Key points:
- Meeting neuroatypical students’ classroom needs benefits all students’ learning
- Helping first-time students find success at adult-serving institutions
- Enhanced academic advising and AI integration can empower student success
- For more news on classroom design, visit eCN’s Student Success & Well-Being hub
Faculty from Virginia Tech’s College of Architecture, Arts, and Design and College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences conducted a study that informs classroom designs by incorporating the perspective of neuroatypical students.
This study on universal design, supported by funding from Steelcase, a global design and thought leader in the world of work, is not only acting as an industry guide, but its findings are attracting attention throughout the educational community.
Neuroatypical people have cognitive abilities and associated learning, mood, attention, sociability, and other mental functions that do not present as typical for the larger population. When David Kniola, assistant professor of practice in education, and Elif Tural, associate professor in interior design, were asked to investigate design principles that enhance learning spaces for neuroatypical students in higher education, they went directly to the source.
Virginia Tech students were interviewed about their experiences in the classroom. Nine students participated in the study. Seven were women, two were men, and all participants identified as neuroatypical, having one or a combination of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, autism, Asperger’s, or anxiety. Their input was applied to designs, and those were modified based on student feedback.
“Neuroatypical students have a very unique perspective that they want to share, and if we can do that through the design of a classroom, it enhances the learning for all students in that classroom,” said Kniola.
Some design perspectives that emerged from this study include the following:
- Students want private, semi-private, and collaborative spaces to enhance their learning and focus but don’t want to feel like outsiders in the classroom.
- Students like designs that reduce or isolate noise and chaos, both internal and external to room.
- Students favor design choices that support student movement while masking the distraction for others.
- Students need a variety of spaces to meet their personal needs to align with classroom activity. Different activities require different space needs.
- Students desire control in their environment. Having ability to manipulate seating, blinds to regulate lighting and visual “noise,” and dimmers on artificial lighting allows control of physical learning environment.
“The most important thing is one size does not fit all, so it is about giving choice to students and giving them control over indoor environmental comfort issues that play an important role in learning,” said Tural. “There’s not going to be one solution that’s going to work for everyone, so as designers, our role is to provide as many options as possible so that people have the option to choose what works best for them.”
“We do not advocate for classroom designs that isolate students or have elements that are for ‘those’ students only,” said Kniola. “These designs enhance learning for neurotypical students by giving them flexibility in where and how they work, but also in being interdependent with students who may think differently.”
Click here to read more about the design study.
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