The situated agency of studio learning and its value for non-studio disciplines

Abstract

This thesis appraises journal articles and book chapters published between 2009 and 2018. The earlier research considers how a range of audio methods can be adapted to the needs of teaching in higher education. At the time, audio brought a new layer of presence and connectivity to the learning space (2009). Further work, using a scenario-based futures analysis method (Ramire et al., 2015), challenged a trend in the literature suggesting the value of educational podcasting was as a medium for conveying the lecturer’s voice (2011). Instead, my research argues that mobile audio-based learning can be facilitative, active and integrated, able to incorporate diverse voices and foster disruptive pedagogies. Reconsidered in 2016, audio is discussed as a disruptive extension to binary conceptions of formal-informal, physical-virtual learning space. A series of chapters (2018) incorporating diverse accounts of academic practice, student experience, and professional services roles, explore the changing nature of higher education learning space. Here, the context is expanded to accommodate diverse forms of digital and social media. The studies examine experiences situated within, across and beyond bounded learning spaces to explore: how they disrupt traditional dependencies on enclosed spaces and models of formal delivery; the emergence of learning networks as disruptive influences that challenge traditional dependencies on learning hierarchies; the disruptive use of personal smart technologies and social media in comparison to institutionally provided learning space and services; and, models of rich, experiential and active learning offering viable and engaging alternatives to content-centred models of teaching. An analysis of the publications demonstrates an emerging digital-social age hybrid studio learning paradigm capable of promoting learning agency as an outcome of co-operative and generative learning. The implications and transferability of this studio learning paradigm for higher education beyond studio disciplines, are discussed in a final paper (2017).