SENSORY HAUS
Our Solution
Our
Proposed
Idea
Overall, we aim to create a body of work in support of IADT funding and providing a suitable sensory space on campus.
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We aim to research sensory spaces, create a functioning sensory space and survey IADT students about their thoughts on sensory spaces.
Our Plan
Our plan involves six main steps: researching, sourcing, recruiting, creating, surveying and reviewing.
Researching
What questions will we seek to answer with our research?
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What is a sensory space?
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What should a sensory space include?
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What should be avoided in a sensory space?
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What are the benefits of a sensory space?
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Are there any drawbacks to a sensory space?
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How have sensory spaces been implemented in other academic institutions?
What resources will we use to conduct our research?
First, we will consult existing academic research examining sensory spaces. We will look at peer reviewed research articles that explain what defines a sensory space, what should and shouldn't be included in a sensory space and the strengths and weaknesses of sensory spaces.
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Second, we will consult non-academic websites, such as As-I-Am, for supporting information about sensory spaces and to hear from people who have experience using sensory spaces about their opinions on them.
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Third, we will consult the websites of academic institutions to learn about their sensory spaces, what they look like and what they include. We will also consult these websites for student feedback about the sensory spaces in these institutions.
Fourth, we will consult images and videos of existing sensory spaces to source inspiration for our own sensory space.
Sourcing
How will we go about sourcing materials and a location?
First, we will use our research to compile a list of the materials that we will require to create our sensory space. We will consider lighting, furnishings, sound, activities and more.
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Second, we will check if any members of our team own any of these materials and would be willing to let us use them in our sensory space.
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Third, we will allocate materials to each team member so they know what they will bring for our sensory space.
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Fourth, we will speak with our lecturers and the college to find a suitable room on campus to set up our sensory space.
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Fifth, we will book the organised room for a specific date and time at which we will run our demonstration.
Recruiting
How will we recruit participants?
We will use convenience sampling to recruit participants to try our sensory space and complete our surveys.
First, we will ask the members of our class to participate in our study.
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Second, we will create posters which we will put around our college campus inviting people to participate in our study.
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Third, we will create an instagram page for our sensory space where we will encourage people to participate in our study.
Creating
What will we do to transform our room into a sensory space?
We will begin preparation a few weeks prior to the demonstration. We will do the following things:
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First, we will view the room again and ensure that it is suitable for our needs.
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Second, we will draw up a detailed floor plan for the layout of the room.
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On the day of the demonstration we will do the following things:
First, we will clear our chosen room. We will remove all unnecessary furnishings and decorations.
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Second, we will gather our materials and transport them to campus.
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Third, we will unpack our materials and bring them into the room.
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Fourth, we will hang sheets to cover the window in the room to make it as dark as possible.
Fifth, we will arrange our furnishings around the room. We will put up our decorations. We will plug in the electronics. We will ensure that the room does not feel too crammed and that there is not too much going on.
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Sixth, we will put a calming video with a relaxing audio on the screen in the room.
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Seventh, we will invite our participants to experience our space.
Surveying
Why will we survey the participants?
We will use Google Forms to survey our participants before and after the demonstration to discover their opinions about sensory spaces and to discover if their opinions change after experiencing our sensory space. We also aim to use the surveys to receive feedback from the students about the effectiveness of our sensory space.​
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Our pre-survey will include an information sheet, consent form and will examine:
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What the participant already knows about sensory spaces
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What the participant expects from the demonstration
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What the participant thinks the strengths and weaknesses of sensory spaces are
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If the participant thinks sensory spaces on campus would be valuable
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Our post-survey will include a debrief form and will examine:
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What the participant thought about the demonstration
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If the participant would change anything about the sensory space
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If the participant's opinions about sensory spaces have changed
Reviewing
How will we review our data?
We will gather together to discuss the results of our surveys. We will examine the data and see what conclusions can be drawn from it.
First, we will examine if participants think positively or negatively about sensory spaces and if this changes after the demonstration. We will be able to provide this data to IADT to show if students are supportive of having a sensory space on campus.
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Second, we will examine the feedback provided by the participants about our sensory space. We will examine what they believe should have been left out or could have been included. We will keep this information so that it can be used to create an improved sensory space in the future.