Places for learning engineering : a preliminary report on informal learning spaces

This is a report on an investigation of undergraduate engineering learning spaces that were newly introduced in 2008. The new spaces include formal learning spaces designed to enable student-centred, small group learning, and informal café-style spaces. The project investigates the research question: Does an availability of spaces for informal learning lead to an increase in behaviours that one might expect to be conducive to increased informal or collaborative learning? The initial findings from the survey data suggest that there may be some increased use of informal learning spaces if they are made available to students.