Re: Building new labs

["Robert J. Beichner" <beichner@NCSU.EDU>]

We've been working for a few years (as part of the SCALE-UP project and its
predecessor IMPEC) to develop classrooms that promote collaborative grouping
as well as easy movement between discussion and hands-on activities. We've
tried rectangular tables, round tables of three different diameters,
differing student/computer ratios, etc. We've settled on 6 or 7 foot
diameter round tables with three teams of three students at each. We provide
a laptop computer for each team. You can find more info at our website
www.ncsu.edu/PER.

Bob Beichner
NC State Physics Education R & D Group


David Abineri said:
> Subject: Building New Labs
>
> We are in the process of designing new physics labs for our new high
> school building.  We are generally thinking in terms of lab/classrooms
> whereby we can run a lecture/discussion or an experiment and be able to
> change easily between at least these two modes.  We are also thinking in
> terms of moveable tables that can be reconfigured easily for different
> experiments.
>
> I would welcome any comments concerning elements of lab design that we
> should be sure to include in our considerations.  Have any of you been
> through this process and found some particular do's and don'ts that we
> might watch out for?
>
> Thanks for any suggestions at all on this broad topic.>