Developing Learning Spaces in University

Developing Learning Spaces in University Science Learning Spaces and Transition into First Year Bachelor of Science Significant investment has been made in the past ten years in universities and schools in regard to learning spaces and engagement and retention of students as well as preparing students for the world of work outside of the education system. A learning space is one where the teacher and student engage in learning, where a task is realised and the ability to adopt new ways of seeing the world are understood. Research looking at learning spaces and the interaction between architecture and education, show that there is a disconnect between the designing of the learning space and those that teach in the learning space. Student feedback on the success of the learning space is not often considered or is the transition of the students from a school learning space environment to a university/tertiary learning space environment. Learning spaces have many different contexts school spaces, university spaces, virtual spaces, however the area of interest for this study is the transition of students from an innovative learning space in a secondary school environment to an innovative space in a tertiary environment. When researching and gathering information, the premise is that space (natural and built environments) shapes practices and outcomes in teaching and learning, in particular with students moving from secondary to tertiary environments. According to Oblinger (2006), the relationship and social practices that make up learning spaces are only one aspect of the complex relationships of teaching that inform learning outcomes. However, a learning space can improve conditions and mediate relationships that improve student learning along with the physical, mental and cognitive indicators (Oblinger 2006). The use and effect of learning spaces, particularly physical learning spaces are often related pedagogicall y and organisationally to changes in use and demands in any point of time. Arnot and Reay (2007) discuss an example any one particular space could be used for individual pathway planning, team teaching, personalised learning, teamwork, problem solving, community based learning, which can all be done in open multipurpose learning spaces that link the education to the real world environment. Bruckner (1997) and Nespor (2004) state that temporality is a key factor in how organisations, teachers and students respond to new learning spaces over time. Souter, Riddle, Keppell, Sellers (2010) suggest that innovative learning spaces such as the purpose built spaces that universities are investing in today, should support a constructivist approach to learning and support student centred learning that is collaborative and experiential. Often spaces are built for design without considering the learning and comfort of the students, as well as the success and retention of students in a particular program. Designing built environments on sound pedagogical and architectural principles that are appropriate to community needs provides new opportunities for academics to create new partnerships and new pedagogical possibilities (Blackmore et al, 2011). However, Elmore (2007) indicates that this means focusing on the purpose and rational for change which include teaching and learning practices to support the learning environment and student needs. Currently there is a lot of research looking at the transition of students from secondary to univer sity (Johnson, Johnson, Farenga Ness (2005); Sleeter 2008; Zeichner 2008, 2010) however the area of research looking at the use of traditional pedagogy and learning spaces at university show that there is a need for change (Zeichner 2010). The DEECD authorised The Connections between Learning Spaces and Learning Outcomes: A Literature Review (Blackmore et al. 2010) which concluded that while the investment of building new spaces has been based on sound architectural and educational principals, there was little evidence that showed the connectedness to improved student learning, and how the spaces were used by teachers, students and communities pedagogically, as well as what effect they had on different student social groups. The question then is how does community and governance in higher education relate to learning, teaching and space? Temple (2008) suggests that this is an under researched area and one that may have significance in retention and enjoyment of students at university. Often what universities and architects think people think about their buildings is unsupported when university staff members and students are actually asked (Temple 2008). Student-centred approach to university design often focus on issue s of pedagogy and the curriculum rather than the physical environment (Temple 2008). Some writers have noted that teaching and learning should drive design, rather than visa versa (Jamieson et al. 2000; Jamieson 2003). Guiding principal for new learning spaces secondary and tertiary. Case Studies New Chem labs, physics learning space and GCF and Education Perspectives on learning spaces and pedagogical needs. Learning spaces and pedagogy Retention and Attrition of students in tertiary education