University of Warwick - The Learning Grid

A Short Description of The Learning Grid

The Learning Grid at the University of Warwick has revolutionised student learning over the past two years. It is a combination of a learning space that focuses on and supports the needs of the learner holistically; a professional space that encourages learning through the development of creativity, ideas, collaboration, dialogue and experimentation; and a flexible space that has the ability to respond to and underpin the development of information literacy, study and transferable skills. Opened in September 2004, University of Warwick Library Services pioneered the development of a space and innovative support model that is redefining what it means to be a student-centred service provider, not only for future University Library developments at Warwick, but also for the rest of the HE sector. Its impact on the availability, accessibility and application of information, as well as the service model to support the space, have become an exemplar to others, both nationally and internationally, who are considering how the model created can be best developed and adapted locally.

Prior to the conception of The Learning Grid, the Library had identified a disparity between changing learner needs and its existing service provision. Recognizing limitations within the existing customer service model and physical constraints within the existing library building, the opportunity to develop a transformative facility was seized when space became available alongside other university support services away from the main library building. The co-location of other university support services, has allowed the library to create a blended service, working across traditional organisational boundaries directly for the benefit of the user. A collaborative approach to training front line Grid staff members, the provision of drop in workshops and skills clinics as well as a comprehensive and effective referral service is able to respond to differentiated learning needs effectively. Best practice in relation to the delivery of advice and guidance, utilising an inclusive, proactive and dynamic approach to supporting learning, together with the integration of a peer support model has enabled a step change in the way front line library services are being developed to enhance the student experience.

The ethos of The Learning Grid, as a result of its overall design and delivery, has created a unique learning culture in which students have a strong sense of ownership. There is, for example, no formal helpdesk point. The informal, yet professional, ambience and the flexibility of the space have had a profound effect on the student learning experience. The Grid demonstrates to the students that they are valued, and the learning that they create for themselves is valued. The Grid provides a space that the students feel is their link to the university, a base for their studies and a home-from-home. This has resulted in users respecting each others' needs and the space itself, as well as encouraging a self-help philosophy, enabling The Learning Grid to manage itself whilst unstaffed yet still able to provide an unparalleled study environment. As a result, a powerful sense of community has developed and been sustained allowing students to feel continually supported by the University.

Students using the Grid have reported that they find the comfortable, aesthetically-pleasing and relaxed environment is a welcome change from the formal and austere surroundings of other library spaces. The background buzz of people working, the freedom to use phones and drink coffee, are all conducive to their ability to concentrate on their studies, not distractions. Students may come in to study alone, but soon meet fellow students, so form ad hoc study groups to share their knowledge or problems. Groups are set up, and spontaneously draw upon a range of different technologies, for example: creating a space made from Cleverboards on which they write their notes; downloading information from their module website to a plasma screen also incorporated into the space; fetching a range of text books from the core text reference library; and integrating information from these and sharing them across the wireless network. The availability and flexibility of the technologies and the space enables students to experiment with their modes of learning, and learn new modes of learning by observing how their fellow students learn. Specialist advice is on hand to help with presentation skills, or video-editing, or just how to get the printers working, and since this advice is provided by their fellow students, any barriers students may feel to seeking guidance are significantly reduced.

From several evaluation studies, including in-depth studies with individual students carried out by an independent assessor, we can identify that The Learning Grid has had the following impact on the student experience:

• Improves motivation to study
• Creates a sense of ownership for the space which has translated directly into increased responsibility for the learning process at an individual level; the emergence of the independent adult learner
• Provides opportunities to experiment and apply a range of technological and traditional resources
• Raises awareness of electronic resources and the ability to blend these into a range of different learning activities; collaborative, exploratory and individual
• Accelerates opportunities for learning as a result of the Student Advisor support available within the space
• Raises awareness of the role of, and improves accessibility to, the academic support librarians and other support specialists available within the institution
• Provides opportunities to obtain bespoke, personalised and specialist advice and guidance thus reducing traditional barriers to seeking support

From discussions with academics who are engaging closely with The Learning Grid we can identify that the facility is beginning to have the following impact on the curriculum:

• Increases opportunities for innovative teaching practice
• Embeds the delivery of information literacy instruction into courses
• Creates a new and evolving relationship between Library personnel and academics

The learning gained from experience developing and implementing The Learning Grid is impacting on future library and other academic support developments:

• The opening of The BioMed Grid in February, 2006 - a smaller Learning Grid satellite facility for Medical and Biological Science students
• The library is supporting two further academic capital projects
• A refurbishment of the main library (2007) to reflect changing user needs
• Changes in the way front line services are delivered to focus on student learning needs, empowerment and progression
• The development of a 'Teaching Grid' (2007) for academic staff members which develop new service models to support curriculum development

• Colleagues from HE providers around the world have been to visit the space to explore its vision, services and physical space and requests are increasing
• Requests are made for The Learning Grid to be presented and best practice shared at professional events
• Many other HE providers are in the process of investing in and replicating The Grid concept within their own institutions

The Learning Grid directly relates to current themes under discussion within the HE sector; research-based learning, collaborative and student centred learning as well as the application of cutting edge technologies and blended learning (physical and the virtual) are all areas which are being explored. As a Library resource, The Learning Grid has and continues to be in a position to bring together the innovations within curricula development and the breadth of resources, whilst doing so, embedding the advice and guidance relating to the management and navigation of information into broader learning activities.