Edith Cowan University (ECU) and the University of Melbourne have signed an Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to identify the next generation of research into how schools, teachers and student use the spaces in which they learn.
ECU will work with the University of Melbourne’s Learning Environments Applied Research Network (LEaRN) to progress more than two decades of research by the cross-disciplinary LEaRN group that has assisted the design of flexible and agile school designs and evaluated their impact on student learning and teacher pedagogies.
Executive Dean of ECU’s School of Education Professor Caroline Mansfield said the MoU will enable the them to collaborate on creative thinking and research in the innovative learning environments space.
“This partnership presents great opportunities to broaden the scope and potential positive impact of this innovative research,” said Professor Mansfield.
In recent years Dr Julie Morris, who is both a Senior Lecturer and Course Coordinator for Visual Arts education (secondary) in the School of Education at ECU, and an Honorary Fellow at the University of Melbourne, has partnered in this work.
Dr Morris explains the research she has been working on has found the types of spaces in which we teach and learn can increase high-impact teaching, student deep learning, and student learning outcomes in a variety of subjects.
With so-called ‘innovative learning environments’ or ILEs now common across the world, the international implications of this body or research are creating a demand for similar research.
The ILE+SE Scoping Study, co-lead by Dr Morris, has recruited over 200 leaders in research, education policy and practice, and ‘allied’ industries (such as architects, acousticians, engineers, and furniture designers) to identify what gaps exist in current ILE research, what needs to be addressed, and how these needs differ internationally.
The results will create a mandate for the next generation of ILE research, resulting in the development of a unique global research project.
The cross-disciplinary structure, the significant scale, and the global nature of this study is unprecedented in ILE research.