Pat Sanders Brighton Grammar Science lab, thorough case study Scotch College science labs Comparative analysis of planning between case studies planning, methodology and outcome References Arnot, M. and D. Reay (2007). A Sociology of Pedagogic Voice: Power, inequality and pupil consultation. Discourse: Studies in the Cultural Politics of Education 28(3): 311-325. Bruckner, M. (1997). Eavesdropping on Change: Listening to Teachers During the First Year of an Extended Block Schedule. NASSP Bulletin 81(593): 42-52. More and more high schools are moving to a block scheduling arrangement, which results in longer and fewer classes each day. Changes in teaching strategies are essential to the success of such programs, for without significant revisions in classroom time use, block scheduling results in lengthy lectures or multiple lessons forged together, sometimes without logic. Nespor, J. (2004). Educational scale-making. Pedagogy, Culture Society 12(3): 309 326. The article explores the complexities of educational scalemaking. Educational scales are defined as the spatial and temporal orders generated as pupils and teachers move and are moved through educational systems; scales are envelopes of spacetime into which certain schoolbased identities (and not others) can be folded. Scale is thus both an object and a means of power in educational practice. Using data from life history interviews with an elementary teacher in the USA, the article illustrates the multiplicity of scale-making processes, and raises the question of how certain scale definitions become more widely accepted and authoritative than others. Oblinger, D. (2006). Learning Spaces. D. Oblinger, Educause. Space, whether physical or virtual, can have a significant impact on learning. Learning Spaces focuses on how learner expectations influence such spaces, the principles and activities that facilitate learning, and the role of technology from the perspective of those who create learning environments: faculty, learning technologists, librarians, and administrators. Information technology has brought unique capabilities to learning spaces, whether stimulating greater interaction through the use of collaborative tools, videoconferencing with international experts, or opening virtual worlds for exploration. This e-book represents an ongoing exploration as we bring together space, technology, and pedagogy to ensure learner success.

Think negative experiences

As a child, Josh Mahayana grew up in a poor family (and having total of 8 billings) all the way in Gambling, Subway and came face-to-face with poverty at a very young age. He began to realize this while as he was walking everyday seeing his neighbors watch televisions and listening to the radio, thinking to himself why his family did not do the same things other people did. But this did not hinder him from doing what a normal child should do. â€Å"Maharani nag Kim. Insist OK an gung Hindi aka mage-oral at massaging, wall tale Kong page-as an abashing nag Kinshasa OK. , he proclaimed. In fact, growing up, his mindset was focused on graduating, and he did, despite he 10-kilometer walk that took him at least 2 hours everyday to go to school. It became a constant reminder to him to hold on to his dreams and education. In elementary, he only put his school supplies in a plastic bag. He would go around knocking on different sari-sari stores everyday asking for a new plastic bag because h is plastic bag would rip off due to his pencils. He even mentioned that there were times that he did not even get the chance to eat nor was given allowance.He thought it was a blessing for him to be able to listen in his classes and walk going to school despite the lack of food in his yester. He was indeed very determined to learn and to finish his studies as his parents would always tell him that they never got the opportunity to study like he did. He finally graduated, even as the Valedictorian of his batch. It was a great feeling for him and his parents to be able to graduate, even as Valedictorian, despite the status of their family. But then, going to college was quite a struggle for him.Having a total of 8 siblings, it is very common in the Filipino culture to have the oldest to be sent to college first before the others. But then again, Josh found a way to send himself to college. In that summer, he worked in a mining place and used his salary to travel to Swamis City. It was a blessing for him to graduate as Valedictorian, but even more of a blessing to be offered a scholarship in Misaims University and did not have to pay for his tuition. He had dreams of becoming a lawyer and also an executive in a building in Magmata. Taking chances and exploring possibilities, after graduating, he traveled to Manila at 19 years old.A generous individual gave him 10,000 pesos from his college that believed he deserved the life he dreamt of living; which was to help others, especially his family. He then rented a small place in Cuba, having only one set of old business attire, looking for a job. He even experienced being holdup, having taken his wallet and cellophane. Luckily enough, he was ranked 3rd from all the applicants that applied to the job that he did. He knew that he did not pass all the