Why do they study there? Diary research into students’ learning space choices in higher education

Abstract

Higher education learning and teaching methods have changed while most educational buildings are still rather traditional. Yet, there is an increasing interest in whether we can educate today's higher education students in yesterday's buildings. This paper aims to contribute to this debate by studying the learning space choices of higher education students in relation to their learning activities, personal characteristics and other considerations that may play a role in choosing particular learning spaces. A diary research method was adopted, in which 52 business management students of a Dutch University of Applied Sciences participated. They reported which learning activities they worked on during a week, where, and why there. The diary format builds on literature from various disciplines and was used in combination with a questionnaire and interviews. The findings show significant correlations between the students' learning space choices and their learning activities, their personal characteristics and their individual preferences. Because of the shift from a teacherled approach to a student-led approach, higher education institutions need to provide more informal learning spaces in open areas and quiet learning spaces for individuals and small groups.

Campus’ Informal Learning Spaces for Reading Activities and Their Relation to Undergraduates’ Responses

“…Libraries are widely used as places for preparation or revision during exams, doing assignments, meeting friends or colleagues, and completing a final dissertation (Cunningham and Walton, 2016). The emergence of the non-library category reinforces the results of previous researches (Beckers et al, 2016b;Sommer, 1970). Other studies (Beckers et al, 2016a) found catering areas, cafés, entrances, corridors, project rooms, and personal cockpits as supportive spaces.…”

Learning space preferences of higher education students

“…Personal control refers to the degree of autonomy in deciding what to do, where, and when. A diary study into higher education learning space use confirmed this desired autonomy, as students reported this aspect as one of the main reasons to study at home [57].…”

Exploring the Reading Practices of Undergraduate Students

“…A diary method has also been used in several previous studies in higher education (e.g. Bakker, Vergel & Kuntze, 2015;Beckers, van der Voordt, & Dewulf, 2016;Peterson, Brown, & Jun, 2015). However, typically diary studies take place over a longer period of time, such as a week (e.g.…”

“…However, typically diary studies take place over a longer period of time, such as a week (e.g. Beckers et al, 2016), or require participants to complete a diary on more than one occasion (e.g. Peterson et al, 2015).…”