Learners, teachers and places: A conceptual framework for creative pedagogies

This exploratory paper introduces a theoretical framework which helps educators in higher education to navigate the complex relationships between self, students, and place. It is also written for academic developers who support the evolving identities and pedagogies of lecturers undertaking professional development. The framework focuses on students, teachers and places as actors (first space) that interact, giving rise to transformational (second) spaces. At the heart of the framework (third space), all three actors dynamically interact through creative pedagogies for active, transformational learning, physically and/or digitally. Although the term ‘third space’ typically refers to the merging of two physical places (Flessner, 2014), we perceive it here as a merging of three ‘actors’ with constantly changing identities to create a dynamic third space for transformation and student-centred learning.