Saint Louis University's award-winning Learning Studio is a state-of-the-art teaching space designed by a team of faculty and students as part of the Herman Miller Learning Spaces Research Program.
The space, located in Des Peres Hall, provides flexible furniture, combined with a range of innovative technologies and features. Using the instructional design assistance provided by the staff of the Reinert Center for Transformative Teaching and Learning, and the unique features and technologies in the room, faculty teaching in the space experiment with new teaching strategies to create engaging and interactive learning experiences designed especially for today's learners.
The Learning Studio has been profiled as a Herman Miller Case Study, and has received a 2012 Outstanding Classroom Design Award from Educational Interiors Showcase.
While it's evolving all the time, the Learning Studio features a variety of flexibilities and technologies, including:
- Flexible seating including bar seating and movable furniture
- A multi-input video wall consisting of 18 - 46" video screens
- Personal computers for student use during class time, including MacBook Pros, PC Laptops, and 26 iPads
- Wireless projection capabilities for both iPads and wireless projection capabilities for iPads, MacBook Pros, and PC laptops
- Ample whiteboard space
- PC and Mac Mini Teacher's Station
- Two HD video camera for video conferencing
- Panopto lecture capture capabilities
- Crestron room controls
The Learning Studio can be used in numerous ways, given its flexible furnishings, layout, and technologies, including:
- Experiential learning courses
- Flipped classroom exercises
- Simultaneous courses taught in multiple locations
- Simulations with other universities and schools via video-conferencing
- Multi-media content creation
- Digital story telling
- Back channeling / synchronous feedback
- Lecture capture
- Small and large group collaboration
In order to take full advantage of the flexibility of the Learning Studio, classes using the space will be restricted to no more than 25 students.
Faculty members interested in taking advantage of the opportunities presented by this
unique teaching and learning space to develop innovative instructional approaches
that effectively optimize the use of the features and technologies in the Learning
Studio are invited to apply for an Innovative Teaching Fellowship.
Innovative Teaching Fellows can be from any discipline, and the Learning Studio has been used for courses in
Public Health, Athletic Training, Organizational Studies and Communication, History,
Modern and Classical Languages, Biology, Nursing, English, Communication, Law, Occupational
Therapy and Occupational Science, Social Work, Management, and Education. To learn
how past Innovative Teaching Fellows have used the space, check out videos from previous
Learning Studio Symposia at our Vimeo account.
CTTL Learning Studio photos courtesy of Herman Miller, 2012. To view more photos of
the Learning Studio, please visit our Flickr photostream here.