“Student-Centered Activities for Large Enrollment Undergraduate Physics”

My professor and mentor, Dr. Frank Shushok, would probably prefer the acronym “Student-Centered Active Learning Environment with Upside-down Pedagogies.”

But go on – ask.  What in the world do I have to do with the above phrase, this is often acronym-ed to “SCALE-UP.” In the traditional sense, absolutely nothing.  I don’t like Physics. I’m not science-minded. And I most certainly don’t have anything to do with LARGE enrollment physics at any level. Never even learned that stuff in high school.

But I DO have an interest student-centered activities, especially those that focus on collaborative learning. I’m passionate about the value that is experienced in learning around those that are very different and diverse from you.  And when I say diverse, I’m not just talking about cultural diversity, I’m talking moreso about diversity of perspectives, upbringing, ontology, etc.

This article in the Collegiate Times earlier this week elaborates on the history behind Virginia Tech’s second, but first one open to general students outside of class, SCALE-UP classroom that had it’s grand opening today on campus.

This is a snapshot of the first SCALE-UP classroom on Tech’s campus, in Derring Hall.

This SCALE-UP classroom is going to focus on collaborative learning for students and, in my opinion, is an amazing hub of technology.  There are 8 tables that give the room a capacity of more than 70 students.  The classroom is “owned” by the College of Science during the day (7:00 a.m. – 7:00 p.m.) as academic space and will be open to students under the purview of University Libraries from 7:00 p.m. – 7:00 a.m for first-come first-serve study space.

You can bet I will definitely be studying here just to say that I did!

Each table in the classroom has six power outlets in the center as well as a VGA hookup for your laptop to display on the screen that corresponds to your table number. You can also use a central area to push different things to each screen, or the same thing to each screen – You Decide!

The classroom is on the first floor of Newman Library, right on the Drillfield and across from the University Bookstore. I’d definitely recommend checking it out and experiencing some of the great, new experiences that the University Library team is giving students!