Exploring Gutman Library as a space for learning

Skills Used: Literature Review, Interviews, Observation

Group Members: Karan Hallon, Julia Paolillo, Julia Pichler, Kishore Daggupati, Max Zhang

Introduction:

In this project, my team and I investigated the Harvard GSE’s Monroe C. Gutman Library. Combining our mutual interest in spaces, learning and sociality, we set out to discover what makes Gutman Library tick and what students actually spend their time doing in the space. To do this, we conducted interviews and did observations of the space.

Research Question:

How do students use Gutman Library to learn in different ways?

Research Question Evolution

For our project, we took an iterative approach to defining a research question. Acknowledging our common interest in learning spaces, we first set out to do some divergent brainstorming around our question. After reviewing the literature, the first iteration of our question had us asking “ How do HGSE students who regularly spend time at Gutman outside of class make meaning of the ways in which that physical space helps shape their learning experience?”

As we set out to do our interviews and observation, we realised that this question is very narrow. Whereas we conceived “learning” to primarily be centred around classwork, our interviewees repeatedly talked to us about how important social activity is to their learning process. Accordingly, the final research question that we homed in was simply, “How do students use Gutman Library to learn in different ways?”