{"id":261,"date":"2019-03-09T13:29:31","date_gmt":"2019-03-09T18:29:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.dawsoncollege.qc.ca\/active-learning-classroom\/?page_id=261"},"modified":"2019-03-09T13:29:31","modified_gmt":"2019-03-09T18:29:31","slug":"classroom-design-principles","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.dawsoncollege.qc.ca\/active-learning\/classroom-design-principles\/","title":{"rendered":"Classroom Design Principles"},"content":{"rendered":"
There are three main design features to our active learning classrooms: 1)\u00a0<\/strong>Shared percetual spaces<\/strong>; 2)\u00a0<\/strong><\/span>The perimeter is the centre<\/strong>, and; 3) Careful table design.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n The importance of providing shared perceptual spaces as learning<\/em> tools – rather than as teaching<\/em> tools as per most other classroom designs – emerged through our research in early design iterations in which students were seen sneaking up behind the instructor during group work to access his\/her class notes (artifacts). The animated exchanges between students when they accessed the teacher artifacts convinced us that “student-centered” means more than focussing attention on students, it means focusing on what they do<\/em> and providing them with powerful learning tools<\/em>.<\/p>\nShared percetual spaces:<\/h2>\n
<\/a>Students construct knowledge around texts, drawings, abstract representations and other artifacts, and in order for them to leverage social interactions to learn deeply, they need to have a shared representation of that learning artifact. In our low-tech classrooms these shared perceptual spaces are whiteboards or writeable glass surfaces, whereas in our high-tech classrooms they are interactive whiteboards – that is, SMART Board or Nureva Wall technologies.<\/p>\n
The perimeter is the centre:<\/h2>\n
<\/a>In the 爆料黑社 Active Learning classroom designs careful consideration has been given to providing students with shared perceptual spaces that are accessible across multiple levels – that is, the shared perceptual spaces are accessible to individuals, groups and the entire class in that they are visible and physically accessible to all. Pieces of paper on desks are only physically accessible to individuals and for peers seated around the table they are upside down which means they are only truely accessible to one or two people at a time.
<\/a>By placing whiteboards\/SMART Boards\/Nureva Wall around the perimeter of the room and by leaving a gap between the tables and the walls, these perceptual spaces are physically and visibly accessible to everyone in the room. When students use the wall-mounted perceptual spaces to construct, manipulate or enhance the perimeter of the room becomes the centre of attention of the classroom.<\/p>\n
Careful table design:<\/h2>\n