School Remodeling Inspires an Active Learning Classroom
Light Your Student’s Way to Innovation
When you’re creating your classroom, there’s one thing you need to know. Let there be light! Biological light helps your students learn. Biological (or natural) light matches the wavelength and temperature of the light we receive from the sun throughout the day. A study carried out by the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute showed that students who didn’t have access to natural light in the morning went on to have sleeping problems. The students in the study slept the same amount. However, students that received natural light had more steady circadian rhythms. This means that students went to bed earlier and woke up more alert than their light deprived classmates. They are ready to engage in their active learning classroom.
More and more research has proven that natural light increases attention and cognitive performance. When you design your active learning classroom, it’s crucial to have enough windows or the LED lights necessary to give your students the natural light they need. Heroica Construction is a general contractor that can help construct your entire classroom and brighten your University.
Work is Play
The hour strikes and all of your students file into the hallway. Lectures and seminars vanish, and your students leave for their next class or head to a library to study. But what if the space where your students learned and studied were the same? As active learning continues to dictate the future of higher education, the locations where students pursue knowledge also must evolve. To inspire real active learning that allows students to wrestle with their material, they need a space that fosters collaboration. Students need a versatile classroom. Imagine a space where everything is on wheels, and the walls are glass. Floor to ceiling whiteboards. Instead of leaving class when it finishes, the tables can be re-arranged as students see fit. They continue to study what they just learned in the presence of the peers. Students don’t skip class because they feel that their environment supports their understanding of the material.
Active Learning Classroom Means In Sight & On the Mind
Similar to the ideas above, to inspire innovation students need to see each other. College doesn’t provide for that much downtime. As your students rush from point A to class B what are the chances that they will stop to talk about what they are learning? A study published in Research Policy journal presents research on “workspace planning” in University Research Centers. While their data applies to research at universities, the implications for classrooms, in general, speak volumes.
Visibility matters. When common spaces have glass walls, it encourages eye contact across disciplines. This refers to multi-purpose rooms but also to your university’s hallways. Additionally, walking distance affects the number of unplanned run-ins between students. If the distance between classrooms and labs is too far, universities lose potential creative conversations. As you design your next building or active learning classroom, think about fusing office and lab spaces. Take the time to mix fields and encourage interdisciplinary discussions.
Heroica Construction has the expertise you need to build your next innovative classroom. Our self-performance skills mean that we bring the kind of hands-on carpentry that can match your high level of design. To learn more about Heroica’s past projects, or starting your next build, visit our website here.
