What are your favorite classrooms? Which rooms make you look forward to teaching? What do those rooms all have in common? Almost a year ago, Jeff wrote an interesting post about redesigning the classroom to include a “large, pressure-sensitive multi-touch wall” of the kind we’re now used to seeing on television news programs. And last September, I described my ideal classroom, in terms of information technology. However, most of the classrooms that have been my favorites have been so for reasons that have nothing to do with technology. Instead, I’ve most appreciated those rooms with
- Enough room so that student desks aren’t jammed together, “bumper-to-bumper” style, leaving no room for rearranging them when necessary for small group work or discussions;
- Windows that allow natural light to mitigate, somewhat, the sterile quality of what are usually overhead flourescents;
- Carpet on the floor, rather than bare tile, so that the room doesn’t feel like a hospital;
- A clear and uncluttered space at the front, so I don’t have to step over electrical cords or step around chairs or tables… and so that students can come to the front of the room in small groups to use the white board at times.
How about you? What non-technology qualities define your favorite classrooms? Let’s hear from you in the comments!
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39 Responses to What Are Your Favorite Classrooms?
lcevering - January 28, 2011 at 12:10 pm
While I agree with all of the aesthetic properties you mentioned, my favorite classroom is the one closest to my office! :-) For the first time, I am able to teach all of my classes on the same floor, just down the hall from my office. It has really made a difference in the things I can (and will) bring to class for demonstration, student use vs. hauling them across campus to another building or several floors up. I wish administrators paid more attention to proximity when scheduling courses. Sigh….
sherbygirl - January 28, 2011 at 1:03 pm
Windows are key, but I have come to hate carpet in classrooms, as it just ends up getting wet and dingy by the end of the winter semester, and that grime never seems to come out. To me, industrial carpet is way more depressing than tile.
I like having the same classroom for all my classes if possible; I get to know the layout, how the “flow” works and doesn’t work, and I find it just helps with the rhythm of my teaching (ugh, how vague and unscientific was that?).
leingang - January 28, 2011 at 2:10 pm
In math we use the board a lot, so that’s an important feature of the classroom. There’s a room on our campus with a very bad chalkboard paint job; for some reason, it’s hard to get a good chalk mark on it. There are also musical staves painted across 1/3 of the board, rendering it unusable. I cannot find anyone on campus who is responsible for the decision to keep or remove those staves.
Not only that, there are two large poles in the center of the room which block out another portion of the board from student view. The rows of seats are built on risers while the aisles are level, meaning students have to climb stairs to get to their seats and sit high above me. Finally, on a personal note, there is a projector stand mounted on of the poles that I cut my head on while giving a midterm. It is the most worstest classroom in the world.
rmclaycomb - January 28, 2011 at 2:40 pm
A few additions to your ideal classroom. I prefer blackboards to white boards, ideally on at least two sides of the room; I want the chairs/desks to move freely (which also means I want a flat floor, not tiered). I also want the room to be shaped more like a square than an oblong rectangle, which facilitates discussion circles, but also better sightlines for everyone for the entire boards space.
Also, color is important. We have a building that was refloored and repainted, and went from dark green floors and mint green walls (everyone looked seasick) to cream/custard tones on both. With navy seats and blackboards, the room now has a more varied visual scape, and a generally warmer one. The general attitude of the room has improved dramatically.
mmccllln - January 28, 2011 at 3:43 pm
Although next to impossible to find, I strongly prefer a room with lighting other than stark fluorescent. I also like one where the desks can be arranged in a circular fashion rather than the traditional rows.
kevingannon - January 28, 2011 at 3:55 pm
Last semester, I taught in a room in our science building, which looks like a 1950s East German elementary school, with all the charm and ambiance that implies.
I could move the desks, but they were the old chair-and-arm-desk-attached kind/ The cinder block walls were off-white, the linoleum tiles were institutional green, the lighting starkly florescent, and all in all a miserable place to teach. It sounds crazy, but it really affected both me and my students. I received a lot of comments about the room itself on the course evals.–which has never happened before. Environment matters!
