Saint Louis University classrooms are moving further into the 21st century with plans for a new classroom in Des Peres Hall that uses creative and innovative technology to help increase comprehension and overall learning for students.
The classroom is also meant to utilize space in a way that will increase learning potential.
This classroom has been called for by the Reinert Center of Teaching Excellence, which helps teachers enhance their educational ability and integrate technology into teaching in an effective manner.
A team of faculty and staff members has formed along with student representatives Katie Becherer, vice president of Academic Affairs, and Meghan Moll, Parks College Senator in efforts to collaborate and discuss what students and faculty believe are the necessities of a classroom.
“These necessities include meeting the needs of both faculty and students and incorporating the overall pedagogy of learning,” Moll said.
The Reinert CTE and the team have also partnered with Herman Miller, an external company that designs furnishings and helps strategically organize facilities that are meant to improve experiences in various settings, including hospitals, work places and classrooms.
Herman Miller has worked with other schools on similar projects, and SLU will be part of their ongoing research concerning how students learn and how incorporation of technology in the classroom affects their learning efficiency.
According to Mary Stephen, the director of the Reinert CTE, discussion of a technologically innovative classroom started nearly a year ago, but the team just formed this August and has started in the overall process of creating the room.
The team consists of five faculty members and two student representatives as well as members of the ITS, CTE, and various other facilities.
Moll said that the team has been exploring “learning in a technological way as well as the utilization of space in a way that will maximize a student’s learning potential.”
This classroom is not just focused on a particular major or college. “The new learning space is being designed with the mindset that it will be flexible to any and every class’s needs,” Moll said.
Assuming this goal is met, any number of classes, whether they are scientifically, mathematically or artistically based, can take advantage of this unique room.
The actual technology that will be implemented in this class is not yet certain.
The project is still in the brainstorming stage, as the student representatives and the rest of the team work together to try to decide what sort of tools students would like and need and how to make the space as efficient and useful as possible for studying.
Once the team has finished brainstorming, they will move to the design phase and continue on from there.
The classroom is expected to be on the second floor of Des Peres Hall, and Stephen said that the project is expected to be completed by December, assuming everything runs smoothly.
“It’s always good to learn new things in new ways,” student Olivia Smith said.
“A more interactive classroom would allow the students to be more involved in classroom discussions which should mean they can learn more.”
