Two UF innovative learning spaces were featured in a recent case study done by manufacturer Steelcase Study Solutions.
The Media:scape Learn Lab in the architecture building, and the AHA! Innovation Colab in Weimer Hall, were featured in the study. The spaces are not constructed like conventional classrooms but are designed for a more active style of learning.
Jason Meneely, an associate professor in the department of interior design, helped design both labs.
“When you come in the room, there is no front of the room,” Meneely said. “You have four walls with LCD projectors that are projected right on to white boards.”
This is done, he said, to try and eliminate a teaching stage. Students are able to interact directly with the information they are dealing with and are encouraged to openly participate in discussions. This active learning is meant to help better motivate the student than a lecture hall would, he said.
Each student has access to a whiteboard, a collaborative monitor and a projector that can be viewed by the entire class.
Chelsea Caracciolo, a 21-year-old UF advertising senior, said she frequently uses the AHA! Innovation Colab.
“Usually we do team meetings up here, so we have more freedom to kind of talk about things,” Caracciolo said. “The whiteboards in the meetings rooms are really nice to sprawl all your notes on and kind of brainstorm.”
Meneely said the classrooms have received mixed reviews from instructors. Some love it, but others have a hard time adapting to the new teaching style.
There is not one single teaching platform that is perfect for a specific subject, but these teaching styles could be beneficial in many different fields, Meneely said.
“What companies are looking for are not people who know it all,” Meneely said. “What companies are really looking for are people who are able to creatively solve problems, regardless of what field you’re in.”
[A version of this story ran on page 23 on 3/14/2014 under the headline "UF learning labs featured in study"]
