8.10 Classroom Design

We have been involved in the design of classrooms since the early 1990's and have had the fortune of seeing things go well and not so well. As computer technology was becoming popular in the mid-90's we were helping design classrooms for blended methods in the classroom involving activities similar to think-pair-share, and what to do when the lights were dimmed and the projection turned on, and sharing the insights with others via talks and presentations. Was an exciting time! In some ways, things are different today, and in some sad ways, no different.

First of all, there is no single, perfect classroom design that will optimize the teaching and learning for all courses. there will be compromises. Second, it is possible that a classroom will be optimal for part of a course, but not for every lecture or activity. Third, it is possible for a room to work really well for a specific course, near optimal, but not work well for others. Fourth, the compromises might mean that the room is not a good fit for any course. Everyone suffers. The latent potential for a room will change term by term, course by course, method by method!

There are a few big decisions to be made about a room.

• The number of students to accommodate is a biggy. Universities love to pack them in, teach more with fewer sections, fewer instructors, make use of the real estate. The number of students to seat will likely be a topic influenced by the department, faculty, and institution and not be at the sole discretion of the department (if it is a department room).
• The diversity of courses to use the room, best guess, will also be a major decision. It is best if the courses have similar needs, use similar methods, have similar students.
• The type of content in a course will be factor. The content or material might only require writing, reading, speaking, and listening. Other content might require instructor demonstrations, multi-media, concurrency of delivery.
• Methodology and the desired learning outcomes should also drive requirements. Design, interactive courses will have different needs than foundational courses focusing on knowledge acquisition and comprehension. Seminar style courses will have different needs. Courses that do lots of think-pair-share or table-top exercises will have more too. Courses that encourage or require students to use laptops or equipment during classtime have specific requirements. Courses where in-class assessments will take place have test-taking requirements. Courses that encourage student engagement and dialog have requirements. Lots of requirements to consider.

The higher the variety of requirements, the more likely compromises will be needed. There are also some subtle issues to consider. For example, how long will the students be in the room?

In general, the more powerful a room is, the more it can do, the more flexible it is, the more technology that is used, the more it will cost. This can sometimes result in a higher density of students, more students in the room. Often rooms are budgeted using a return-on-investment perspective based on the number of students. The basic ideas behind the room design might be fine, but the practicality of using certain features for 00's of students is questionable.



How does an instructor interact with over 100 group tables in a lecture? How many helpers required? How is each group afforded the same access and value? We have found that in a room with 90-100 students, it can take an instructor and 2-3 assistants to provide decent, quality interaction. This is when the students are in groups of 4. That is 25 tables, not 100. This is an eight table to facilitator ratio. It is also only 25 tables or groups to manage for questions, interactions. Even with this number, it is not possible to engage all, interact with all.

Instructors should also remember that just because they teach, it does not mean that they are automatically qualified to make significant decisions about room design. Professionals should also be involved.

Our short checklist for consideration...

• Accessibility needs to be considered; for the instructor and for the students. Mobility issues, as well as, accommodation for a variety of cognitive or learning challenges.
• Windows, external lighting, level of darkness required.
• Room lighting. Reduced levels? Direct or indirect? Reflection in glasses can be an issue depending on where the lighting is. Focused/work lighting needed for when work is done at the student's location?'
• Audio quality from instructor to students, students to instructor and where they might be located. E.g., the absence of echo zones, dead zones.
• Air flow, heating and cooling. The room needs to consider the normal situations in a room design, but also what it means when there are many students in the room at once.
• The spacing per student should account for seasonal requirements for clothing etc.
• Power and wiring considerations. These are important if students are expected to use laptops etc. in the class.
• If methods like think-pair-share are used, or if there are requirements for experiential learning in the classroom, a flexible design is probably required.
• If the classroom is relatively large, the room might need to be mic'd to allow student interaction to be heard by all, and in this case, we recommend overhead mic'ing and not at each desk which can affect the worktop real estate.
• The instructor space needs to consider stationary and mobile instruction methods. It should not force the instructor into a single location or method of teaching.
• If the instructors roam and move about the classroom (and possibly any assistants), there should be easy access to students throughout the room.

• If the instructors use in-class demonstrations or have student activities at the front of the room, sufficient space is required.
• The room should allow for multiples of everything because as soon as there is one of something, someone will want to use two or more of the thingy.
• As much as possible, generic, modular switches and connections should be used to allow for new technology to be introduced as it becomes available, or enhanced. Also allow space and do not assume that the initial hardware will be the final requirement.
• If possible, consistent technology and capability should be used in all of the rooms to minimize learning, adaption, hook-up.
• The sight-lines need to be considered and the screens, displays need to be large enough and high resolution enough for clarity throughout the room, for all students.
• If tables are used and the students sit around them, there is always the question about how the student sitting behind another student can see the screen, instructor, etc. It is nice to have students sit around a table, but the sight-lines are important to consider for different classroom situations.

Further reading

• Zandvliet, D.B. (2014). PLACES and SPACE: Case Studies in the evaluation of post-secondary, place-based learning environments, Studies in Educational Evaluation, 41, pp. 18-28.
• Barrett, P., Zhang, Y., Moffat, J., and K. Kobbacy (2013). A holistic, multi-level analysis identifying the impact of classroom design on pupils’ learning, Building and Environment, 59, pp. 678-689.