Rigid lines of wooden desks won’t separate students in Warrington College of Business Administration’s new learning center. Instead, circular tables, interactive technology and open-minded professors will bring them together.
The Active Learning Studio will be unveiled at 10 a.m. today in Matherly Hall, Room 120. The studio combines technology and collaboration, said Tawnya Means, director of Warrington’s Center of Teaching, Learning and Assessment.
“In a traditional classroom, you sit in a chair, wait to talk and take notes,” Means said. “With active learning, it’s application-based. Learning is more on you as a student.”
She said students will work together to discuss business cases, solve problems and create products with team members.
The studio allows distance-learning students to work with residential students in real-time. The room features cameras, microphones, a video production studio and web conferencing capabilities, according to a press release.
“We’re really excited to offer this opportunity for both students and teachers,” Means said.
In order to take advantage of what the studio has to offer, teachers have to design their courses differently, said graduate student and instructor James Van Scotter.
The learning studio encourages a teamwork environment, and if students are underprepared, he said, peer pressure now plays a part in getting students to keep up with their work.
“The professor grading things isn’t the only incentive now,” he said.
