Page 23 - College Planning & Management, January 2018

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STEELCASE EDUCATION
Harnessing the Power of Physical Space How classroom makeovers can transform learning.
JANUARY 2018 / COLLEGE PLANNING & MANAGEMENT 23
FOR THE LAST CENTURY, CLASSROOMS HAVE REMAINED LARGELY the same—desks arranged in rows and columns with the teacher lecturing from the front of the room. Despite this, lesson plans
have evolved to include activity, group projects and technology. There remains a disconnect between today’s forward-thinking curriculum and our outdated classroom furniture—and it raises an important question: Is the physical classroom limiting innovation and holding students back? Steelcase EDUCATION is working to address this issue with its Active Learning Center Grant.
“The lack of flexible learning spaces is often the tension schools face as they shift from a passive to active learning model,” says Craig Wilson, director of the Steelcase EDUCATION Active Learning Center Grant. “At Steelcase, we are focused on helping schools, colleges,
and universities create the most effective, rewarding, and inspiring learning environments to meet the evolving needs of students and educators. Our Active Learning Center Grant, which is now open for the latest applicants, helps them advance their active learning strategies while furthering our understanding of the impact of active learning on pedagogy, technology, and the physical environment.”
Forty learning institutions have been selected as Active Learning Center Grant Recipients in the past three years, impacting schools and universities across the U.S. and Canada by awarding them with new classrooms. For some schools, a redesigned space made the dif- ference for students as they moved from failing to passing their class. And for many faculty, it meant a new love of teaching.
The Results
At the University of Arizona, faculty began to experiment with their teaching style as they realized that students today are different from those in the past and employers are looking for different skill sets to meet the needs of today’s jobs. As lessons were redesigned to include shorter lectures, movement, and activities to promote higher-order thinking, it became clear that old lecture halls did not support many of these moves.
“As a solution, we built a large Collaborative Learning Space (CLS). It’s emphasis on high-quality mobile furniture and integration of low-tech tools created an environment where students could more easily interact with each other,” says Dr. Jane Hunter, director of Academic Resources and Special Projects at the University of Arizona. “Our new teaching meth- odologies would not have evolved without our Steelcase ALC grant.”
Faculty across campus began seeking out opportunities to teach in the new CLS. They tried strategies they could never successfully
implement prior to the new classroom. They found new joy in teaching, which in turn ignited students with a passion for learning. This change in culture has helped build campus-wide enthusiasm.
In Dr. Julie Marshall’s classroom at Saluda Trail Middle School in Rock Hill, SC, where nearly 40 percent of students are below grade level, students were previously constrained by traditional classroom furnishings. Then in 2016, the school received a Steelcase Active Learning Center Grant and converted a conventional space for 7th grade Language Arts into a more active, mobile environment. Studies on the space demonstrate its impact:
• During year one, the percentage of completed assignments in-
creased dramatically, from 53 percent to 96.92 percent. In year two,
the average continued to increase to 99.91 percent.
• Year-end grades have increased an average of 9.6 percent per
student—equivalent to a full letter grade.
• The number of students exceeding their Measure of Academic
Progress (MAP) goal has increased 30 percent while the number of students not meeting their MAP goal has decreased by 18 percent.
“I have never seen my students so excited about learning; they are choosing to own their educational experience,” says Dr. Marshall. “Active learning puts students in the middle of the decision-making process, they become focused on process and not just the product.”
Apply Now
Applications for this year’s Active Learning Center Grant are being accepted through February 2, 2018. Visit www.steelcaseeducation. com to apply. CPM