A Survey of the Effective Utilization of Services Provided at Learning Commons in Japan

The purpose of this study is to determine conditions for sufficiently utilizing various services provided in Japanese learning commons. In this study, five good practices utilized by Information and Communication Technology (ICT) devices and provided as services in learning commons were chosen. The survey was carried out through the observation of the five learning commons and semi-structured interviews that were guided by those items and conducted by the person in charge of the learning commons. The results suggest that there are five conditions that allow for various services in learning commons to be sufficiently utilized: (1) Providing useful services to all students, (2) Providing services that the whole university needs, (3) Making students' use of the learning commons convenient, (4) Including entertainment space, and (5) Providing greater incentives for students. These conditions could make students extrinsically and intrinsically motivated to study and learn.