Creating Shared Learning Spaces: The North Quad Experience

Like many campuses today, the University of Michigan is committed to creating learning opportunities to help students discover how to take risks, to innovate and reinvent themselves, to welcome new situations, and to embrace diverse opinions. Guided by these goals, the university set out to create two unique learning spaces within the new North Quadrangle Residential and Academic Complex (North Quad).

The first building of its kind on Michigan's campus, North Quad combines a 450-bed residence hall with space housing three academic programs: the departments of Communication Studies and Screen Arts and Cultures (both from the College of Literature Science and Arts); and the School of Information. North Quad also houses two co-curricular units: the Sweetland Center for Writing and the Language Resource Center.

Recognizing the importance of providing formal and informal learning spaces throughout the complex, we the working group (of which we three were members) focused on creating shared or common spaces such as small group collaboration rooms, gallery and presentation spaces, studios, and informal performance and social spaces. These shared spaces are designed to be flexible and multi-purpose.

This article focuses on the development of two North Quad spaces: the Media Gateway, an interactive lounge; and Space 2435, a flexible, interactive learning space. Initially, our working group planned to focus primarily on technology, but a pivotal question about student involvement led us to hold focus groups to gather student input and expand our vision for the space. Embracing our students' voices helped us create spaces that further push the boundaries of learning by promoting interdisciplinary collaboration, providing technology-rich resources, and celebrating student work. We also realized early on the need for sufficient staffing support to implement and sustain this vision.

Initial Vision

The concept of shared spaces across multiple units was relatively new to our largely decentralized campus. Although most of us could easily imagine how the shared TV studio and dining hall could be scheduled and co-owned by the community, the Media Gateway and Space 2435 were the least defined and hardest to conceptualize.

As originally envisioned, the Media Gateway was to function much like a hotel lobby, in both physical and programmatic design. It was seen as a place where students, faculty, and staff could meet between classes and appointments. Focused on information sharing and collaboration, the space combined casual lounge seating with high-end technology. However, it was difficult to visualize how this space — which was physically located in the heart of the building — could become more than a utilitarian passageway from one place to another.

Less programmatically structured than the Media Gateway, Space 2435 was originally designated as space for an external retailer. After it became clear that the retail operation was not viable, university officials decided to move in another direction. So, with the rest of the building close to completion, we had a blank space requiring both programming and design.

A programming working group formed to articulate the vision for North Quad's shared spaces included faculty and staff members from among the building's future occupants, staff from the provost's office, and a librarian. Our group developed a set of programmatic goals and visions for the Media Gateway and Space 2435 (see table 1) focusing on seven key factors: immersion, literacy, creation, collaboration, connectivity, flexibility, and inclusion.

Table 1. Vision for the North Quad's Shared Spaces*

The group's full set of recommendations, which followed these vision statements, was submitted to the university's administration. Although the administrators complimented the plan, they asked a pivotal question: Where is the student voice?

Embracing the Student Voice

"Students were genuinely excited to provide input about the North Quad common spaces and enthusiastically shared a wide range of ideas."
—North Quad student focus group facilitators¹

In response to administrative urging to incorporate student perspectives into our programming plan, we organized a series of focus groups to gather student feedback about the building's shared spaces.

Focus Groups: Recruitment and Structure

We sent e-mail invitations to key groups of student stakeholders promising pizza and the opportunity to influence the final designs for the new building. The focus group attendees ranged from sophomores to graduate students and represented a range of disciplines. Fortunately, the timing of the focus groups allowed the building's inaugural residents to participate. They were joined by students majoring in various areas including each of the academic units in the building. We conducted six focus groups, gathering feedback from nearly 80 students. In fact, so many students wanted to contribute their ideas that we had to turn some away.

Focus group facilitators, a mix of faculty and staff affiliated with North Quad, prepared a presentation for the students that provided an overview of North Quad's shared spaces as well as the driving concepts the faculty and staff programming working group had developed to frame their vision. The attendees also viewed images of a selection of engaged learning spaces on campus. The facilitators then led the students through a guided discussion that included events and activities the working group imagined might take place in North Quad's shared spaces, as well as physical elements such as built-in technology and furniture layouts. Students were asked to evaluate the feasibility of the proposed activities and spaces and to share their own ideas.

Results

Focus group facilitators took copious notes during the sessions and met later to synthesize the data into broad categories, featured in table 2. Surprisingly, students were less concerned with robust technology than the faculty and staff members of the programming group, who saw it as a major focus. Although the students' program ideas necessitated a sophisticated technological package to implement, in their focus group feedback students said they preferred to complete work on personal devices. They also requested quiet study spaces and low-tech accessories, such as whiteboards and markers, as well as spaces for high-energy, low-tech activities such as exercise classes.

