1991
1995
2002
2010
2013
STEM… … … … … … … … … … & Learning Commons … & Every Space a Learning Space …
• We only think when confronted with a
problem.
--John Dewey (1910)
• If we are to achieve things never
before accomplished, we must employ
methods never before attempted.
-- Francis Bacon (1561 – 1626)
• To be able to ask a question clearly is
two-thirds of the way to getting it
answered.
-- John Ruskin (1874)
The point…is to become more
adept at inventing imaginary
futures…to rethink the
assumptions we use to
understand the present.
…By increasing our capacity
to improvise…, live with
permanent ambiguity and
novelty, [we are freed] to go
beyond the predictable, to
embrace complexity.
Riel Miller (UNESCO)
Embracing Complexity and Using the
Future. ETHOS. October 2011
Questions that got us to
now
Questions that are
beginning to embrace
the future
And your audacious
questions are?
Studio Physics
Jack Wilson
1994
The term was coined by RPI physicist Jack Wilson for a
computer-based alternative to traditional physics
instruction. Studio physics is popular within the PER
community as an optimal environment for enhancing
student learning.
It is characterized by the following:
- Takes place in a dedicated room (the ‘studio’) in
which students sit at tables, rather than desks. Each
table has one computer for every two or three
students and space to do experiments.
Has little or no formal lecture.
- Emphasizes active learning through a wide
variety of short experiments (often computerbased), pencil-and paper exercises and discussion
questions.
- Emphasizes small group learning & uses
materials and methods derived from PER (physics
education research).
Objectives of Studio Physics are to: integrate lab and
theory, optimize student engagement, focus on
collaborative learning, provide immediate feedback,,
adapt to student knowledge state, shift locus of control
from teacher to students and optimize integration of
technology into the physics curriculum.
The studio classroom is an ideal arena for experiments
on improving instruction. Consequently, there is great
variety in the way that studio courses are conducted,
and many new developments are likely.
Questions that got us to
now…from the field
What does research tell us
about how learning
happens?
Questions that got us to
now…from the field
How big can a
learning space be?
Questions that got us to
now…from the field
What do students
want?
Georgia Tech
East Commons
Questions that got us to
now…from the field
How can we capitalize
on technologies to
enrich the learning
experience?
University of Maryland
College Park
Art History
Questions that got us to
now…from the field
What in the world
did they have in
mind when creating
this space?
Questions that got us to now…from your experiences

The most interesting question you
wrestled with in planning
technology-rich learning spaces
over the past five years?

What made it memorable?
THINK
SHARE
Questions that are
beginning to embrace
the future
WHAT DO WE WANT OUR
LEARNERS TO BECOME?
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Northern Kentucky University
Transdisciplinarians: Renaissance people for the
digital age.
Code writers, code readers, code breakers.
Ethical actors, deep thinkers, agile creators.
Lifelong learners and lifelong teachers.
Leaders with an ethic of work and a sense of play.
Entrepreneurs.
Analysts and creators of digital technologies.
Questions that are
beginning to embrace
the future
WHAT EXPERIENCES MAKE
THAT BECOMING HAPPEN?
•
Northern Kentucky University
•
•
•
•
•
Performing before peers, teachers, and an external
audience.
Competing in real space and real time.
Exploring visualization.
Working through project lifecycles with external clients.
Self-directing study and research.
Observing, sharing, and collaborating in informal groups.
Questions that are
beginning to embrace
the future
WHAT SPACES ENABLE
THOSE EXPERIENCES?
•
•
•
Northern Kentucky University
•
•
Digitorium: reconfigurable space, two story microtile rearprojection wall, opera box—problem workrooms.
Collaboratories: decentered, clustered, mobile computing
friendly spaces with write-on walls.
Flex spaces: hangouts where students and faculty
interact with the community, from middle school students
to CEOs.
Cybersecurity lab: a science lab where spigots of power
and data replace water and gas, and racks of routers
replace racks of chemicals.
Commons: open, sunlit, multi-level community area
surrounded by a panorama of eye-catching learning
spaces.
Questions that are
beginning to embrace
the future
HOW DO WE KNOW?
•
2,200
•
2,000
1,800
•
1,600
1,400
•
1,200
1,000
800
600
400
200
0
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
Northern Kentucky University
2011
2012
Surge in enrollment in all programs (9 bachelors, 5
masters): 8% growth in the year since the building
opened.
Increase in external partners working with our students in
the Center for Applied Informatics.
Launch of a major startup accelerator (UpTech) with a
large footprint in Griffin Hall.
Sharp increase in press coverage and buzz.
Questions that are
beginning to embrace
the future
What are societal
expectations of what
our learners are to
become, be able to
do?
AAC&U. Falling Short? College Learning and
Career Success.
http://www.aacu.org/leap/public-opinionresearch/2015-survey-results
Questions that are
beginning to embrace the
future
What are we
expecting our students
to become, be able to
do, be recognized for
accomplishing?
Questions that we are
beginning to embrace
How can every
space be a learning
space, for all
learners on our
campus?
Graph courtesy of Lord Aeck Sargent
Questions that are beginning to embrace
the future…from your experiences

The most interesting question you
and your community is now
wrestling with in planning
technology-rich learning spaces
for the next five years?
THINK
SHARE
Penn State University
Georgia Tech
Rhodes College
Vantage Consulting Group
Johns Hopkins Wall of Discovery
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PgsuVicT3F0
http://eng.jhu.edu/wse/magazine-winter-13/item/wall-of-discovery/
Academic Impressions, 2014
Academic Impressions, 2014
Vantage Consulting Group
And your audacious questions are?

Based on where you came from
and what you have learned and
heard and thought about during
this conference, what audacious
question will you be bringing
back to your community?
?
2015 … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … …