The rationale for this blog site is based on the notion that teaching and learning environments within UK higher education need to change. Many universities still have traditional teaching rooms that place the academic behind a lectern, where they are perceived to have all the power in their relationship with the students, who are sat in rows passively receiving information. Many universities recognise this and are indeed designing and developing spaces for students that reflect this need to improve.

The last thirty years have witnessed major changes developments in higher education, with new approaches to learning and teaching. It is driven largely by a new pedagogy that is designed to move away from the traditional style of lecture-based teaching that has been delivered for hundreds of years. This didactic method of tutor-centred teaching with little scope for interaction has been shown to be found wanting. We need to consider new types of collaborative learning and move from dependency to independence and inter-dependency.  Students are saying they want to learn differently, partly to reflect the varying learning styles that we as individuals possess, but also to encompass the enormous technological changes in modern society that impact on our daily lives. We also need to consider the group-based problem-solving skills that employers say they require of students. Our university campuses should be a place for students to take ownership of, to feel part of the life there and thereby be more able to engage with their own learning experience.
The views expressed within these pages are personal and reflect the information and impressions that I have gathered after each visit. If there any factual inaccuracies, please contact me by e-mail.

I hope you find the site useful.


James Rutherford
e-mail: j.rutherford@bham.ac.uk
- for more information and to see further exemplar images click on learning environment design