In the Office of Teaching, Learning & Technology, we have conducted several research studies about the effectiveness of TILE classrooms. Beginning in fall 2010, when we examined student learning outcomes in relation to the outcomes of students who took the same course in a traditional classroom, through fall 2013, we have been actively examining the factors associated with student success in TILE classrooms.

We have conducted a variety of studies of student learning outcomes in TILE classrooms (Van Horne and colleagues, 2014, 2012). Our research has focused on how instructors implement new teaching strategies in TILE classrooms. More recently, we have conducted an exploratory study to examine the assessment strategies that instructors, who are new to TILE classrooms, implement when they begin teaching in TILE.

COLLABORATORS

  • Sam Van Horne, Ph.D., assessment director of the ITS Office of Teaching, Learning & Technology
  • Julie Jessop, associate professor in the Department of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering
  • Cornelia Lang, associate professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy
Students working on laptops in groups in a TILE classroom

We have conducted a qualitative study of how faculty members design learning activities for the TILE classroom, how they implement those activities, and what students consider to be effective about them. In addition, we have conducted quantitative research with results from several hundred students to inform our understanding of teaching and learning in TILE. Here are some of our main findings:

  • Students were more positive about their in-class collaborative activities in TILE when they perceived there to be a direct link between their activities and their major assessments in the course. They were also more positive about such activities when they benefited from seeing multiple perspectives of a complex problem. Faculty who monitored the overall effectiveness of groups and adjusted group membership to address problems tended to think that collaborative learning was a useful strategy.
  • Overall, students are more likely to want to take additional classes in TILE when they perceive a relationship between the design of the course and the learning environment. Thus, if students are taking advantage of the layout, whiteboard space, or access to technology, they are more likely to see the value of the TILE classroom and want to take additional courses there.
  • Faculty members who are transitioning to TILE from a traditional environment benefit from guidance on how to use the different elements of a TILE classroom to re-design a learning activity. And in order to take full advantage of some of the key advantages of the room—such as the ability to show students’ screens on the main projectors—faculty benefit from practicing to use the interface so that they become fluid with it. Otherwise, faculty members can become frustrated in the classroom. 

We have conducted a qualitative study of how faculty members design learning activities for the TILE classroom, how they implement those activities, and what students consider to be effective about them. In addition, we have conducted quantitative research with results from several hundred students to inform our understanding of teaching and learning in TILE. Here are some of our main findings:

Baepler, P., Walker, J. D., & Driessen, M. (2014). It's not about seat time: Blending, flipping, and efficiency in active learning classrooms. Computers & Education, 78, 227-236. DOI:10.1016/j.compedu.2014.06.006

Beichner, R., Saul, J., Abbott, D., Morse, J., Deardorff, D., Allain, R., et al. (2007). Student-centered activities for large enrollment undergraduate programs (SCALE-UP) project. In E. F. Redish, & P. J. Cooney (Eds.), Research-based reform of university physics. College Park: American Association of Physics Teachers.

Brooks, D. C. (2012). Space and consequences: The impact of different formal learning spaces on instructor and student behavior. Journal of Learning Spaces, 1(2), July 1, 2013. http://libjournal.uncg.edu/jls/article/view/285/275

Brooks, D. C. (2010). Space matters: The impact of formal learning environments on student learning. British Journal of Educational Technology, 42, 719-726. DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-8535.2010.01098.x

Brooks, D. C., & Solheim, C. A. (2014). Pedagogy matters, too: The impact of adapting teaching approaches to formal learning environments on student learning. New Directions for Teaching and Learning, 2014(137), 53-61. DOI: 10.1002/tl.20085

Cotner, S., Loper, J., Walker, J. D., & Brooks D.C. (2013). “It's not you, it's the room''—Are the high-tech, active learning classrooms worth it? Journal of College Science Teaching, 42(6), 82-88.

Dori, Y. J., & Belcher, J. (2005). How does technology-enabled active learning affect undergraduate students' understanding of electromagnetism concepts? The Journal of the Learning Sciences, 14(2), 243-279. DOI: 10.1207/s15327809jls1402_3

Dori, Y., Hult, E., Breslow, L., & Belcher, J. (2007). How much have they retained? Making unseen concepts seen in a freshman electromagnetism course at MIT. Journal of Science Education and Technology, 16(4), 299-323. DOI: 10.1007/s10956-007-9051-9

Fahlberg, B., Rice, E., Muehrer, R., & Brey, D. (2014). Active Learning Environments in Nursing Education: The Experience of the University of Wisconsin‐Madison School of Nursing. New Directions for Teaching and Learning, 2014(137), 85-94. DOI: 10.1002/tl.20089

Petersen, C. I., & Gorman, K. S. (2014). Strategies to address common challenges when teaching in an active learning classroom. New Directions for Teaching and Learning, 2014(137), 63-70. DOI: 10.1002/tl.20086

Whiteside, A., Brooks, D. C., & Walker, J. D. (2010). Making the case for space: Three years of empirical research on learning environments. EDUCAUSE Quarterly, 33(3), 11.

Whiteside, A. L., Jorn, L., Duin, A. H., & Fitzgerald, S. (2009). Using the PAIR-up model to evaluate active learning spaces. EDUCAUSE Quarterly, 32(1).

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