qualities that the job was searching for but this did not hinder him from taking a chance.He studied law and after happily and thankful working for that company for 3 years , he traveled to the United States. He knew he had to work hard because his siblings and family were not earning enough to supply hat they needed and his mom sick as well. 250,000 pesos were lent to him to have the opportunity to travel to the U. S. He worked, as a cleaner for 3 years, cleaning 15 rooms a day, and a room was limited to be cleaned in a span of 30 minutes. Paying a visit to the Philippines after 3 years, he did not know that one simple thing would change his life plans.He saw a little boy walking in the rice field of his province, and it reminded him of what he was before. He was once that kid. That encounter made him realize that it was a sign from God. â€Å"l was once that kid. My life story is not just about a kid overcoming poverty but I realized that the story of my life was about the concept and mindset of poverty in the Philippines. The problem about poverty in our country is not poverty itself, but the mindset that it cannot be changed. And if I saw that cha nge in education and effort in myself, it is possible to happen to other poor children in this country. He flew back to the U. S and eventually sold all the things that he did not usually use. He also passed by Vietnam because he was interested on the manufacturing. He met a woman that helped him pursue the business that he anted to put up in the near future. The woman was generous enough to help him and lent him money from the company. Bringing home a total of 200 bags back home to the Philippines and sold it only in a span of 2 weeks. According to him, a bag is very symbolic. It stands for education. And this is how Bag was formed.Not only Bag by the object itself but also by the acronym Be A Giver. Instead of having a buy 1, take 1 promo, instead was a buy 1 , give 1 promo. Each bag you buy, a bag is given to the needy. It is a project that is very close to his heart because he claimed that if he wanted to ruse something, he wanted it to also be relevant to him and the bag was th e perfect representation of it. â€Å"l think it is amazing that while a Bag giver uses his bag every day, he knows that a kid somewhere in the Philippines carries a bag, too, that he gave, trying to accomplish his dreams.In the same way, that while a kid strives every day to go to school in pursuit of education and his dreams, he knows that somebody out there actually cared and thought about him. † Josh claims, â€Å"Every time I hand over a bag to a kid now, I am actually handing over a bag to myself. I want them to feel the inspiration and encouragement felt when a distant relative gave me a bag when was in Grade 4. The simple act of giving propelled me to dream the same kind of dreams my classmate had, or even bigger. He eventually stopped manufacturing in Vietnam and was inspired by a public official to start manufacturing here due to the fact that it would be proudly made in the Philippines, would create local jobs and have an easier quality tracking. The generous indi vidual that lent him 10,000 pesos now works hand in hand with Josh and is an operations manager at Bag. She claims that it is an amazing feeling to not only work because of needing a job but the Overwhelming feeling of giving to those who are in need each time someone purchases one bag.As of 2014, there are about 3,000 bags that have been made by this company in the Philippines. They give out bags to different chosen public schools. This serves as a motivation for them that in spite of their hard status in life, they have that little hope to hold on to. The most heart-warming part of the interview was seeing how Josh's project made an impact to the children in need as they thanked him for the bag and owe it motivates them to be exactly like him. And yet again another project called The Yellow Boat of Hope (HOB) movement led by Dry.Anton Limit as Josh's giving partner. This project started from the discovery of seeing children in Gambling City literally swimming their way to school. It was a very heartbreaking fact for them to know that some kids still do not have an easy access to education. HOB provides boats for children in order for him to go to school and not having to swim anymore. Now, they expanded their projects to include livelihood for the parents as well as the building of lassoers, dormitories and even bridges. â€Å"What I am doing right now is a product of what people did for me. FL am able to give, it is because I had been given. It is the right thing to do. † Josh even said that he does not need to be bayed for what he does, because the overwhelming feeling of seeing kids happy is enough for him. Remember my grandmother once telling me that should always be humble. In whatever I do, humility is a virtue should always retain. Should always be generous and always be kind, for whatever I give, will be given back to me. Not always by material objects, but by kindness and generosity as well. I've stood by that saying for almost how many years now.My grandmother will always be someone I will look up to because she has gone through many challenges to be who she is now. She may not