Report from the
2007 Project Kaleidoscope (PKAL) Facilities Workshop
Planning Facilities for Undergraduate Science & Mathematics
March 16-18, 2007
Eric Brewer
Nat Fortune
Jeff Heath
Tom Laughner
Kevin Shea
Vision
This is about Smith Students.
This simple phrase (an updated version of our recent college slogan) embodies our
thinking about the design of spaces on campus. In our minds, this vision should guide our
planning of all campus spaces and remind the Smith community that changes to any
campus space potentially affects all Smith students. Thus, our ideas for Ford Hall and the
renovated Clark Science Center focus on how these spaces will directly impact the
learning of current and future Smith students not just Smith science students.
PKAL’s mantra is that everyone is a learner and every space is a learning opportunity.
More specifically, we need to move beyond our outdated design model that focuses
exclusively on learning occurring only in research labs, teaching labs, and classrooms.
(These are, without a doubt, crucial learning spaces that should be designed with great
care.) Informal learning spaces like lounges, forums, hallways, and courtyards are also
critical to the education of our students, and we need to plan these with the same effort as
our more formal spaces.
We need to think creatively not about how we want students to use particular spaces but
about how students actually study, interact, and learn. What current spaces are student
favorites? Which are their least favorite spaces? Answers to these questions must come
from students themselves. We can start by asking our students these straightforward
questions. Students at other institutions can also influence our design ideas. A Dean from
the University of Richmond highlighted the most underutilized portion of their new
science library as an attractive (and expensive) quiet study area. Students prefer to spend
time in the louder, more active group study areas even if they are working
independently. An image that fascinated all of us was a blackboard permanently
mounted outside (again, every space is a learning opportunity) surrounded by a faculty
member and several students. We can already envision competition for such spaces
during office hours in the spring and fall and research group meetings in the summer. The
design of new and renovated space campus-wide must include creative ideas from
students, faculty, and staff always focused through the lens of what is best for all Smith
students.
Background
The literature is full of research describing the connection between learning and physical
space. The most comprehensive publication discussing the importance of the connection
is "The Importance of Physical Space in Creating Supportive Learning Environments,"
part of the New Directions for Teaching and Learning series. The book features chapters
on "implications for learning spaces suggested by modern learning theory," (Chism,
2002), the relationship between people and their physical environment (Graetz, Goliber,
2002), how flexible furniture ties into effective learning spaces (Cornell, 2002), and how
learning spaces can enable collaboration (Bickford, 2002). All of the chapters in the book,
as well as other research, and the work of Project Kaleidoscope (a national non-profit
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organization dedicated to the design of effective learning spaces in science and
engineering), conclude that the most effective teaching and learning occurs in welldesigned learning spaces.
The Educause Learning Initiative (ELI) also focuses on the design of effective learning
spaces. ELI focuses on three kinds of learning spaces; formal learning spaces, informal
learning spaces, and virtual learning spaces. Formal spaces are the traditional classroom,
lecture halls, and seminar rooms where traditional classes occur. Informal spaces are the
locations outside of the classrooms where students and/or faculty can gather. Virtual
spaces occur in online environments, such as a chat room or course management system.
(Oblinger, 2006)
Colleges and Universities all around the country are incorporating current thinking about
learning spaces into their new facilities, particularly their science and engineering
facilities. In March, Eric Brewer, Nat Fortune, Jeff Heath, Tom Laughner and Kevin Shea
attended an invitation-only planning session sponsored by Project Kaleidoscope in order
to see how other institutions are designing learning spaces and to start thinking about the
design of existing Science spaces vacated upon the completion of Ford Hall.
Current State of Smith Science Facilities
As is common with many “Sputnik-era” science facilities around the country, Smith
College shares many of the characteristics of buildings constructed during the 60s and
70s. Subsequent projects have continued to build upon the Sputnik-era design.
Sabin-Reed
Narrow, dark hallways with furniture and
other equipment stored in hallways.
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Bass Hall
Faculty offices with limited to no seating
outside doorways.
Bass Hall
A nice student lounge, but underused due
to its location in the building.
Trends in Science Education
RFD, an architectural firm specializing in the design of STEM facilities, has identified
several trends in science education that impact learning spaces. They are:
1. More hands-on labs
2. Students learn science by doing
3. Group activities are common, even in the classroom
4. Laptops are becoming more prevalent
5. AV/IT instructors stations are necessary in teaching labs and classrooms
6. More faculty and students doing research together
7. Places for students to study, interact, or wait for faculty are important
8. More community outreach
9. Display of collections or scientific artifacts
10. Incorporation of scientific art
11. Put science on display with use of interior and exterior windows
Many schools with newly refurbished or brand new facilities were represented at the
PKAL workshop. Their stories represent innovative thinking in the design of facilities
that support science education in the coming years.
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Winona State University's new Science Laboratory Center was designed as a "flexible
space which encourages events within it to give it life."
The focal point of the facility is the
"star bench" which serves as a
central meeting place for students.
Adjacent to the "star bench" are
cubbies where small groups can
meet.
Art commissioned for the building
provides an aesthetic that creates
excitement for science.
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Walls can be used as teaching tools.
The stonework in this wall illustrates
a nearby geological rock formation.
A display case provides details.
Open labs with ample work space
provide seamless access to
technology.
Comfortable seating provides
students a place to work before and
after class. The facility has become a
destination for all students, not just
science students.
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University of Notre Dame
The University of Notre Dame recently constructed a science facility housing the
teaching facilities for Biology, Chemistry, and Physics. The facility includes significant
space for informal learning in hallways. Classrooms, labs, and seminar rooms are all
designed for collaborative work.
The lecture halls are arranged so that there
are two rows on every tier. This makes it
easy for students to turn around
and work in small groups. This
arrangement was adopted in McConnell
103 and has been favorably received by
students and faculty.
Glass is used throughout the building to
open up the space and allow students in
the hallway or other labs to see what is
happening elsewhere.
Breakout spaces in hallways and
corridors provide comfortable places for
students and faculty to
meet and work.
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Artwork in the floor of the entire first
floor represents the alignment of the
planets when the building first opened.
A museum puts "science on display" for
faculty and students passing
through the building.
Other Institutions
University of Richmond
The facade replaced a dark, foreboding
entrance described by the architect as
"less than inviting."
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University of Richmond
The foyer, created by joining several
buildings together, has become a new
campus destination.
University of Richmond
Comfortable seating and abundant natural
light create a welcoming environment for
faculty and students to work.
University of Richmond
Spacious teaching labs include furniture
that encourages collaboration.
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Grinnell College
The Noyce Science Center includes
stand-up space for students
to work together.
Grinnell College
Natural light throughout the building
increases its attractiveness.
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Wabash College
Small breakout rooms provide students a
place to work in groups
with some privacy.
Swarthmore College
Learning spaces can be located anywhere.
Chalkboards mounted on a stone wall
allow class to be held outside.
Harvard University
Informal space with computers,
comfortable seating, and
television screens.
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Harvard University
Informal gathering spaces located
across from classrooms.
Boston University
Informal gathering spaces located
across from faculty offices.
Goals

