| Summary: | Recently, small nearby outdoor spaces have become an important tool to improve academic
outcomes by enhancing students' social-learning experience. However, nearby open spaces
and pocket parks of Malaysian universities lack the absorption of informal and formal outdoor
education that may affect the academic experience, especially in the outdoor spaces.
Therefore, there is a need to enhance students' on-campus learning experience in Malaysian
universities. This study aimed to investigate the visually preferred pocket parks criteria to
promote students' learning experience on Malaysian campus grounds; this is in line with the
Twelfth Malaysia Plan for 2021-2025. This study employed a visual-verbal preference survey
(VVPS) conducted in three Malaysian universities, including Universiti Malaya (UM), Universiti
Putra Malaysia (UPM), and Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM), to assess the visual
preferences of 415 students toward six pocket parks sceneries. Multiple regression analysis
was used to predict the relationship between students' outdoor learning experience and
preferred pocket parks criteria. The result showed that pocket parks that provide a strong
shade, variety in softscape and activities, and bench hardscape contributed to enhancing
students' outdoor learning. The result indicated that providing on-campus pocket parks with
the preferred design criteria can enhance the learning experience. Thus, the current study
contributed to integrating nearby pocket parks in outdoor learning to improve campus urban
design and academic experience. The study's findings are of great importance for
policymakers and academic administration, landscape and urban planners, and researchers
in the field in creating an academically responsive campus.
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