A classroom needs analysis indicated, among other things, the desire for classrooms to allow students and instructors to see each other and the course content easily, move around the room and interact, and share data and information. Photo by the IU Bloomington School of Education

Classroom spaces that support effective teaching and learning are a critical component of Indiana University Bloomington’s infrastructure. The Bloomington campus has more than 700 classrooms that support the university’s teaching mission — a commitment that is deeply embedded throughout the IUB 2030 strategic plan, with its emphasis on student success.

In June, Provost and Executive Vice President Rahul Shrivastav asked School of Education Dean Anastasia “Stacy” Morrone to convene a working group focused on optimizing IU Bloomington’s learning spaces. The goal was to envision new ways to create and utilize spaces to support student success.

“The provost and I discussed the need for a classroom needs analysis, which I had done at IU Indianapolis in my previous role as associate vice president for learning technologies,” Morrone said. “With the recent review of research space on campus, an analysis of classroom spaces made sense.”

The working group Morrone pulled together included faculty from diverse disciplines, leaders in innovative pedagogy, professionals in learning technologies, learning space designers and the campus registrar.

The group’s work was framed by three guiding questions:

• What is the right balance of small, medium and large classrooms at IU Bloomington?
• How are classroom spaces being used in terms of instructional practices?
• How many classrooms are active learning classrooms, and how many do we need?

Classrooms that are intentionally set up to support student engagement and collaboration are designated as an active learning classroom and published in a database. IU’s certification process for active learning classrooms was developed as part of the MOSAIC Initiative and is based on Educause’s Learning Space Rating System.

“An active learning classroom may be as simple as having white boards and movable furniture, but may also include technology such as wireless screensharing, shared collaboration computers and cameras,” said James McGookey, director of learning spaces at University Information Technology Services and a member of the working group.

After meeting regularly for over six months, the working group produced a classroom needs analysis report detailing their findings and a set of recommendations for campus leadership to consider.

They gathered data from faculty and students across campus using multiple methods, including:

• Five focus groups of 48 faculty members trained in active learning pedagogy.
• Faculty surveys, with 1,278 responses from all ranks and schools.
• Student surveys, with 714 undergraduate and graduate student responses from all schools.
• Analysis of registrar data on existing classroom spaces and enrollment.
• Analysis of current characteristics of IU Bloomington learning spaces.

There was broad agreement among both faculty and students on the importance of certain features and functionality. Both groups indicated a preference for classrooms that allow students and instructors to see each other and the course content easily, move around the room and interact, and share data and information. Both groups also preferred having enough work surface for devices and materials, as well as flexible furniture to support group interactions. Students noted the importance of comfortable seating and adequate access to power outlets.

The working group determined that, given the variety of pedagogical approaches used by faculty members, a touchstone driving their recommendations should be to create maximally flexible learning spaces with up-to-date learning technologies to support effective teaching, student engagement and learning outcomes.

A primary recommendation is to develop a master plan for classroom needs for the coming decade. The plan would include new construction, renovations, learning technology upgrades and process improvements that allow optimal alignment between faculty members’ preferred pedagogical approach and their classroom assignments.

The remaining recommendations are grouped into three broad categories: aligning learning spaces with learning approaches; classroom capacity; and learning technologies.

Highlights include:

• Having all new and renovated classrooms support active learning, with a target of 50% active learning classrooms by 2030.
• Reestablishing the Teaching and Learning Spaces Committee with representation from faculty, students and other key constituencies.
• Investing in dedicated swing space classrooms to allow for year-round renovations and learning technology life cycle updates.
• Renovating existing space to create additional learning spaces.
• Investigating the possibility of a dedicated proctored testing center.

“The recommendations underscore the need for spaces to support active learning, spaces that facilitate the integration of leading-edge technology, and spaces that allow for assessment, student engagement and support,” Morrone said.

Campus leadership will evaluate the group’s recommendations and determine next steps in the coming months.

Caroline Dwyer Gilley is a strategy and innovation specialist in the Office of the Provost and Executive Vice President.