The impact of new collaborative learning spaces on tertiary teacher practice

Abstract

Institutions may invest heavily into building and equipping new learning teaching spaces with the intention of encouraging active and collaborative learning to occur. However, there may not be a concomitant shift in teachers’ existing pedagogical practices. This qualitative study examined the perspectives of thirty-two tertiary teachers across a range of disciplines at a single institution. The findings suggest that working in new collaborative learning spaces challenged many participants to make changes to their existing practices that moved them along a possible continuum to be more facilitative and learner-centered in their approach.