This research report discusses changes in higher education and how they are affecting teaching and learning spaces. Key points include: - Students prefer collaborative and hands-on learning over lectures, and see all people as educators. Educators are shifting to more facilitator roles. - While students are connected online, they still crave meaningful in-person interaction. Campus spaces need to foster engagement and a sense of community. - Non-traditional pedagogies require flexible and technology-rich learning spaces beyond just lecture halls. In-between spaces are important for interaction and creative learning. - Designing spaces that improve the learning environment while reducing costs can help address issues of student expectations and rising tuition.

1. research report
No More Teachers,
No More Books?
Every person is an educator, every space is a classroom.
Higher education is changing. Ever-evolving technologies, escalating costs, and increased student
diversity are converging on college campuses and changing students’ expectations for what
the college experience should look and feel like. Students are imploring universities to modify
pedagogy so that classes focus on collaborative learning and one-on-one interaction. As a result,
administrators and educators are rethinking the one-size-fits-all model for college classrooms and
evaluating what types of spaces effectively support collaboration and help students and faculty
engage in transformational learning.
“Why would I go to this place
unless it’s absolutely going
to facilitate some sort of
experience?” —Student
Photo: Columbia College, Chicago, IL

2. Students Regard
Educators As Facilitators
Students view the classroom as a space where teachers
facilitate learning and see every person as an educator.
They’re not interested in sitting through long lectures.
Online video and readily available podcasts allow students to
access information from the comfort of their dorm rooms or
apartments. When they come to class, they want to step into
an environment where hands-on collaborative learning takes
place in small groups.
Our roundtables revealed that many educators and
administrators remain devoted to traditional teaching
paradigms; they value collaborative learning but still see Photo: Ogilvy & Mather, New York, NY
value in the lecture format. Still, according to the results of
“Every single person in that room is an educator.
the Gensler education survey, educators and administrators
Is there one main instructor who has to score
view webcasts and podcasts as one of the three most effective
and be a facilitator? Yes, but I am an educator,
methods for teaching and learning.
just as you are an educator.”—Student
All three groups believe a multi-modal pedagogy—one that
“Students come to class to work collaboratively. It’s
blends several teaching methods and integrates technology—
that contact and that experience, and it’s not led
is the most effective teaching/learning method.
by me…I facilitate it.”—Educator
Campuses Are Live
Social Networks
In recent years, pundits, academics, and others have frequently
discussed the proliferation of online social networks and how
these networks affect students. But what is often omitted from
these conversations is that in spite of students’ penchant for
updating Facebook statuses and dispensing news via Twitter,
they still crave meaningful face-to-face interaction with
educators and each other.
Student roundtable participants and survey respondents
conveyed this sentiment, saying that they prefer to learn
in small groups and to teach each other rather than watch
lectures online, secluded from their classmates. “I learn best Photo: University of the Pacific, Stockton, CA
when I can really interact with my classmates and/or my
teacher on a one-to-one basis,” said one student. “Space needs to foster engagement…
meaningful engagement.” —Administrator
Administrators and educators recognize the importance of
on-campus interaction. Both groups identified creating a “We are all looking for a tactile learning and
sense of community as one of the most important trends teaching experience.” —Educator
affecting college campuses. Administrators and educators do
not believe online social networks can create communities on “It should be congregation space around
their own. “The students need to feel a pattern of community a resource.” —Educator
and Facebook isn’t going to cut it,” said an administrator.
Gensler | 2011 Education Roundtables

