Learning Lab

Fang Wan teaches a combined graduate & undergraduate course on Creativity in Business in EME 1111.  There are 16 students enrolled, and Fang uses this learning lab configuration to facilitate group work, one of her main instructional strategies.  Fang found the room set up quite easy, and the AV team is very responsive and supportive to help if needed. 

This three-hour class goes quickly as students work around a table with their own screen and work together to complete case studies. Later, they present their work to their classmates. When it comes time to present, Fang says students are comfortable sharing because they present from their table – they just share the screen at their table with other tables. The students like this because the spotlight is not on them, individually, but rather the group as a whole. This “share where you are” feature of EME 1111 is also a great time saver, and as a result, the learning lab leads to great productivity. 

While teaching in this room, Fang sees herself as a mediator between screens – whether they are screens at the table, in the front of the room or student’s own device screens. Screens have become ubiquitous in students’ lives, and EME 1111 embraces this reality. This approach does involve giving up some control, but the learning at the table and sharing from where they are is effective and meaningful.