The technologically enhanced classroom assists students in developing their interpersonal, or soft skills, and helps them strengthen needed competencies as they move into their careers. This may be particularly helpful for contemporary students, who have grown up interacting with others electronically, via text message, Instagram, and the like.…

This study investigated the influence of physical and virtual learning spaces on students' socialization into future professions while attending a modern university. Qualitative analysis of an undergraduate liberal arts program that employs the use of roundtable classrooms was conducted. Findings revealed that the roundtable classroom promotes…

In the face of diverse challenges to traditional higher education (HE) models, creating and defining the value of an on-campus student experience has become a key concern for HE institutions. Originating in response to these challenges, The Belonging Project seeks to improve the student experience in the School of Media and Communication at RMIT…

Student learning and engagement are paramount for educational institutions. This paper examines the impact of an interactive learning space on teaching and learning for both faculty and students. Specifically, four faculty from disparate disciplines examine the impacts on teaching and learning of an active learning space designed for student…

Research on pedagogy and learning spaces often assumes that active learning spaces enhance faculty's ability to implement student-centered practices; it also relies on student perspectives. In this study faculty completed surveys that assessed their self-efficacy for student-centered pedagogy, teaching experiences, and student engagement when…

A responsive case study evaluation approach utilizing interviews and focus groups collected student and faculty perspectives on examined how instructors and students utilized a newly redesigned active learning space at Iowa State University and the relationship of this design with environmental and behavioral factors of student engagement. The…

Higher education institutions are increasingly building or remodeling classrooms to be flexible spaces that support learner-centered instruction. However, little is known about the actual impact of these spaces on student outcomes. Using a mixed method design, this study examined student perceptions of a flexible learning space on student learning…

This study sought to explore how the design of both physical and virtual learning spaces influence student dialogue in a modern university. Qualitative analysis of the learning spaces in an undergraduate liberal arts program was conducted. Interview and focus group data from students and faculty, in addition to classroom observations, resulted in…

This study investigates how instructor teaching philosophy (traditional vs. constructivist) and type of learning space (traditional vs. active) influence instructor perceptions of student engagement. In a quasi-experimental study, we found that instructors perceived that students were more engaged in the active learning classroom (ALC) than in the…

This quantitative, cross-sectional research study explored students' perceptions of five different seating styles within typical classrooms in an urban public higher education institution. The five seating styles included: modern mobile chairs, tablet arm chairs, fixed tiered seating with tablet arms, rectangle tables with standard chairs, and…

Today's undergraduates are clearly comfortable as consumers of technology and new media--purchasing ring tones for their cell phones and tunes for their iPods, text-messaging from handheld devices, scanning and tinkering with photos, keeping up with their Facebook friends and watching viral YouTube videos, sometimes all simultaneously. We share…

Traditional designs for most mid-sized college classrooms discourage 1) face-to-face interaction among students, 2) instructor movement in the classroom, and 3) efficient transitions between different kinds of learning activities. An experimental classroom piloted during Spring Semester 2011 at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill uses…