always have it all together in her career, but she is always happy full of content. Not only she is happy, she shares that happiness to the family and to others. She is the best grandmother anybody could possibly have and I am blessed that she is mine. She is beautiful, she is smart and she is generous. She started off just like Josh, in a poor state. With 7 siblings, and her as an only girl.Education will always be a priority in our family because my grandparents know how important education is in one's life. My grandmother worked hard to reach her dreams. She married my grandfather and became successful in life. Not only successful but, happily successful. She never forgot where she came from and now helps also the students in need for an education by giving them jobs. I remember one of the working students sending her a text message saying â €Å"one day, I will give you anything you want just to repay you for your kindness† and my grandmother replied with finishing your education will be enough†.She will tell that to my siblings and me as well. She still has dreams on putting up a school and a home for children in need. She will always inspire me in whatever I do. I really do believe that we should never be selfish with what we have. And I also believe that success will always depend on you, yourself. The success of Bag would have never been possible if Josh decided to be one of those kids that just stayed at home and did not push himself to study. Think that if everyone has a mindset like him, poverty would lessen in this country. Because what you dwell on is whatnot become.How you see things will always affect the things that you do and the decisions you make. Nowadays, I think it is so hard to stumble upon humble people like Josh. People usually do not realize the fact that they are very much blessed. Jo sh was blessed with generous people to help him achieve success along the way. Think negative experiences in your life can determine what kind of a person you are: that is if you are a person to give up or the person that stands back up and try again. Content. This is what this interview is also trying to point out. Contentment.

Art and Human Nature Essay

When discussing art it has continuously been examined how much it is applied to human nature. In The Art Instinct by Denis Dutton he spend an entire chapter discussing the colorations between the two. Art can be seen in human nature through its history, it’s comparison to language, and its creation from humans through genetics and their tendencies. Language has always been considered a part of human nature. All culture through all ages has some manner of language. Though it changes throughout the world with over six thousand known types, the universal ability to communicate is unquestionable â€Å"Despite vocabulary and surface grammar differences †¦ languages are never mutually incommensurable †¦ This is possible because language structure is shared across cultures and because languages are ties to universal prelinguistic interests, desires, needs, and capacities (30). Language is cross-cultural and though the mannerism and speech are different they are all inherent in their ability. At the same time one cannot argue that each language and gesture changed throughout the different culture. This is how language can be considered so universal in human nature. Art can be said to have the same universality of language. Like language it has transcended through all cultures and history. Different cultures all express them in a different way, and though everyone doesn’t necessarily understand all others cultures art, it is still a human universals. Also like language, art has the innate ability throughout all societies. Art in many way is very comparable to the human nature of language â€Å"The field of natural languages resembles the field of art considered cross-culturally: both exhibit an interplay between, on the one hand, deep, innate structures and mechanisms of intellectual and emotional like and, on the other hand, a vast ocean of historically contingent cultural materials† (31). With these many colorations art appears essentially connected to human nature. This thought that art has coloration with human nature has been around throughout history. Plato though rejected art as a form of knowledge, he still admitted it connection with nature. He saw art as an imitation of nature, which was already the imitation of the Forms, which make up our true reality. This he felt was disillusion, which brought out the worst customs of human nature. Either it represented a misleading view of our world in the sense of the beauty always found in art, but not in true reality. Or that it feeds our most basic instincts From a Platonic point of view, much of the violent entertainment offered by dramatic form – from the theater of the Greeks to the violence and animal passions of today’s entertainment media †¦ For Plato, the arts at their worst are bad for the soul because they engage and reward its basest elements (32). Though you sense that Plato fears the dangerous of the arts, this is only because he admits the inherit nature of it. Aristotle however has quiet a different opinion of art. He realized that with the variety in art it provides