PLACES and SPACES: Case studies in the evaluation of post-secondary, place-based learning environments

• Adaptation of the Place-based Learning and Constructivist Environment Survey (PLACES) for use in post-secondary settings.
• Development of a physical learning environment instrument: the Structural, Physical and Campus Environment Survey (SPACES).
• Validation of preferred forms of these surveys using a sample of six classes and 160 students at the post-secondary level.

The study of learning environments increasingly holds potential for post-secondary research. Disciplines exploring the relationship between environment and learning include science education, environmental psychology and architecture, and is emergent in fields such as environmental education. Learning environment studies typically acknowledge and account for factors in the physical and social realm and describe how these conditions influence the process and experience of learning. This research furthers knowledge on student perceptions of their learning environment. In addition to developing new evaluation instruments, the objective was also to design sustainability assessment tools that attend to student perceptions of the physical and social aspects of informal and campus-based learning environments. The study constitutes ‘proof of concept’ for future, participatory evaluation studies on post-secondary programs.