Improving the campus experience at the University of Toronto through student-led design
By Philippa Gosine, Senior Research Assistant
Through our user-centered consultations, we’ve realized that learning spaces are extremely personal and important places for the people that use them. Instructors and students have a strong sense of ownership over their classrooms and want to see their individual needs and preferences in the design of learning spaces.
Design Thinking Team Lead
In the Transforming the Instructional Landscape (TIL) project, we try to understand what makes a classroom work as a productive learning environment. As this work has progressed, it has expanded to include many perspectives: we started by focusing on the student experience, but came to realize that student experiences are entangled with the experiences of other people who spend time in and around classrooms, and with the spaces and things that promote learning.
By Nick Feinig, Senior Research Assistant (for the ACE-Transforming the Instructional Landscape project)
What do instructors and students have to say about instructional space at UofT? Quite a lot, it seems! Beginning in the fall of 2017, the Innovation Hub undertook an initial ethnographic study combining long form empathy interviews, participant observation in classrooms around campus, and data lifted from a social media campaign as part of ACE’s Transforming the Instructional Landscape (TIL) project. Instructor feedback was also solicited through a dedicated portion of the TIL website. Analysing this data, our research team determined that both students and instructors recognize the importance of thoughtfully managed space to the learning process, while the former in particular have powerful memories associated with certain campus spaces.
By Suzie Kim, Communications Team
Shape your future classroom! As part of Academic and Campus Event’s Transforming the Instructional Landscape project, the Innovation Hub is bringing the design process into the U of T community. Join us in the Bahen Atrium and Med-Sci Lobby so we can ask you: what makes a classroom great?
By Darren Clift, Writer
Each cohort of students arrives at UofT with unique considerations and learning style preferences. Today’s students are digital natives; technology is a fundamental tool for socialization and self-improvement in their lives. Since students’ needs have changed, classrooms and teaching methods must adapt. A standard room with standard desks might not favour learning, while a standard lecture style might distract rather than inspire.
When physical spaces are intentionally designed with different layouts and types of furniture, this can foster collaborative environments that meet various needs. In this blog, Jennifer shares her experiences of looking for a study space after graduation and how this exploration helped create positive change in other areas of her life. Jennifer’s personal experiences align with the classroom redesign research conducted by the Innovation Hub through Transforming the Instructional Landscape (TIL).
Jennifer Ayow, Blog Writer, Honours Bachelor of Science, Neuroscience Major, Psychology and Digital Humanities minors
Check out the Innovation Hub Annual Report 2022-23. Learn about what we have been up to and discover how to get involved in the work.
Written by Julia Allworth, Manager, Innovation Projects
One Innovation Hub team shares their experience working with Tech2U, a program that provides direct technical support to instructors in their classroom. The team reflects on how they feel Tech2U is a program that supports both students and instructors and enhances the learning experience at the University of Toronto.
Written by Tiffany Tan, Chenyu Huang, Cindy Ly, Jackie Betel (Design Researcher); Anchana Kuganesan, Design Research Team Lead