awareness into the human condition. In his works on drama and poetry he demonstrates that impact that art has had throughout the culture and history of his own society. Also he argues for the natural tendency that mankind has to represent themselves with art expresses the innate nature of it â€Å"Human beings are born image-makers and image-enjoyers† (33). Though the idea behind art and its connect between human nature is not always the same, it has existed during the course of history. Like art, human nature itself has been questioned on wither it is truly natural or has evolved over time and cultures. With the evolution of man many of human instincts has developed over time. Natural selection over thousands of generations have helped hones many skills needed to survive throughout mankind’s existences. These effects over many generations can be considered part of what makes up human nature â€Å"pressure over thousands of generations can deeply engrave a physical and psychological traits into the minds of any species (42). However it can also be argued that much of natural instincts come from our social nature. There is always the inherent hunter-gather sense that all humans have, but on the other side are the social tendencies we all have in common Human beings, for example, are curious about their neighbors, like to gossip about them, pity their misfortunes and envy their successes. People everywhere tell lies, justify and rationalize their own behavior, exaggerate their altruism. Human beings like to expose and mock the false pretentions of others. They enjoy playing games, telling jokes, and using poetic language (45-46). This social nature can be seen as innate within all cultures. Both this and genetic predispositions of humans is what human nature is derived from. This is where Dutton true argument comes full circle. Human nature no matter its origins is what makes up humans and all that they create. With our natural instincts we developed many tendencies, and theories. Our history as humanity we have gone through many things such as survival, not only those from the environment, but from the social forces that surrounds us. All of this is what truly makes up human nature, and from all this is where we create art. This is what makes humans what they are, and with that what they feel inspired to create no matter the culture and its form of art. This is how he reasons that art is human nature â€Å" eventually produced the intensely social, robust, love-making, murderous †¦ knowledge- seeking, arguing, clubby, language-using, conspicuously wasteful, versatile species of primate we became. And along the way in developing all this, the arts were born (46). Since art is derived from all that is human nature how can itself not be human nature. Through its colorations with language, the history, and the effects that human genetics and social tendencies have had art can be considered to be a part of human nature. Art like human nature has transcended throughout all of mankind’s existence. Wither art will ever be considered a part of human nature, its impact on humans not only through history but culture cannot be denied. Dutton, Denis. The Art Instinct: Beauty, Pleasure, & Human Evolution. Array New York: Bloomsbury Press, 2009.

To Rap Or Not To Rap Essay - 1087 Words

The music industry is always growing and trying to solicit new music to get higher ratings. â€Å"The music industry’s role in promoting negative music has been a hot topic for many years. What is too often under reported is how young people, including incarcerated youth, are directly impacted by the music.† That quote came from an article called ‘Seb is Hip Hop’. All a person has to do is turn on their radio to a mainstream station and they to can get taste of the carnage. Rap and hip-hop are two of many genres that get a lot of attention for their violence, drug use, and degrading sexism towards women. Hip-hop started to gain a lot of attention in the 80’s to convey equality against racism. People thought that hip-hop was just a phase,†¦show more content†¦It makes a claim that a person has to be willing to pay the price if they want to look the part. In some cases the child’s family cannot afford all of those expensive clothes. The child is upset that he or she cannot have those clothes so they revert to steeling the things they desire. The children don’t even think twice because the rapper that they idolize might even say its ok to steel. Drugs and alcohol play a big part in rap as well. Trying to listen to a rap song without drugs in it is like trying to find a needle in a haystack. When the artists rhymes about their street life they go on and on about how they are never sober. An article on the web called The Impact of Rap and Hip-Hop Music On American Youth. Makes a vary alarming claim that â€Å"Studies show that ever since these genres of music becameShow MoreRelatedThe Violence Of Rap And Rap1633 Words   |  7 Pagesis a culture that has developed rapidly this past century. Rap, over the years has changed in many ways such that it went from being condemned by the public to being mainstream, it is now being used to aid teens with psychological troubles, and more. 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