3. Non-Traditional Pedagogy
Requires Non-Traditional Learning Spaces
Students want pedagogy to incorporate collaborative learning;
educators want campuses to integrate traditionally separated
academic disciplines. Universities can meet these demands
by providing spaces that support collaboration and by
recognizing the vital role campus design can play in facilitating
interaction between academic departments.
The diverse needs of students and educators require a diverse
mix of spaces. The one-size-fits-all lecture hall is becoming
obsolete because these spaces lack flexibility and inhibit one-
on-one interaction. Classrooms need the flexibility to support
various pedagogies and different types of learning. Photo: East Stroudsberg University, East Stroudsburg, PA
Classrooms are only one facet of a college campus. Students “Instead of just fitting it in where we can, let’s make
and educators are using in-between spaces such as lounges, a concerted effort to really think about why we
courtyards, and atria to interact and learn from each other. are putting this class here, why are we having the
Designing campuses to take advantage of the creative classrooms on this level?” —Administrator
learning that takes place in these in-between spaces can help
colleges and universities support diverse types of learning that “The technology needs to support my hands-on
students and educators partake in. teaching style.” —Educator
Designing to Student and Educator
Needs Improves Value and Reduces Costs
According to our focus groups, escalating costs remain a top
concern of administrators and educators, and there is no
reason to believe this will change. The testing and research
organization ACT says one in three students do not return
after freshman year, taking tuition money out of university
coffers. It is clear that students and their parents want greater
returns for their education dollars, and finding ways to provide
more value for less money is an issue with which the academic
community will continue to grapple.
The next conversation is how universities can design
campuses that reduce costs and present a college experience Photo: Columbia College, Chicago, IL
that falls in line with student expectations. Reevaluating the
types of spaces that improve learning environments is critical “Anywhere you have a network, you have a library.”
to this process. —Administrator
Campuses best serve students when they consider the new “It costs six dollars a year to keep a book on a shelf in
and diverse ways that students access information, study, and an average academic library.” —Educator
interact with educators and each other.
“There are quite a few faculty members that actually
have virtual office hours.” —Student

4. Research Methodology
Gensler hosted seven roundtable discussions with university Following the roundtables, Gensler conducted a survey
administrators, educators, and students from 42 institutions in asking respondents to identify the top trends impacting the
the United States and United Kingdom. Discussions took place teaching/learning experience, the most effective approaches
in New York, London, Los Angeles, Houston, Chicago, Dallas, to pedagogy, and the types of spaces that can improve the
and Washington, D.C. learning environment.
www.gensler.com
Top Trends Impacting The Teaching/Learning Experience
Students Pervasiveness High Diverse Mix of Other
of Knowledge Expectations Student Needs
Educators Pervasiveness Escalating Creating Sense Other
of Knowledge Costs of Community
Administrators Pervasiveness Escalating Creating Sense Other
of Knowledge Costs of Community
0 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
Most Effective Approaches to Pedagogy
Students Multi- Teacher as Hands-on Other
modal Facilitator Lab/Studio
Educators Multi- Group Webcast/ Other
modal Podcast
Administrators Multi- Hands-on Webcast/ Other
modal Lab/Studio Podcast
0 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
Space Types That Improve the Learning Environment
Students Mix Space with Technology Other
of Spaces Daylight Views Rich Spaces
Educators Mix Breakout Flexible Other
of Spaces Rooms Spaces
Administrators Mix Flexible Technology Other
of Spaces Spaces Rich Spaces
0 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
Gensler | 2011 Education Roundtables

5. Roundtable Participants
Students, educators, and administrators from the following institutions participated in Gensler’s Education
Roundtable series.
Chicago Los Angeles
Columbia College Biola University
The Chicago School The Dawn Project
DePaul University Riverside Community College
IIT Institute of Design Santa Monica College
University of Southern California (USC)
Dallas Ventura Community College
Collin College
Mountain View College, Dallas County Community New York
College District Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, Yeshiva Univer-
Texas Christian University sity
The University of North Texas Columbia Law School
The University of Texas Arlington The Cooper Union
The University of Texas Dallas New York Hall of Science
New York School of Interior Design
Houston New York University
Lone Star College - Kingwood Opportunities for a Better Tomorrow
Lone Star College - CyFair Parsons the New School for Design
Lone Star College - Tomball Yeshiva University
Texas Southern University
University of Houston Washington, D.C.
American University
London Catholic University
London Metropolitan University Georgetown University
London School of Economics George Washington University
Menipal Institute of Technology University of the District of Columbia
Queen Mary University of London Virginia Tech
Ravensbourne College of Design and
Communication
Gensler | 2011 Education Roundtables