Table 2. Focus Group Themes and Student Requests

The focus group results led us to increase our focus on creating flexible spaces and expanded our understanding of how the spaces would be used. The students understood that there would be a natural shift in activities from morning to afternoon, evening, and into the night that would make flexibility particularly important. They also emphasized the importance of including previously overlooked low-tech features. Finally, the vast range of activities the students imagined would take place made it clear that North Quad's shared spaces would require adequate staffing to support those activities.

Meeting Staffing Needs

"Lectures, exhibit space, video conferencing technology, dance festival… these are all great, but I have an idea for exhibiting my film and I want to have ongoing social media to share my ideas about the film and capture what other people think about my film. Who is going to help me make that happen?"
—Focus group attendee²

Outfitting the spaces with high-end technology gave some university administrators the notion that the spaces would run themselves with little need for staffing. However, when we interviewed faculty and staff about technology-rich, heavily programmed spaces elsewhere on campus, we repeatedly heard that such spaces function properly only with a dedicated staff to carry out the vision for the space.

Expectations articulated both in the faculty and staff programming report and in the student focus groups indicated that the shared spaces at North Quad would be home to many individualized programs. Someone would need to develop meaningful, rich programs connected to North Quad's mission for the spaces, while responding to daily needs regarding furniture, catering, lighting, sound, setup, teardown, promotion, and security.

Clearly, a single position was insufficient for a large, technology-rich environment; it would take the commitment and expertise of a right-sized staff to ensure the North Quad vision moved from individual concepts to fully developed and responsive programming. This was especially important given the students' array of programming ideas, which ranged from exercise classes to fashion shows and tutoring sessions. Table 3 shows the planned tasks and anticipated success factors for dedicated support staff.

Table 3. Support Staff Tasks and Success Factors

The library, in addition to consulting for the programming group, had a proven track record for providing facilities and services to the entire campus community, especially in support of student learning. It therefore constituted a neutral party in the new building and a natural home base for the Programming Coordinator position. The programming group thus called on the library to provide an administrative home for a full-time Programming Coordinator.

Programming Coordinator

While it was clear the Media Gateway and Space 2435 would require adequate staffing for success, we did not envision staff members passively sitting at a desk. The shared spaces required a more active, engaged, and on-demand model of service. The Programming Coordinator would work with faculty, staff, and students throughout the program planning process, from idea generation to implementation. The Programming Coordinator would also be able to call on student employees for both project-based work and event staffing assistance.

The Programming Coordinator has several tasks, with the main role of engaging students throughout the creative and educational cycles of the new learning spaces. The Programming Coordinator also:

• conducts an ongoing assessment of programming and shared space usage (assessment being another area in which librarians excel);
• facilitates intersections between and among departments, while also drawing students into the process; and
• develops, manages, and presents innovative exhibits and programs designed to enrich the intellectual, educational, and cultural life of the University of Michigan campus through the North Quad facility.

Technology Coordinator

As we developed the Programming Coordinator role, it became apparent that the coordinator would not only have to effectively facilitate collaboration and programming between and among faculty, staff, and students but also properly maintain and encourage the use of North Quad's extensive technology. In addition to the already full workload planned for the Programming Coordinator, it was unlikely that a single staff member would have the skill set to ably tackle both roles, and so we created the full-time Technology Coordinator position. The Technology Coordinator serves as a steward for the complex systems in North Quad's shared spaces, from digital signage displays throughout the building to a rack of event equipment in Space 2435's AV Room. Beyond a maintenance and support role, the Technology Coordinator partners with the Programming Coordinator to help students, faculty, and staff broaden their understanding of how technology can play a role in the success of their events.

Early Experiences

In the nearly two years since North Quad welcomed its first students, faculty, and staff, programming has grown tremendously. In April 2012, Space 2435 — now the building's primary shared space — hosted 50 events, up from 21 the previous April.

The student focus group results have largely predicted the programming outcomes, from content to format to growth areas. Students repeatedly asked for flexibility, and the types of programs held in the space support that need, often over the course of a single day. In the mornings, classes might use Space 2435's screens for portfolio development work. Lunchtime might include a videoconference session, followed by a student film in the evening. Flexibility is required not only of the staff and physical space, but also of the technology. The screens must be adaptable enough to accommodate multiple inputs: VGA and HDMI cables for connecting student laptops in the morning, a resident computer streaming a webinar at noon, and a Blu Ray player to run the evening's film.

Technology Use

Actual technology use in the spaces is often a blend between what the programming group predicted students would find useful and what the focus group students said they would like to see. Although students emphasized the need for quiet study space and low-tech accessories, they took for granted the ability to draw program content from a variety of sources, as well as the physical infrastructure needed to transfer content on their personal devices to avenues for public consumption and display.

