Main features of an ideal learning space : a user-based description

This paper presents a method to define an ideal learning space from a key user perspective. The target group, upper secondary school students in a Finnish city, was addressed through two online surveys. In these we sought to establish the features that the students considered to be most important in a learning space. The aim was to adapt the redevelopment of school premises to the users’ cultural practices. Two survey methods were employed in the surveys. In the first, students described in their own words what makes an ideal learning space. In the second, students assessed a list of 21 features using a three-point scale. They also assessed a list of 19 learning space factors in terms of their negative impact on learning. Furthermore, the students indicated the top four features on the list of positive impacts on learning. The three lists were then aligned in the analysis to discern possible discrepancies. Finally, in order to establish the main characteristics of an ideal learning space, the top-feature lists were compared to the students’ verbal descriptions of an inspirational and motivational learning space.