Academics ’ and Students ’ Perceptions of the Effect of the Physical Environment on Learning

Learning environment; lecture theatres; tutorial rooms; student learning; academic staff Do school and classroom spaces enhance or detract from the learning process? Are lecturers and students as much concerned about their learning environment as is sometimes assumed? Drawing on the work of Fleming and Storr (1999), as well as the theoretical work of, inter alia, Lang (1996) and Bligh (1972), the researchers sought the perceptions of academic staff and students on all six campuses of the University of South Australia. The following four questions were addressed: 1. What components of lecture theatres do lecturers perceive as being important in terms of their effect on students ’ learning experience? 2. What components of lecture theatres do students perceive as being important in terms of their effect on their own learning experience? 3. Do the responses to a general question on the perceived importance of lecture theatre design components differ significantly from responses to the question that considers the learning experience of the student? Are any differences able to be explained? 4. Do the responses of the lecturers and the students differ significantly? Are these differences able to be explained? The methodology adopted was a combination of focus groups and questionnaire surveys administered to randomly selected groups of students in tutorials and to all academic staff by e-mail. Responses were such that some significant and interesting conclusions were able to be drawn