The projects described in "Experiential Learning in North Quad" explain some of the many ways the space has been used. For example, one of the first groups to use the new space was the Global Scholars Program, a unique residential community within North Quad. The group booked Space 2435 for one of its monthly challenge activities. During this activity, the 60 participants were divided into groups, and each was assigned to investigate and perform a dance belonging to a particular culture. We were prepared for them to bring a stack of iPods and had an audio cable at the ready. The students surprised us, however, and in one evening used nearly every piece of technology we installed in the space. Although some of them did have iPods, they brought audio for their dance performances in an astonishing variety of media. They carted a stereo into the room and asked to connect it to the system, for example, and some of them wanted to use their laptops to find YouTube videos of the dances being performed and then project them onto our screens. Others requested a microphone.

The Programming Coordinator's Role in Practice

The Programming Coordinator not only schedules and guides the programming but also serves as a mentor to student groups performing their work in the spaces. Students and faculty often come to the space with a desired outcome in mind, such as a creative thesis presentation or a film premiere. The Programming Coordinator then works with the person to think about all aspects of a performance, from the room configuration to the flow of the event, bringing in the Technology Coordinator to consult on the use of the room's built-in equipment. It's not uncommon for students to anxiously occupy the AV room, awaiting the final render of a film on a portable hard drive before a screening can begin. Graduate students have been know to bring one version of a poster presentation for the screens, only to return moments before the session with a new, corrected version, desperate to make the change in time. Patient, understanding staff members ensure that students can fully utilize the space; they also guide students on the path to future presentations in their careers.

Throughout the first year, the Programming Coordinator's assessment helped us adjust the envisioned programming to suit the day-to-day realities. For example, the Media Gateway is a two-floor space with seven screens intended both for student collaboration and to display work — such as films — by students and teachers. However, the use of the Media Gateway for quiet and group study made the space inappropriate to fully appreciate films, which typically include sound and demand a viewer's full attention. The Programming Coordinator therefore worked with graduate students in the School of Information to reevaluate the types of media that could be displayed in the space, and the resulting gallery-like displays proved more compatible with the Media Gateway's environment. Figure 1 shows detail of the gallery display in the Media Gateway.

Figure 1. Media Gateway detail of gallery display

Key Strategies

Although North Quad is unquestionably a striking new building on campus, stepping through its doors quickly reveals much more: It is a reflection of students' needs for space that creates community, promotes knowledge creation, and celebrates learning. Experience with North Quad has demonstrated that the following strategies enable planning and successfully delivering next-generation learning spaces.

• Incorporate the student voice early in planning. Students expect to work in a creative, informal, technology-rich, and fluid learning atmosphere that combines expertise, technology, and resources. These types of environments create opportunities for fruitful, spontaneous encounters and innovative, interactive experiences. Understanding this expectation and building it directly into the planning phase yields a richer outcome.
• Facilitate ongoing assessment and student engagement. It is not enough to gather input at the front end of a programming experience. Providing a framework for ongoing dialogue sets expectations for innovation and creative learning. It also sends a message that students are active members of a community of learning beyond the classroom. Conversations, explorations, and feedback are essential to ensure that a space continues to stay at the leading edge and that these learning spaces become physical partners in students' academic work.
• Commit to learning by doing. Buzzwords and phrases such as flipped classroom, online learning, learning through activity, and educational technologies proliferate at conferences, in online discussions and the literature, and at faculty meetings. As we create new or renovate existing spaces, our challenge is to ensure that these spaces deliver the promises inherent in these new concepts and reaffirm a commitment to learning by doing.
• Embrace expertise, innovation, and technology. Technology can be a key to learning, but technology alone does not equate to learning. It is essential that faculty and staff frame an environment that lets students engage in the concept of learning by doing. Innovation does not happen without some failure and a commitment to trying new ideas.

Conclusion

Our results indicate that a synthesis of student, faculty, and staff feedback provided an excellent framework for designing the learning spaces of North Quad, developing a staffing model, and envisioning services and programming for the shared spaces. Although the student focus group results largely predicted programming outcomes, neither the faculty nor the students accurately predicted the needs for the space alone; it was only after bringing them together that we could make informed decisions about technology, space usage, and staffing.

We hope that our experience with North Quad can be useful in a broader context, and that other institutions will consider embracing the student voice in planning and designing new campus spaces. Additionally, our programming would not have been successful without a commitment to staffing the shared spaces; this largely rested on the involvement of the Library, which provided the expertise and neutrality needed to facilitate interdisciplinary collaboration, provide technology rich resources, and celebrate student work.

1. Laurie Alexander et al., "North Quad Student Focus Groups — Summary Report," submitted to North Quad Executive Committee, January 2010.
2. Ibid.