- Location: 853 Sherbrooke Street West, Montreal, QC
- Capacity: 110 students
- Type: Tiered classroom
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.
Acoustics: Acoustic design to avoid distraction from outside and inside sources.
Furniture
Comfortable, lightweight chairs permit students to work individually or in groups at their tables.
Technologies
Access to resources: LMS, outlets for laptops, internet (via student laptops). Lecture recording permits individual review of courses materials after attending class. Multiple sources and screens for simultaneous display of different learning materials.
Lighting & colour
Appropriate lighting for individual work. Green accents on walls and forest-printed shades make the room more pleasant, while large windows let in ample natural light.
Learning with peers
Promote active engagement with one another.
Layout
Promotes face-to-face communication through two rows on a tier, so students can turn and discuss in pairs or small groups. Students can move about the classroom with ease due to centre and side aisles. Unobstructed sightlines.
Acoustics: Sound zones support multiple simultaneous conversations among students. Appropriate amplification is available, with a push-button microphone for students placed every couple of chairs.
Furniture
Mobile, lightweight chairs permit students to turn and discuss with those nearby, supporting a variety of collaborative learning approaches.
Technologies
Shared workspaces on writable whiteboards at sides of the room. Videoconferencing permits collaboration with students at external sites.
Lighting & colour
Different lighting patterns and levels support different learning activities.
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 aisles.
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.), HDMI cables 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.
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.
