initiatives both functionally and symbolically.