Specifications

Learning Spaces Guidelines
Classrooms: 29
Section 5: Classrooms
These spaces are defined as having movable furniture, flat floors
and range in capacity from accommodating 10 students up to 80
students.
Classrooms are intended to support a different teaching
methodology to that employed in lecture theatres. The following
teaching and learning methods are suited for classroom spaces:
Inquiry-based learning
Problem-based learning
Discussion-based learning
Student-led interactive learning
Simulation-based learning
The technology within classrooms should closely resemble, but
be more limited in capacity, that installed in lecture theatres with
common controls interfaces and layouts. Loudspeakers and
amplifier should be present for programme sound (the replay of
sound from recorded and remote sources). Lecturecast is also less
likely to be installed in classrooms as the sessions run should be
more interactive than a typical lecture and thus recordings of such
sessions are of limited value unless all participants are recorded and
this gives rise to various consent issues.
By the nature of the furniture being movable there will be a degree
of flexibility in the layout of the classrooms. However this does not
mean that specific design attention shouldn’t be paid to the potential
layouts achievable with suitable furniture. Guidance illustrations of
exemplar layouts with the furniture supplied in the space should be
attached to the wall of the space and made available on the room
bookings website. Additionally an inventory of the furniture provided
in the room should be included so users are aware of what should be
present and how to report missing items if appropriate.
Most classrooms will have a primary focus direction where it makes
sense to concentrate the teaching facilities and displays. This is
often referred to as the ‘Teaching Wall’. The layout of the classroom
should be such that it is possible to freely walk around the class
without disturbing students already seated.
Classrooms are typically not large enough to warrant provision
of voice reinforcement facilities or assistive listening systems.
However LectureCast has already been installed in a small number
of classrooms and it is likely that in the future there will be more
installations into classrooms. This gives rise to the need for
microphones in certain classrooms.
Where there is the need for microphones in a classroom only for
LectureCast purposes the ideal solution is that array microphones
with ‘corridor characteristic’ pickup patterns are installed on
the ceiling at 2–3 metre intervals. Typically this will be two
microphones positioned at one third and two third positions
across the width of the ‘teaching zone’. The microphones should
TASK
The purpose
of a
classroom
5.01
TASK
Technology
in
classrooms
5.02
TASK
Layout of
classrooms
5.03
TASK
Microphones
in
classrooms
5.04