Learning in Informal Spaces in Higher Education: A Pilot Project of an Interdisciplinary Research Model at an Urban Campus

Eve Klein The Graduate Center, CUNY

This module presents research methods that can be used to advance equitable design in educational settings. A case study piloted at an urban college campus used a mixed methods approach to understand the impact that informal spaces (spaces outside the classroom) have on strengthening learning environments for students. The interdisciplinary research team consisted of social scientists, architects, and undergraduate students. The project was conceived to address the gap between the aspirations of educational leaders in under-resourced urban schools and the limited tools that the design of educational spaces offer to address the economic and social needs of the students in these communities. This research combines qualitative methods from the social science (such as “thick” observations [Geertz, 1973]), attention to physical details (such as people’s reaction to direct vs. indirect lighting from architecture [Veitch, et. al., 2008]), and rigorous forms of data collection and evaluation. Our hypothesis is that identifying and addressing the needs of a “sited microculture” (Cranz, 2016) will ease tensions, support relationships, and increase the quality of student experience and retention. The research team conducted research on campus over the course of two years. The first year was spent identifying relevant campus-wide themes related to the student experience through semi-structured interviews with faculty, staff, and students; field observation; and a short student survey to gather quantitative data about student campus experiences and use patterns. With this rich “discovery” data, the research team spent the second year of the project working with the campus community in focus groups to develop a re-redesign of the space and then deploy the intervention. The final stage of the project was to use the same tools as the earlier phase to assess the outcomes of the re-design.