Learning needs space: BayZieL Bavarian Centre for Innovative Teaching visits the SCALE-UP rooms at Technische Hochschule Ingolstadt (THI)

Professor Claudia Schäfle, Dr Hanna Dölling, and Verena Flurschütz from the Teaching and Learning Research department at BayZiel took part. The focus was on the SCALE-UP rooms K111, G116 and D301, whose concept and utilisation at THI were presented and discussed.

SCALE-UP (Student-Centered Active Learning Environment with Upside-down Pedagogies) refers to a student-centred approach that promotes active and collaborative learning. The spatial design supports project- and application-oriented teaching formats: Flexible work areas enable exchange, teamwork, and independent work, while teachers support learning processes.

The SCALE-UP approach is a central topic of teaching and learning research at the BayZieL Bavarian Centre for Innovative Teaching. It investigates how physical teaching-learning spaces can effectively support activating university teaching. This perspective is taken up by the book project "Raum & Lehre", which uses successful examples to show how didactics, room design, and organisational framework conditions interact. Publication is planned for the end of 2026.

THI professors presented the use of SCALE-UP rooms using concrete teaching examples and showed how room structure and didactics interlock and promote creative, iterative work processes for students.

The future development of the learning infrastructure at THI was also included: five more SCALE-UP rooms and spacious self-study areas will be created in the digital building, which will be occupied this year.

The visit underlines THI's role as a driving force for innovative teaching and space concepts and illustrates how the dialogue with the BayZieL Bavarian Center for Innovative Teaching contributes to the further development of sustainable university teaching in Bavaria.