First meeting of Faculty -- Feedback and Exchange of Ideas

We had our first meeting of the faculty who are teaching/going to teach in the new classroom space for feedback and an exchange of ideas.
The first few minutes were dedicated to issues with the room -- the consensus is that the teaching station needs to move into the corner, and that this would not create the illusion of a front of the room but instead will improve site lines and possibly remove the teacher from the center of activity (which is still perceived as a position of privilege).  Some reports on the touch screen -- apparently buttons are preferred rather than a touch screen that allows for more flexibility.
One interesting point about the glass boards -- glare is an issue, though that is controlled through the dimmable lights.  And of course the monitor size and height.

Positive feedback:

traditional table chair

Steelcase chairs

Students have commented on the chairs as being very comfortable, especially in comparison to our regular tablet chairs.

They also like the amount of work space on the tables, although the orange table is not that popular.


Faculty exchanged ideas about what they were doing in the classroom, including gallery walks, role playing, individual and group assessment to measure the level of preparedness, negotiation of assignments between groups and faculty and within groups.  One recurrent theme was that this rooms allows for the application, practice of learned concepts -- whether this is in reading education, game theory, or health administration.
Students love that they can work on their projects in class, with the help of others and immediate access to the faculty member.  When students work on the glass boards or use the monitors to work on their projects, one additional effect is that other groups see what the level of presentation is and rise to the challenge -- the design, complexity, and depth of student work appears to increase.