Using design thinking to create engaged ‘HyFlex Learning’ learning spaces

Lockdown accelerated the use of remote teaching and the need for improved online and directed learning and teaching options. However, the subsequent and greater challenge was to build upon what we had learnt to redesign our learning spaces to meet the evolving needs and preferences of our students and faculty.  

As a new institution, and the first graduate-level AI University in the world, we were still in the midst of our own development. Whilst starting from scratch can bring its own challenges, it provided us with a blank canvas to design learning spaces that met the needs of our curriculum, research agenda and overall vision. We could be more agile and iterate our design in response to feedback from students and faculty. It also allowed for the incorporation of fresh perspectives and diverse voices into the development of the classrooms, which led to more inclusive and equitable outcomes.  

Initially we adopted an ad hoc approach to HyFlex teaching, attempting to accommodate our in-person students in socially distanced classrooms combined with some students still studying remotely. Not surprisingly, poor quality video, audio and connectivity, as well as technical challenges, led to negative feedback. We felt that the HyFlex mode aligned with our institutional vision and purpose, but there was a clear need to provide a high-quality learning experience and to improve social presence for all our students. This required significant investment of time and resource to ensure we created pedagogically informed learning spaces that catered for the needs of faculty and provided equitable learning experiences for both remote and in-person students.  

A cross-functional team, formed from students and faculty joined by colleagues from academic development, IT and student affairs were tasked with redesigning and optimising classrooms for HyFlex. The team adopted a design thinking approach following a process of empathising with end-users, defining the need, ideation, co-creation and testing. Mock teaching sessions were organised with faculty, students and professional staff to test the classrooms in both in-person and remote modes, and on various devices, operating systems and environments. Feedback on each prototype including from the mock teaching sessions, informed further iterations and adaptations.    

The Educause Learning Space Rating System (LSRS) V3 (Brandt et al., 2020), was used to evaluate each iteration of the learning space design. Utilising measurable criteria to guide the planning and design enabled our team to improve the design rating from 39% to 85% at the second iteration. The rating system gave us an objective measure and confidence that our approach would result in active learning spaces and encourage student engagement - a view supported by our own as well as visiting international students and faculty. 

Caption: A customised height adjustable ILS Synergy Smart Lectern (as shown above) was installed in the classroom, with MBZUAI’s specific specs: a) additional HDMI,USB-C, VGA and Audio on both sides, for left/right-handed faculty, b) an additional 24” touchscreen monitor to annotate (and display on screen), c) a Poly TC8 touch control for use with Poly G7500 d) an electrical tilt mechanism for the 24” monitor, e) a custom side table.

Learning spaces for student engagement 

Our classrooms are linked, so that teaching in one classroom can be broadcast to other rooms. Whilst this represented a daunting technical challenge, it allows us to have multiple groups of students, academics or researchers in various rooms or connecting remotely, working together, in a socially distanced environment.  

The classrooms are designed to facilitate active learning and improve students’ emotional engagement and sense of belonging. As well as standard Zoom functions such as chat and breakout rooms, the room is set up to allow students to interact with faculty, their peers - both online and in person, as well as the content. They can conduct research in small groups and build a sense of community irrespective of location. This sense of community and social interaction have been identified as critical for students’ satisfaction. Other research has indicated that this is more complex and nuanced for graduate students whose more fluid working practices can have a significant influence on their learning needs.  

The HyFlex technology-enhanced classrooms at MBZUAI showcase the benefits of a well-planned, flexible, and optimised classroom design process that takes into account the needs of both students and faculty. By utilising design thinking and a human-centred approach, MBZUAI has successfully engaged both remote and in-person students in synchronous and asynchronous learning modes.