“You can’t learn to swim behind a desk”

The design of the ‘physical’ learning environment is not often executed as an integral part of the educational design process, as it involves expertise that is far removed from education and instruction (e.g. interior design, architecture, programming). It is also not a phase that can be executed solely by education professionals. However, the design of the educational program (in content and format) places demands on the learning environment. Or in other words: the wrong learning environment can severely impede the process of learning and the effectiveness of instruction. It should therefore be considered when (re)designing an educational program to make sure the learning environment contributes to the learning as much as possible.

The result of this phase can take the shape of a brief to the person or department in charge of the learning environment, or a program of requirements, or just a wishlist.