Supporting decision-making on teaching and learning spaces

This paper presents initial research outcomes of an on-going process of conceptual decision-making regarding the planning, design and use of new teaching and learning spaces for all academies on the new campus of the NHTV Breda University of Applied Sciences. The outcome of this research presents a conceptual framework for all future teaching and learning spaces, and is the results of the translation of the Educational Vision of NHTV 2014-2019 into a design blueprint (Graf, 2015). This design blueprint will be used as guiding principal in consulting with academies regarding their desired level of facility functionality and serviceability in delivering educational excellence.A comprehensive approach to data collection, analysis and multi-party involvement in decision-making was deemed a critical prerequisite for ensuring the validity of the design blueprint as conceptual framework. Based on the process steps of the Accommodation-Choice Model (Van der Voordt et al., 2011), the research design consisted of 3 parts: (i) identifying and interpreting all relevant existing information on the planning, design and use of teaching and learning spaces, (ii) identifying all relevant organisational and educational objectives for and with the new teaching and learning spaces, and (iii) making conceptual decisions regarding the planning, design, and use of all future teaching and learning spaces on the NHTV Campus.Preliminary results of the study emphasizes the need for creating optimal facility flexibility by ensuring all teaching and learning spaces can accommodate and facilitate multiple modes of teaching and learning. In developing the design blueprint previous research on the future learning environment on the NHTV Campus by Graf (2015) was used to identify 5 recognisable spatial typologies for teaching and learning, and to develop a matrix for indicating the extent to which these spatial typologies support the 3 primary ways of learning. By adapting the design blueprint as originally proposed by Finkelstein et al. (2014), outcomes of this matrix was were used to define the required functionality and serviceability of the various teaching and learning spaces with regards to space / layout, furniture, technologies, acoustics and lighting / colour.The study provides a valid and transparent approach to multi-party decision-making on academy-specific requirements for all new teaching and learning spaces on the NHTV Campus