By John Strickland, Assistant Director, IMS
The modern classroom is a place where, even today, many of us sit still, sit quiet and learn. Ostensibly. For the past thousand years (or more), learning has happened in rooms with rows of tables and chairs all facing the front to listen to someone who will profess on their area of expertise. It is this very idea of sedentary consumption of learning that has made the phrase “active learning” so jazzy and appealing to those of us working toward improving pedagogy and the learning experience. Perhaps, however, there might be a less evocative term? Something that doesn’t suggest that learning outside of the so-called “active learning” bubble is somehow not actively participating in the learning experience. These semantics are food for thought, but alas, what’s in a name?
Carleton University is among the academic leaders aspiring toward creating more innovative teaching practices and more engaging learning environments. A very good example of the kinds of spaces that reflect where contemporary classrooms are going can be found in the Discovery Centre. Boasting contemporary aesthetics and state-of-the-art technology, the Discovery Centre is a study space in which the sharing of ideas and collaboration among students in encouraged by design.
Committed members of the Teaching and Learning Services team want to extend this experience to the classroom, making active learning a more accessible practice for our instructors. The Active Learning Classrooms (ALCs) that will be rolled out on campus will contain mobile furniture that accommodates 25-40 students, and can be configured to form groups of five to six at huddle tables. But still, I worry that by calling them ‘active learning’ classrooms, I will alienate users of all other rooms. So, here is my question for the month: What would YOU call these spaces? Is “active learning” good enough or should we call them something else? Smart rooms? But then, rooms are not smart! Electronic rooms? But in what way? Something else perhaps?
Please email me at john.strickland@carleton.ca with your thoughts. If one of your terms gets adopted, the person making the suggestion will win a cake to serve up to a dozen people. Yes! This is your chance to be the office hero by getting cake for everyone! All you need to do is find a name that reflects what these rooms do, and doesn’t alienate everyone else!