McGill.CA / Teaching and Learning Services (TLS) / Teaching and learning spaces / Renovated learning spaces

Education 129

AV Instructions

Alignment with principles for designing Teaching and Learning Spaces

Academic challenge

Promote individual, active engagement with content.

Layout

Substantial work surfaces for notebooks, laptops, and textbooks.

Furniture

Comfortable, adjustable-height chairs on wheels permit students to work individually or in groups at their tables.

Technologies

Access to resources: table-top power plugs for student laptops, LMS, internet (via student laptops). Multiple sources and screens for simultaneous display of different learning materials. Lecture recording permits individual review of courses materials after attending class.

Lighting & colour

Appropriate lighting for individual work. Yellow accents on tabletops and other surfaces brighten the room.

Photograph of a classroom in Education 129
Front to back view of the classroom.

Learning with peers

Promote active engagement with one another.

Layout

Promotes face-to-face communication with a unique small group table design on each tier. Students can move about classroom with ease due to centre aisle. Unobstructed sightlines.

Acoustics: Sound zones support multiple simultaneous conversations among students. Appropriate amplification is available, with a push-button microphone for students at each table.

Furniture

Chairs on wheels permit students to turn and discuss with those nearby, supporting a variety of collaborative learning approaches. Rounded tables allow students to work together collaboratively in small groups of up to six.

Technologies

Shared workspaces on writable whiteboards at each table. Videoconferencing permits collaborating with students at external sites.

Lighting & colour

Different lighting patterns and levels support different learning activities.

Photograph of a classroom in Education 129
Back to front view of the classroom.

Experiences with faculty

Promote interaction and communication.

Layout

Instructor is not limited to the “front of the room” and instead has access to all students due to unobstructed sightlines and the centre aisle.

Acoustics: Sound zones ensure that not only are students able to hear the instructor, but that the instructor is also able to hear the students. Wireless and wired (headset) audio amplification available for instructors.

Furniture

The podium does not interfere with sightlines or movement, and has a large surface for instructional materials.

Technologies

Dual-source projection, multiple classroom technology sources (document camera, data projector, computer, Sympodium, etc.) and multiple screens permit display of different learning materials. Videoconferencing feedback screens permit the instructor to view the image on the screen that is being projected to an external site.

Lighting & colour

Lighting patterns support multiple types of teaching tasks.

View of instructor's desk.

Contributions to the campus environment

Classrooms that incorporate elements of active and collaborative learning are part of a vision for a variety of flexible campus learning spaces. This room is designed for all populations using the space: well-lit, with a standardized room control panel that simplifies instructors’ use of equipment in classrooms across campus. IT is consistent with teaching and learning needs, and durable furniture contributes to sustainability efforts. Both physical and virtual affordances help maximize High Impact Practices (HIPs) for student learning within and beyond this classroom.

McGill University is on land which has served and continues to serve as a site of meeting and exchange amongst Indigenous peoples, including the Haudenosaunee and Anishinabeg nations. Teaching and Learning Services acknowledges and thanks the diverse Indigenous peoples whose footsteps mark this territory on which peoples of the world now gather. This land acknowledgement is shared as a starting point to provide context for further learning and action.

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