The University has been experimenting with active learning with its new Engaged Active Student Learning classrooms.
The two EASL pilot rooms are located in the Haley Center and in the Science Center Classroom building.
These classrooms are different from traditional lecture-style classrooms because they are set up in pods. These pods have six or nine seats per table. Each table can stream information directly from students' personal mobile devices to a large monitor in the room.
However, there is no front of the room.The project manager for these new classrooms, Wiebke Kahn, said the lack of a front was designed specifically with students in mind, noting that this way, students are in the center of the room, not the teacher.
Jazlyn Stallworth, sophomore in business, said the interactive setup of the classroom is helping her overcome her fear of speaking in front of others.
"I have pretty bad stage fright," Stallworth said. "I think, personally, I feel a lot more comfortable in front of a group in this setting. I think I have a lot more confidence as a result."
Stallworth said this confidence is something that will benefit the students in a work environment, along with the additional collaboration and communication the classrooms provides.
Many students often stay more engaged in lecture and are more willing to participate and interact with one another, according to Emily Browning, sophomore in nursing.
Browning is taking an American literature class in one of the EASL classrooms.
"You can't exactly zone out in a class like this," Browning said. "The round tables definitely open up areas for conversation. I think you learn better in a class like this because you're discussing more and hearing more about your classmates' perspectives on topics your learning instead of your own individual interpretation. It holds you accountable to your learning."
Kahn said with research showing student grades tend to be higher in these classes, there has been a push to have more EASL classrooms put into practice around campus. Other universities have been moving in the direction of engaged and active learning for a few years.
Kahn said there is a plan to replace the Haley Center with Central Classroom Facilities, which allows professors to rethink the way they teach now and provide a forum to discuss what types of design and technology would work best for the University in the future.
This semester, each room is holding 13 classes.
"Auburn would benefit from having more of these on campus because all of these classrooms are going to help the student," Stallworth said. "I dropped my economics class the other day because, in a lecture-style class of 400 people, I couldn't keep up, and I wasn't absorbing the information. In classes like this, your professor and classmates help you get to the right answer while making sure you understand what you're learning."
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