New Learning in the Old Campus: How Should University Spaces Address 21st Century Skills?

Asha Kutty (University of North Carolina Greensboro)

According to the Partnership for 21st Century Skills, a consortium of private and non-profit educational organizations, skills such as creativity, critical thinking and collaboration are gaining importance over mastering content and assimilating traditional forms of learning skills. How should University Spaces address these skills? Using a case study of a mid-western university, this research examined the ways in which informal learning spaces support the 21st century learning skills. Informal spaces are those environments where students go to learn when not attending a regularly scheduled class. Just as Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi’s pioneering research on leadership and creativity that focused on people widely recognized in their fields as creative leaders, campus student leaders were identified as the sample set exhibiting 21st century learning skills. By understanding student leader preferences on learning spaces, the study presumed that one can infer relationships between spaces and 21st century learning skills. Since it was difficult to make a direct correlation between learning outcomes and architectural spaces, we adopted a logical sequence of measurement of five factors: (i) 21st Century Skills; (ii) Learning Purpose; (iii) Learning Behaviors (iv) Informal Learning Spaces; (v) Architectural Qualities. Preferred spaces included a range of space choices from cafes and atrium spaces to private dorm rooms. Some architectural qualities were preferred than the others including movable chairs, ability to slouch, alcoves, private rooms, access to amenities such as high-tech devices (printers, computers, food/beverages, toilets) and natural elements (sunlight, large windows, shaded trees). It was interesting to learn that with all the discussions about the disappearance of the university library in a 21st Century context, student leaders showed preferences to the library as a place for learning. The research provides insights into envisioning broad strategies for old campuses to adapt to the rapidly changing higher education environment.