The Office of Classroom Management (OCM) is building a future flexible
classroom as a pilot project in a renovation of rooms 58/64/70 in the
Biological Sciences Center on the Saint Paul campus.
The new active-learning centered classroom will demonstrate
important design concepts that will be fundamental in the next
generation of University of Minnesota general purpose (GP) classrooms.
These include:
- Flexibility to meet changing room size and/or pedagogy requirements
- Ability to flex forward to function as a larger SCALE-UP* classroom (capacity 117)
- Ablity to flex smaller to 2 SCALE-UP classrooms (72 and 36 capacity),
or 2 traditional seating table/chair classrooms, or 1 SCALE-UP and 1
traditional classroom
The Future Flexible Classroom will include a rich technology
environment using the UM Projection Capable Classroom standard system
with add-on modules, including multiple fixed flat-panel
display/projection systems, special laptop and system switching, and
circumferential white board surfaces.
Design and construction of the Future Flexible Classroom will feature
reconfigurable low-profile flooring with internal power and cable
management, demountable wall systems and advanced classroom AV system
control features. These key features will allow the room to be
reconfigured, or flexed, on an annual basis to meet changing room size
or pedagogical requirements.
This project is a concept demonstration to test room design,
construction technologies and features that will be used in future
University of Minnesota General Purpose Classroom construction and
renovations. The flooring and wall system technologies used in this
demonstration project have been successfully employed in corporate
office, lab and other settings. Their use in University of Minnesota
classrooms offers the potential to make sure that the inventory of
instructional space keeps pace with the dynamic teaching and learning
needs of faculty and students. It also helps the University optimize
its investment in building and maintaining the right classrooms for our
needs of today and tomorrow.
This project is a companion to the SCALE-UP GP Classroom Pilot Project
being conducted in Electrical Engineering-Computer Science 2-260 on the
East Bank campus.
OCM is responsible for room design, technology and construction in both
projects. OCM has partnered with the Digital Media Center for faculty
development and student/faculty assessment in both of the new SCALE-UP
GP classroom pilots. OCM's Classroom Planner Jeremy Todd is Project
Lead for the Future Flexible Classroom and SCALE-UP efforts.
The new pilot classroom will be operational in Fall semester 2007, and
the College of Biological Sciences will use it for their new
Foundations of Biology for Majors course.
* SCALE-UP: "Student-Centered Activities for Large Enrollment
Undergraduate Program" Classroom design featuring round tables for 9
students each in a high technology, student centered classroom learning
environment.
