Location
Capacity
38 plus a 12-seat seminar room with mobile wall (Burnside 512)
Alignment with Principles for Designing Teaching and Learning Spaces
Academic Challenge
- Layout: Work surfaces for notebooks, laptops, and textbooks: large, shared tables
- Furniture: Adjustable height computer monitors for optimal comfort
- Technologies: Access to infrastructure: desktop computers (1:1 student-computer ratio) and power for student laptops, networked printing. Access to resources: LMS, internet, software.
- Acoustics: Design includes acoustic panels to avoid distraction.
- Lighting/colour: Appropriate overhead and natural lighting for individual work.
Learning with Peers
- Layout: Promote face-to-face communication: hourglass-shaped tables encourage students to communicate with one another in groups of 3 or 6. Individuals can move about easily.
- Furniture: Flexible seating (chairs on wheels)
- Technologies: Shared workspaces (writable walls, screen-sharing)
- Acoustics: Sound zones support multiple simultaneous conversations at student tables.
- Lighting/colour: Sufficient lighting for group work.
Experiences with Faculty
- Easy access to all students: Instructor can easily move around room and can circulate from table to table.
- Furniture: Smaller podium does not interfere with sightlines or interaction. Mobile chairs support different teaching strategies (e.g., group work in various sizes, student presentations, etc.)
- Technologies: Dual-source projection and multiple classroom technology sources (Smartboard, document camera, instructor computer) and multiple screens permit simultaneous display of different learning materials.
- Acoustics: Sound zones support multiple simultaneous conversations.
- Lighting/colour: Different lighting patterns to support multiple types of teaching tasks.
Campus Environment
- University standards applied, including improved ventilation and sustainable building practices.
- Designed for all populations using the space, with natural light, storage for student outerwear, and standardized room controls to facilitate use of multiple classrooms.
- Designed to integrate with surrounding space: Classroom opens onto a break-out space (Burnside 512) and the Geographic Information COmmons (GIC), which provides abundant space and the technological resources for students to work individually or in small groups.
High-Impact Practices (HIPs)
- Both physical and virtual affordances help maximize HIPs for student learning within and beyond this classroom.
IT instructions
https://classroom-av.ncs.mcgill.ca/?buildingId=6&roomId=56
Photograph before renovation
Further information about Active Learning Classrooms at McGill
