The concept of “built pedagogy,” defined as “architectural embodiments of educational philosophies” (Monahan, 2002) suggests that the physical layout of classrooms conveys a great deal about the types of teaching and learning activities that can take place within. As Monahan (2002) notes, classrooms possess a “tacit curricula” that can either inhibit or support innovative pedagogies and collaborative learning experiences. Acknowledging the potential of and connection between classroom design and student and faculty engagement, Wilfrid Laurier University’s Faculty of Arts initiated a process that saw the institution’s first active learning classroom (ALC) open in September, 2012. The space was purposefully designed to leverage the latest educational technologies and research on classroom design, bringing together various stakeholder groups to fund the project and share their expertise toward its design, construction, and support. Now in its second year, there is growing evidence to suggest that the ALC is achieving its intended goal of inspiring and motivating greater faculty and student engagement, and as well as interest in, and commitment to, establishing other like spaces across Laurier.
A panel of Laurier faculty from diverse disciplines who have taught in the ALC will share and discuss how the classroom inspired a transformation of their teaching and, as a result, their students’ learning. Each panelist will comment on a different and unique aspect of the classroom’s transformative potential, reflecting how they re-imagined their role in and use of classroom space. Staff from Laurier’s Teaching Support Services (TSS) will join the conversation to provide context and discuss the role support units like TSS and IT play in the success of such collaborative institutional projects.