Instructional Lab

Redesign of the TRC Instructional Lab

The future flexible learning lab being designed, built and implemented by the Office for Teaching and Learning will be located in Room 150 of the TRC in the Purdy/Kresge Library. The lab is being built as a model for teaching and learning and uses space, furnishings and technology to provide the flexibility needed for teaching in today's world. The following describes this great new resource.

The instructor arrives entering the lounge area and greets the students who are awaiting class and who are finishing up last minute details on previous projects. Some students have brought their laptops and some are making plans using "huddle boards" (portable white boards). Others just scribble on plain paper with pencil.

The music from the lab signals the students that they should wrap up their conversations and work groups and enter the lab where they are seated in their assigned groups.

The first slide is keyed up from the instructor's laptop presentation and is projected onto all three display screen/boards. After about 10 minutes of presentation and discussion of the new concepts, the student groups are asked to complete a short quiz that has been sent via the internet connection to their work tables. They work on the quiz for 5 minutes. Each work group puts their answers into the laptop connected to the projection system all the groups answers are made available on the various screens for comparison and discussion. The facilitator/instructor summarizes the quiz results (displaying on one of the board/screens) and then continues class by going to the application component related to the concept. Work groups are given assignments and asked to outline their plans which will consist of presentations at the next class session. While the groups are working, the facilitator/instructor takes back control of all three projectors and gets a video queued for showing.

Students continue working on their assignments and save their work from the white boards using the built-in copycam. The captures are downloaded to flash drives. When full class resumes the instructor loads the slide with questions and main ideas about the video on one of the screen boards and begins the video. Class ends. The instructor and students disconnect their laptops and leave until next session.