Incorporate new ways of teaching to engage students in innovative ways.
In order for Smith College to achieve its goal of preparing its graduates for life
after Smith College, students should be given opportunities to participate in
courses where rote memorization is replaced with courses that help strengthen
critical thinking skills.
Active learning is considered to be a highly effective way to teach undergraduates
(Bean, 2004; Scorcinelli, 1991). Active learning is defined as "any instructional
method that engages students in the learning process. In short, active learning
requires students to do meaningful learning activities and think about what they
are doing. While this definition could include traditional activities such as
homework, in practice active learning refers to activities that are introduced into
the classroom. The core elements of active learning are student activity and
engagement in the learning process. Active learning is often contrasted to the
traditional lecture where students passively receive information from the
instructor" (Bonwell, 2001). There is ample evidence that introducing at least
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some active learning during a traditional lecture has benefits in Engineering
programs (Prince, 2004).
Classrooms should provide sufficient flexibility to allow for multiple strategies in
the same space.
"A room should not inhibit movement by students or instructors. Students
should be able to freely move into any space where public discourse is
produced or projected without concern for physical obstacles. Instructors
should be able to move throughout a room to consult individually or with
groups of students. The room should allow, as much as possible, for direct
exchange of physical materials between student and instructor." (Laughner,
2001)

Integrate teaching, learning and research in formal and informal spaces.
Instead of designing separate spaces for formal and informal learning, our vision
is to create space that allows teaching, learning, and research to flow between the
classrooms, the teaching and research labs, and the "in-between" spaces.

