The impact of the learning environment on student learning in higher education: a realist review

Abstract

Background:

• The learning environment has the potential to enhance or impede understanding and engagement with a given topic
• Teacher-centred / instructional approaches to delivery have traditionally dominated teaching practice in higher educationHowever, concerns about the disengagement of students, who are continually exposed to instructional approaches has resulted in a shift towards blended approaches to learning in higher education

Review Aims:

• To examine how the learning environment can be used to yield the most positive learning experience for a student in higher education.
• To explore the implications of the findings of this review for the personal teaching practice of the researcher