New Campus Glasgow: Strategic Benefits Analysis
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3 Quality of the learner experience
3.1 The What next for learning and teaching in Scotland's Colleges? report highlights the
ongoing need for Scotland's colleges to continue to strengthen the learner voice and build
upon the student-centre learning traditions of the sector to develop approaches of
personalised learning.
3.2 This section of the report considers the potential benefits of the NCG proposals from
the learner perspective. It considers the impacts in terms of:
• Enabling the colleges to deliver new learning paradigms
• Increased flexibility to respond to learner needs and demands
• Ability to deliver a more diverse and specialised curriculum offer.
New learning paradigm
Spaces for Learning and new technologies - a changing paradigm
3.3 The Strategic Futures Report recommended that colleges should, within the
resources available to them, provide attractive modern learning environments and ensure that
the location, timing and method of learning meets the changing needs of future learners and
employers.
3.4 Attitudes to spaces for learning have changed markedly in recent years. These
changes include the replacement of the traditional teacher-centred model with learner-centred
approaches; a marked increase in the number and diversity of learners in terms of age, ability
and background; and advances in technology and the advent of the internet which has
spawned a wealth of new, networked-based applications. Add to this the burgeoning use of
mobile applications in learning and it is clear that the impetus for change will continue as new
technologies evolve.
3.5 As the What next? report highlighted, today's learners prefer learning by doing rather
than learning by listening. They want spaces to get to know each other and engage in
dialogue; spaces to work on group projects; spaces to interact in a variety of ways in
collaborative and cooperative learning; present their work publicly; and spaces to teach others
or give feedback.
3.6 The Spaces for Learning report commissioned by the SFC and published in 2006
groups learning spaces into those which encouraged:
• Learning through reflection
• Learning through conversation; and
• Learning by doing
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Appendix 13: Economic Impact Report