Building a Better Space: Using Affordances to Build Better Locations of Study

Abstract

University spaces are being created without a clear understanding of what students want and how they use informal learning spaces. This research study was designed to examine the students’ study environments to determine what aspects of those spaces are important to students. It also discovered aspects that the students did not notice but were important if they were missing. This study’s design was a visual ethnography using participant-generated photographs and text. The theoretical framework for this study was Gibson’s Theory of Affordances, which assisted in identifying the perceived and ignored affordances of the space and environment.

Citation

Quinnell, K. (2020), "Building a Better Space: Using Affordances to Build Better Locations of Study", Sengupta, E., Blessinger, P. and Cox, M.D. (Ed.) Designing Effective Library Learning Spaces in Higher Education (Innovations in Higher Education Teaching and Learning, Vol. 29), Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 167-190. https://doi.org/10.1108/S2055-364120200000029011