Encourage higher level learning, such as critical thinking.
Science education is in a transformation from passive to active, engaged learning.
With the active learning, students are more engaged and are able to acquire higher
level learning goals beyond rote memorization of facts and figures. In order to
facilitate higher level learning, learning spaces must be designed to allow
collaboration, faculty access to students, and multiple room configurations to
align with multiple teaching strategies.

Get students excited about science.
Learning spaces, especially the informal spaces, can be designed to provide
students insight into how science can be used in their every day lives. The use of
art, for example, can portray science in a way that is approachable to a student not
previously interested in science. Public displays can showcase the best work of
faculty and fellow students. Within the context of Smith College, the work of
famous female scientists can highlight their influential work.

Bridge activities in new building and renovated spaces.
Although the new building and the existing science spaces are not separated by a
great distance, efforts can be made to physically and virtually join the two areas.
a. Use webcams and monitors to allow people in either space to see activities,
including lab sessions occurring in the other facility.
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b. An atrium linking McConnell with Burton and Sabin Reed would also
provide a visual link between the new science building and the existing
science center.
c. Include architectural features of Ford Hall into the renovations.

Make learning a public activity.
Too often, learning is a private activity. It occurs either within the confines of a
classroom or lecture hall, or alone in the library or in the residence hall room. As
a way to increase interest in science and to provide students an opportunity to
showcase their work, class activity should be viewable by others.
Strategies
The following strategies encapsulate the brainstorming that occurred during the PKAL
workshop.

Encourage "Science within reach"
The value of making science activity visible to passersby was repeated
emphasized. This is often done by replacing small doors and solid hallway walls
with glass walls or large windows into the labs and classrooms. We believe we
should go one step further, and add interactive displays thematically related to the
activity occurring on the other side of the glass. For example, an infrared
spectroscopy or thermal physics lab might have an infrared camera that displays
real time infrared ("heat") images of passersby. A genetics lab that has an
experiment that takes place over several days or weeks might show the real-time
intermediate results of multiple generations of "genetic crosses" as they are
collected. These have the potential to be more interesting, more engaging, and
more instructive than static displays, and show activity even when no class is
actually taking place in the lab.

Solicit student input
Both architects and school representatives at the PKAL conference discussed the
value of having student input into the process. They discuss how ideas they
thought would work, were seen by students in a different light. One suggestion
was to have students take cameras around campus to photograph what they feel to
be bad and good spaces. Kevin Shea has already solicited student input on spaces
at Smith College.
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"Good" Spaces
"Big tables and big space and light!"
"Comfy seating near workspace."
"Big tables and blackboards."
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"Big tables for sprawling."
"Comfy + light + spacious corner."
"Place to be loud (group work) + Cokes."
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"Random seating=Good (but this one ugly).
"Also cooler than Diels-Alder."
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"Bad" Spaces
"No space to move (aisle or table)."
"Poorly placed carrel."
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"Too much light, actually."

Prototype different kinds of spaces
The McConnell Hall lobby is one space where various technology and furniture
configurations could be set up to allow students to provide input on what works
best. Assessment strategies could be implemented to provide a systematic method
of studying the space.

Create destination spaces
For intellectual collisions to occur, there must be both people and, importantly,
time. As faculty rush from offices to (near or distant) classrooms and back, there
need to be locations that hold our physical attention long enough to notice the
other people in the periphery. Whether that is standing in line at the Elbow Room
Cafe or waiting for chemicals at the stockroom door, discussions begin only when
people stop moving long enough for conversations to start.

