Join us on Bluesky for #LTHEchat on Wednesday 13th May at 8pm BST with guest Sarah Rhodes (@sarahjrhodes.bsky.social) to discuss how well we design for the sensory experience of learning.
Higher Education is good at designing content. Outcomes are aligned, assessments mapped, activities justified. We design for cognition, accessibility, and progression.
But how often do we design for the sensory experience of learning?
In early years, schools, and Further Education, sensory-aware practice is well established, supported by SEND reforms and regulation-informed approaches (Education Committee, 2025). In contrast, universities often treat learning environments, physical, digital, or hybrid, as sensory-neutral.
As blended and online learning continue to expand, it’s worth asking:
Are we designing for learning or simply expecting students to adapt?
Learning is sensory
Learning is not just intellectual; it is embodied. Neuroscience recognises eight sensory systems, including vestibular, proprioceptive and interoceptive systems that underpin attention, regulation, posture and readiness to learn (Neff, 2022).
Every learner has a sensory profile. Some seek movement or pressure; others are highly sensitive to light, noise or visual clutter. When sensory input is overwhelming or insufficient, it can affect concentration, emotional regulation, motivation and persistence.
This is well understood in earlier educational stages. In Higher Education, it remains largely invisible.
The hidden sensory load of HE
Lecture theatres, seminar rooms, studios and libraries carry sensory demands we rarely name: lighting, acoustics, seating, proximity, routes of movement. Digital environments add further load, scrolling VLEs, screen glare, notifications, video fatigue and multi-device study (Borda-Niño-Wildman & Gillies-Walker, 2025).
Students increasingly study in environments they did not design, while managing work, care responsibilities and high levels of stress. Research suggests that sustained sensory strain can lead students to avoid learning spaces, reduce participation, or reconsider their programme choices altogether (Nolan et al., 2023).
When this happens, the problem is often framed as individual disengagement rather than environmental mismatch.
Behaviours we misread
Higher Education rarely talks about vestibular or proprioceptive regulation, yet these systems underpin behaviours we associate with “engagement”.
Fidgeting, shifting position, pacing or standing are often attempts to stay regulated and focused, not signs of distraction (Neff, 2022; Rhodes, 2023). When these behaviours are constrained or discouraged, learners are left with fewer ways to self-regulate.
Sensory-inclusive design is practical, not specialist
Designing for the senses does not require radical redesign. Small, intentional choices can make learning more sustainable:
- Flexibility in posture and movement
- Built-in breaks and transitions
- Reduced visual and auditory clutter
- Explicit permission for fidgeting or standing
- Online sessions designed for sensory stamina, not endurance
These supports benefit all learners, not only those with identified needs.
A sensory reckoning for Higher Education?
Higher Education has become comfortable talking about learning design frameworks, accessibility checklists, and digital innovation. Yet we rarely ask the more uncomfortable questions about how learning actually feels to participate in.
If lecture theatres exhaust students before content even begins, if online learning requires prolonged sensory suppression, if participation relies on sitting still, staying silent, and tolerating overload then these are not neutral design choices. They are values made material.
Perhaps the real provocation is this: When students disengage, withdraw, or “fail to thrive”, how often is it the learner we position as the problem, rather than the sensory demands of the environments we have designed?
Designing for the senses is not about comfort, preference, or lowering academic standards. It is about recognising that learning has always been embodied and that ignoring sensory experience advantages some bodies and brains over others.
Higher Education has rightly embraced conversations about inclusion, equity, and belonging. A sensory lens pushes those conversations into the physical and digital realities of learning.
So perhaps the question is no longer “Can we design for the senses?” But instead:
What does it say about our institutions if we continue not to?
References
Borda-Niño-Wildman, C. & Gillies-Walker, L. (2025). The importance of the sensory environment in Higher Education. Teaching Matters, University of Edinburgh.
Education Committee (2025). Solving the SEND Crisis (HC 492). London: House of Commons.
Neff, M. A. (2022). The 8 Senses of the Body: Exploring Hidden Sensory Systems. Neurodivergent Insights.
Nolan, C., Doyle, J. K., Lewis, K. & Treanor, D. (2023). Disabled students’ perception of the sensory aspects of the learning and social environments within one Higher Education Institution. British Journal of Occupational Therapy, 86(5), 367–375.
Rhodes, S. (2023). Sarah Rhodes on Sensory Learning. L&T Chatshow Podcast.
Speaker bio
Sarah Rhodes is Associate Professor of Educational Practice at BPP University, with over 25 years’ experience across academic, developmental and professional service roles. Her work centres on inclusive curriculum design, technology‑enhanced learning and reflective practice, alongside interests in wellbeing and movement pursued through a PGDip in Nutrition and Exercise Science.
Sarah has led major initiatives across several UK universities, including inclusive policy development, staff induction design, PgCert leadership and Advance HE awards and recognition schemes. A Senior Fellow of Advance HE, trained ILM Coach and Mentor and SEDA accredited Learning to Tutor Online and Digital Transformation practitioner she contributes widely through examining, advisory roles and sector engagement. At BPP, she leads the Postgraduate Certificate in Educational Practice and supports Fellowship recognition.
LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarah-rhodes-889b4a74/
X @sarah_rhodes2
BlueSky @sarahjrhodes.bsky.social
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