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

Macdonald Engineering 279 and 280

AV Instructions for 279
AV Instructions for 280

Alignment with principles for designing Teaching and Learning Spaces

Academic challenge

Promote individual, active engagement with content.

Layout

Work surfaces for notebooks, laptops, and textbooks.

Acoustics: Acoustic design to avoid distraction from outside and inside sources.

Furniture

Comfortable chairs on wheels permit students to work individually or in groups.

Technologies

Access to resources: LMS, internet (via student laptops).

Lighting & colour

Appropriate lighting for individual work. “The Blueprint”, the Faculty of Engineering’s code of ethics, is displayed prominently on the back wall, to give students a sense of place.

Photograph of classroom in Macdonald Harrington 279 and 280 building
Front to back view of the classroom.

 

Learning with peers

Promote active engagement with one another.

Layout

Flexible layout permits students to move easily from small group (groups of 2-4 students) to larger group activities.

Acoustics: Sound zones support multiple simultaneous conversations among students.

Furniture

Chairs on wheels permit students to easily turn to discuss and work with those next to or behind them. Lightweight chairs and flip-top tables allow for easy reconfiguration of the classroom to support a variety of collaborative learning approaches.

Technologies

Glass writable boards wrap the room, providing ample shared workspace for student brainstorming, work on projects, and presenting.

Lighting & colour

Large frosted windowpanes bring in diffuse light.

Photograph of classroom in Macdonald Harrington 279 and 280 building
Detail of the back 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 easily mobile furniture.

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. Wired and wireless instructor microphones are available.

Furniture

The podium provides ample space for all instructional materials, and has a height adjustment for accessibility and convenience. Mobile furniture for students supports different teaching strategies.

Technologies

Classroom technologies (data projector, document camera, sympodium, wireless screen sharing) permit display of different learning materials.

Lighting & colour

The combination of black-backed and white-backed glass writable walls provides contrast within the room.

Photograph of classroom in Macdonald Harrington 279 and 280 building
Whiteboards at the front of the classroom.

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 classroom 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.

Back to top