Page 19 - College Planning & Management, March 2018

Forget the sage-on- the-stage model. These five innovative spaces promote active learning in order to provide the best experience for students.
Center for Healthcare Education / Sacred Heart University
As hospitals struggle to provide the clinical time needed for training, stu- dents in nursing and health professions are spending more time in simulated learning environments like the high-fidelity Simula- tion Suite in the Center for Healthcare Education at Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, CT, designed by The S/L/A/M Collaborative (SLAM). The university has engaged an innovative approach to the building’s design, as well as to teach- ing and learning, for the
11 health professions and nursing program occupy- ing the Center. SLAM re- sponded to the institution’s approach with a rational layout simulating real- world environments that mix the inter-professionals together. A combination
of new labs with emerging technologies and larger
rooms allow collaborative, team-based learning across multiple disciplines.
The Simulation Suite in particular includes spaces that replicate a physician’s office and waiting room, hospital/in-patient facility, rehabilitation, and a home suite. This simulated envi- ronment enables students to collaborate on a variety of in-patient services like ath- letic training, exercise sci- ence, nursing, occupational therapy, physical therapy, physician assistant, and speech-language pathology.
If that’s not real enough, there’s also a pregnant man- nequin programed to give birth to a mannequin infant.
Upping the building’s flexibility, a team-based learning space flexes from a conventional lecture hall to spaces for group work. The tiered room has two rows of tables per tier, allowing
students to turn around and work on problems collabora- tively. Groups gather around pop-up monitors to co- author ideas, and technology is viewable from multiple angles. Chairs are on wheels and tables are cabaret-sized and -shaped. Vanity panels serve as whiteboards.
“Initially the school wanted many smaller breakout spaces,” recalls Kevin Herrick, AIA, principal, SLAM. “This room is convertible; having multiple teams work in the room provides opportunity for groups to share their ideas even more.”
A central-core atrium serves as a dynamic
social hub while a café and bookless-library designed to mimic an Apple store afford more space for stu- dents to study and support each other between and after class.
PHOTOS COURTESY OF THE S/L/A/M COLLABORATIVE
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