Educate faculty and administrators about students of today and tomorrow
“A new, multibuilding science center is called “this country’s largest
and most complete facility for science instruction and research for
women.” Written to describe the new Clark Science Center over 40
years ago.
Children today are being socialized very differently than past generations. Our
future students are often called digital natives. The internet, My Space, instant
messaging, cell phones and email are second nature to the student entering college
today. Thousands of hours are spent playing video games and viewing
television. Students of today have seen 500,000 commercials before they
graduate from college.
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Students continuously challenge and motivate institutions’ focus on learning
excellence. The transformation of learning spaces holds immense challenges and
presents opportunities not yet imagined. Our understanding of how students learn
will continue to evolve, and the design of space will, at times, struggle to keep
up. At other times, creative space will lead and challenge its users to break free of
traditional restraints. We may never find the ideal learning space; the adventure is
in trying to get there. (Dittoe 2006)
We are still in the embryonic stages of exploring design concepts that will
ultimately shape the campuses of the future. While there are no real experts yet,
many dedicated people are exploring ways to continually improve teaching and
learning, assisted by talented and creative architects and planners in the design of
spaces that support their visions. (Dittoe 2006)

Create a short video commercial showing the possibilities for science education
facilities at Smith College.
Proposals

Ford Hall Chemistry Forum. Designed at PKAL conference and communicated to
BCJ (Rob Aumer) on Tuesday, March 20 by Tom Laughner.

Ford Hall, 3 Season Room. Redesign to accommodate informal student-faculty
and student-student interactions. Redesign could include removing wall to
corridor and adding chalkboards on the balcony walls.
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
McConnell Foyer. Prototype for informal learning spaces throughout campus.
Designed at PKAL conference to include variety of flexible seating options,
movable whiteboards, and fixed interactive whiteboards. Proposal to CET will be
submitted in Spring of 2007 to help with costs.

Student Clickers. Standardize choice of individual student response system
(clickers) for potential use in all college classes. Student must be able to buy one
clicker for any Smith class and resell it to the bookstore when done using it. Will
be studied by ETS, which will produce recommendation to CET in fall of 2008.

Outdoor Learning Spaces. Identify spaces where chalkboards can be permanently
installed outside in a variety of campus locations. Will be studied by ETS, which
will produce recommendation to Provost in spring of 2008.

Classroom Renovations. Identify classrooms in the current Science Center that
can be immediately upgraded to support teaching methods focused on active
learning. Remove table arm chairs and introduce movable tables and chairs. Will
be studied by Science Planning Committee.

Library Café. Working with Rocco Piccinino, convert the first floor of the science
library into an active, group study area, including a small coffee bar, will foster
connections between students and residents of all buildings in the current Science
Center as well as Ford Hall. Study will be conducted by Rocco Piccinino and
interested faculty with a recommendation to the Science Planning Committee in
Spring 2008.
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Science Center Atrium. Enclose space between McConnell and SabinReed/Burton to promote informal interactions and intellectual collisions of entire
campus community. Will be studied by Science Planning Committee.
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In Creating Supportive Learning Environments, New Directions in Teaching and
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Bean, J.C. Engaging Ideas: The Professor’s Guide to Integrating Writing, Active
Learning, and Critical Thinking, San Francisco: Jossey Bass, 1996.
Bonwell, C.C., and J. A. Eison, "Active Learning: Creating Excitement in the
Classroom," ASHEERIC Higher Education Report No. 1, George Washington University,
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Chism, N. “A Tale of Two Classrooms,” in N. Chism and D. Bickford, eds., The
Importance of Physical Space In Creating Supportive Learning Environments, New
Directions in Teaching and Learning, #92, San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2002.
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In Creating Supportive Learning Environments, New Directions in Teaching and
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in D. Oblinger, ed, Learning Spaces, Educause, 2006.
Graetz, K. & Goliber, M. “Designing Collaborative Learning Spaces: Psychological
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of Physical Space In Creating Supportive Learning Environments, New Directions in
Teaching and Learning, #92, San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2002.
Laughner, T. “Designing More Effective Learning Spaces,” 2000-2001 Teaching,
Learning, and Technology Roundtable Report, University of Notre Dame, 2001.
Oblinger, D. “Space as a Change Agent,” in D. Oblinger, ed, Learning Spaces, Educause,
2006.
Sorcinelli, M., "Research Findings on the Seven Principles," in A.W. Chickering and Z.F.
Gamson, eds., Applying the Seven Principles for Good Practice in Undergraduate
Education, New Directions in Teaching and Learning, #47, San Francisco: JosseyBass, 1991.
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