22019391 - January 28, 2011 at 4:26 pm
My favorite classroom has comfortable chairs for the students. They can concentrate on the class, rather than how uncomfortable they are.
gregg_sanders - January 28, 2011 at 4:27 pm
I recently completed a study observing 10 classrooms on 5 Oregon campuses to determine what features make a good classroom. After observing student and instructor use of classroom features including technology, my conclusions were very similar to the author’s. I found that while powerpoint and a screen projector are critical elements, many other more enhanced features were rarely if ever used by students or instructors. Furthermore, classroom size, configuration, proportion, access to light, finishes and color seemed to have direct impact on student-instructor engagement.
11196496 - January 28, 2011 at 4:53 pm
My favorite classroom when I taught at the University of Dayton was in the basement of the library. It was called the Studio in the Learning Teaching Center. It was designed to encourage profs to rethink their teaching methods, and so those who taught there were reqired to meet with other instructors using the space and were exempt from the University’s standard end-of-the-term students survey.
Even though it had no windows, it was a great space. It was set up for twenty four students. It was carpeted and had easily moveable tables and upholstered chairs instead of desks. Students could easily consult a variety of books and electronic media without everything sliding off a slanted surface and onto the floor. It was more like a large conference room in a business setting that an ordinary classroom. This different set-up immediately impacted student behavior.
Small moveable whiteboards encouraged group work and each group teaching the whole class. A/V equipment was part of the set up too with appropriate controls for lighting levels and illuminating specific spaces. There were lots of electrical outlets for students’s computers. The student-run coffee bar just outside the classroom helped with early morning classes.
One result of the first years’use of this space was a hard look at and reconfiguration of other instructional spaces on campus. It seet the standard for new buildings on campus.
For more detaisl see http://community.udayton.edu/provost/aali/ltc/development/studio.php
geneseo - January 31, 2011 at 6:19 am
I would like projection screens to not come down over the blackboard. I like to use both and it is very difficult to do when one obstructs the other.
I prefer a chalkboard to a whiteboard because those markers for the whiteboards make me sick.
I prefer daylight. We just had a blackout on campus and the only classes I could teach were the ones in the classroom with windows and chalkboards. So much for dependence on technology, eh?
I like chairs that can be moved and wish that there were options other than those chairs-with-desks-attached.
lizgibbons - January 31, 2011 at 7:09 am
One of the first things I did when I arrived at my present post (where, fortunately, I am more or less in charge of the dance studio) was to put up hanging plants along the periphery. All grown from cuttings of plants I already owned, we now have 2 dozen which return 10 gallons of water a week to the otherwise very dry air (takes my work-study 15 min. 3x a week), reduces static and thus dust in the electronics and makes the room a much healthier place.
dld18 - January 31, 2011 at 9:21 am
Many of these comments echo my preference: movable seating, carpet, windows, computer access/projector, screen that doesn’t block the chalkboard. I also prefer a room with a clock, so I don’t have to keep checking my own timepiece, and a room with appropriate temperature. Since I teach 3 hour classes, I also prefer a classroom where the sounds of students leaving/entering other classrooms doesn’t leak into the room we are using.
alabaster - January 31, 2011 at 9:55 am
Bring back chalkboards, across the board. I too, don’t like white boards or the (sometimes stinky) dri-erase markers. Often, there aren’t any markers in the classroom, or someone has used a permanent marker on the whiteboard & left it up to us to scrub. (Students have been a great help with this, but it uses up class time, even if we start before class.) The dri-erase erasers are sometimes so loaded with ink that they leave dark marks on the whiteboard instead of cleaning it. Chalkboard technology is far easier to use & more environmentally friendly (where do all those old plastic markers go?). I agree about having windows, a clock in the classroom, & being able to control the temperature. Moveable chairs and at least one small moveable table are key features for my Arabic classes.
t_rey - January 31, 2011 at 11:07 am
It’s good to know I’m not alone in a preference for chalkboards. They are clearer, more reliable, and I think better facilitate teaching than a dry erase or wipe board (why are there 5 markers, 1 that is permanent and only 1 that works?). I also prefer classrooms above the ground floor so that while natural light can come inside, the goings-on of a busy campus aren’t too distracting.
