This paper reports the findings of a case study that examined the importance of flexible learning spaces and student-centred pedagogies for facilitating effective teaching and learning in schools. By exploring the arrangement of learning spaces at the school level, the study compared a case school in Germany with the Future Classroom Lab Model.…

The well-known benefits of collaborative learning have prompted the development of active learning classrooms that are designed to facilitate peer interaction. Given the expense of designing active learning classrooms, examining student perceptions of these learning spaces is critical. Furthermore, it is not well understood how the type of…

Active learning spaces emerged at the turn of the twenty-first century. The active learning space design represents not only an overhaul of traditional classrooms' physical appearances but also reflects a paradigm shift from teacher-centered learning to student-centered learning. Current available research mainly focused on student academic…

This participatory design-based research study addresses the relational character of the physical learning environment and pedagogical practice in the context of a design project carried out at a Swedish upper secondary school. Three teachers initiated the project with the intent to introduce student centred pedagogy and increase active learning.…

This study draws on the analysis of 56 hours of classroom video recordings and daily room usage checklists as well as interview data from students and faculty teaching in a large, flexible, technology-rich, and collaborative classroom, "Collaboration Café." The goal is to explore faculty practices and student perspectives to increase our…

We describe four design principles that guide the Mosaic Fellows Program at Indiana University, a program focused on supporting faculty pedagogy in active learning spaces. The design principles focus on exploring a variety of classrooms with faculty Fellows, engaging Fellows' individual goals, creating shared learning experiences, and encouraging…

Purpose: The availability of new innovative learning spaces together with the introduction of new teaching and learning strategies have shifted the nature of the classroom from a place of instruction towards a place that produces authentic learning. Students in the 21st century are inclined to learn with peers, through the use technology to…

Although learning spaces research is not new, research approaches that target the specific teaching and learning experiences of faculty and students who occupy active learning classrooms (ALCs) is nascent. We report on two novels data collection approaches: Flashbacks and Re-Captures. Both leverage faculty reflective practice and provide windows…

Project-based learning often centers learning experiences around projects and is characterized by the application of knowledge, management of resources, and self-directed learning. In recent years, newer classroom designs have been developed to facilitate communication, classroom interaction and active learning but the cost of such spaces can be…

This chapter examines active learning spaces as they have developed over the years. Consistently well-designed classrooms can facilitate active learning even though the details of implementing pedagogies may differ.

This chapter explores whether a new learning space, designed to be more like a café than a classroom, provides an environment that facilitates active and collaborative learning.

Background: The characteristics of the classroom environment play an important role in shaping teaching practices and supporting research-based instructional strategies. One instructional strategy that has reimagined the classroom is the Student-Centered Active Learning Environment with Upside-Down Pedagogies (SCALE-UP). SCALE-UP uses studio-style…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to share lessons already learned and work currently in progress from one higher education institution's experiences of developing several flexible and technology-enhanced active learning spaces. It further proposes that the potential of such spaces can be more fully realised through the enactment of programmes…

Ask any professor to describe a "first-row student," and you will likely hear a description of an engaged learner who pays attention during class, takes notes, and asks questions. A research study from the 1980s has indicated that undergraduate students sitting in the front and center of the classroom score higher than other students.…

Technology has long been a part of the classroom space. Sometime in the 1990s, the word technology was co-opted to refer only to digital tools. "Technology in the classroom" or "technology stocks" or "the dangers posed by technology" came to refer only to digital technology rather than to technology as a whole. As such, much of the discussion…