{"id":249,"date":"2023-04-27T12:39:36","date_gmt":"2023-04-27T12:39:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.imperial.ac.uk\/education-research\/?p=249"},"modified":"2023-06-05T10:09:06","modified_gmt":"2023-06-05T10:09:06","slug":"reflections-on-the-first-landscapes-of-learning-for-unknown-futures-prospects-for-space-in-higher-education-symposium","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.imperial.ac.uk\/education-research\/2023\/04\/27\/reflections-on-the-first-landscapes-of-learning-for-unknown-futures-prospects-for-space-in-higher-education-symposium\/","title":{"rendered":"Reflections on the first \u201cLandscapes of Learning for Unknown Futures: Prospects for Space in Higher Education\u201d Symposium"},"content":{"rendered":"

Dr Julianne K. Viola, Centre for Higher Education Research and Scholarship<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

The origin of the symposia series<\/h2>\n

Last summer, I was contacted by Professor Sam Elkington<\/a> (Teesside University) and Dr Jill Dickinson<\/a> (University of Leeds), in partnership with Society for Research into Higher Education (SRHE), to be a panel speaker for their new 2023 symposia series entitled \u201cLandscapes of Learning for Unknown Futures: Prospects for Space in Higher Education<\/a>.\u201d Yesterday, I participated in this symposium as a speaker, and enjoyed the thought-provoking, day-long discussion with colleagues.<\/p>\n

Before I share reflections on the day, I want to note that the aim of this series is to bring together and engage key stakeholders in a timely discussion and debate to support new thinking in decision-making, policy, and practice through the lenses of 1) Networks, 2) Flexibilities, and 3) Assemblages. Sam and Jill found my work at CHERS<\/a> on student belonging and identity in higher education, and invited me to share this research and provide provocation and insight in the form of a lead presentation for the first \u2018Networks\u2019\u00a0symposium.<\/p>\n

The most unique aspect of this symposia series is the intent to carry on these conversations through a variety of continuous, diverse outputs. The three hybrid events will run primarily face-to-face, hosted by SRHE in London. Key components of each\u00a0symposium\u00a0(i.e., Keynote, Presentations and Panel Discussions) will also be streamed live so as to also be able to offer a hybrid format and remote engagement, as well as enable the recording of content that we aim to use to promote and report on the symposia series more widely.<\/p>\n

My aims in participating in this first symposium on \u2018Networks\u2019 were to: 1) share more widely the findings we have learned from the Belonging, Engagement, and Community (BEC)<\/a> and Bursary<\/a> projects, 2) further conceptualize the changing landscape of learning space and 3) contribute to the ongoing discussions of the importance of space\/place in sense of belonging in the hybrid world. I was thrilled to engage in this discussion in a hybrid setting as well, which prompted some meta-reflections during the lunch break!<\/p>\n

Reflections on the first symposium: Networks<\/h2>\n

The symposium began with a keynote from Professor Lesley Gourlay<\/a> (UCL), who introduced the day\u2019s theme of \u2018Networks\u2019 with a theoretical discussion on the \u2018more than digital\u2019 world we live in. I was especially intrigued when she posited the concept of \u2018fugitive practices\u2019 wherein people resist the nature of the digital world in their everyday lives and seek ephemerality (rather than recordings and permanence), seclusion (i.e., choosing to not use social media and keep out of the digital public eye), and copresence (being physically in the same presence as another person).<\/p>\n

Sue Beckingham\u2019s<\/a> (Sheffield Hallam) discussed university students use social media apps for group work, and addressed the concept of \u2018mattering\u2019 (feeling valued by others) which is one of the key aspects of belonging that Imperial students have discussed with us in our interviews. I was excited to draw on Sue\u2019s engaging talk in my own presentation (which was sandwiched between her and Brett). Dr Brett Bligh<\/a> (Lancaster University) gave the final presentation, and proposed 6 key factors of space for learning, to aid in supporting the hybrid\/blended learning model that higher education has shifted toward in recent years:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Transparency \u2013 spaces should eliminate distraction<\/li>\n
  2. Enabling \u2013 spaces invite some practices but restrict others<\/li>\n
  3. Stimulating \u2013 spaces provide an affective sensory experience (this idea brought the BEC project\u2019s use of the walking interview method into discussion later on)<\/li>\n
  4. Associative \u2013 spaces invoke cultural references<\/li>\n
  5. Cognitively integrated \u2013 spaces support our thinking<\/li>\n
  6. Socially integrated \u2013 spaces are produced by a community<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    \u2018Nurturing meaningful connection in a new era of learning\u2019<\/h2>\n

    When I thought about the day\u2019s theme of \u2018Networks\u2019 to plan my presentation, I kept returning to the idea of \u2018connection,\u2019 which has been frequently discussed by Imperial student participants in the BEC and Bursary studies. As the past four years have demonstrated, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, connection is not always a given, and requires intention and nurturing. I therefore posed two questions at the start of my presentation:<\/p>\n