missoularedhead - January 31, 2011 at 11:11 am
I’m absolutely fine with whiteboards, and get creative with color. But if there’s one thing that makes me crazy, it’s the screen covering the whiteboard/blackboard. I have had to bring a rolling whiteboard into a (very) small room. I also like space to walk around, and tables/desks that move. I do have to say that I have one of those readers (have no idea what it’s called) that projects an image from printed material onto the screen, and I like that…except the carpet means every time I touch something metal, I get shocked.
csgirl - January 31, 2011 at 8:57 pm
Chalkboards or whiteboards – both are fine. What makes me crazy is that in our classrooms, the screen for the projector is mounted 3 feet in front of the whiteboard, smack in the center, so there isn’t enough room on either side of the screen to write on the whiteboard. If I want to write some quick notes to amplify something on the screen, or to diagram something, I have to raise the screen and turn off the projector. It takes all the spontaneity out of the lecture.
lyndahar - February 1, 2011 at 7:02 pm
When projectors go into a room, chalkboards go out — less dust to clog the filters. I find it safer to carry my own whiteboard markers than to rely on whatever might be in the room.
Document cameras (probably what missoularedhead is talking about) were a big hit with our faculty. If you have a good control system that allows easy switching among inputs, you can hop to the document camera to display quick notes or diagrams, then return to the projector.
nsteiger - February 5, 2011 at 5:11 pm
My top priority: comfortable, movable seats and desks. I prefer whiteboards (the markers we use work fine, tho’ red and black seem to make the best impressions) and of course, put the projection screen in the corner so it doesn’t block the boards. Technologies: DVD player, online computer, doc cam, with an easily accessible USB port for flash drive (one that doesn’t require bending over).
Daylight is definitely a plus. And, oh yes, I really appreciate when the department can schedule all my classes in the same room so I don’t have to lug materials to and from the office.
I also had the same experience with carpeting as sherbygirl.
friendlyfire - February 10, 2011 at 9:34 pm
@alabaster – for permanent marker ink on a whiteboard, simply color over it with a dry-erase marker and wipe off (towel or dry eraser).
lfblocker - January 28, 2012 at 1:19 pm
I like sending, and receiving, handwritten thank-you notes. the last time I interviewed, I sent one to all members of the search committee after the phone interview and the in-person interview. The author stated “I always smile when I get them, in part because I no longer expect them.” Doing the kind, ‘unexpected’ thing can never hurt, even if it doesn’t tip the scales in your favor. And if you get the job, your new co-workers already know you’re a thoughtful, polite person with ‘a strong sense of social obligation’ because you sent thank-you notes.
I think one note sent to the head of the search committee would be enough, because it would be routed to the others, but I couldn’t help but send them to all search committee members, because I was brought up that way. In addition, it means that after the phone interview, you’re savvy enough to figure out the names of everyone you talked to, their titles and where to send the letters, and that, if hired, you’re the kind of person who will take care of those kinds of details.
dochalladay - January 28, 2012 at 11:11 pm
I served on a search committee while in grad school, and received a thank-you note from one of the candidates who came on a campus visit (the one we soon decided to hire.) When I went on a campus visit last year (for a job that I later landed) I sent notes to the members of the committee, the chair, and the dean. For me it was both about being courteous and also about putting my name back in front of the relevant people a few days after my visit. I knew that I was the first candidate to visit campus, so I wanted to just ring a little bell with my name while they were also considering others.
totoro - January 29, 2012 at 6:33 am
I’ve never sent or received one. At least not a hard copy one. I have thanked my referees for writing letters for me.
schwerdt - January 30, 2012 at 7:43 am
I will always give a bit of a nudge to the candidate who has bothered to send a note (and I don’t mean a dashed off e-mail)). As was said above, it indicates something positive about the colleague I will be working with for years.
graddirector - January 30, 2012 at 8:47 am
Maybe I am just too cynical, but as a search committee member, I always find receiving thank you notes quite weird, bordering on sucking up. The ones I have received always seem to come from the naive or smarmy candidate, not the ones I want as my future colleague. However, this could be because I am in a science department and science faculty often have the opposite personality type that goes into sales……
However, a note from the candidate saying how excited they are about the job with specifics about how they can contribute… If written well, this can be a real plus.
profjw - January 30, 2012 at 9:31 am
I write thank-you notes — but I use e-mail, I do them quickly (to me shows efficiency, not “dashed off”), but usually to the head of the search committee, the person to whom I’ll report — not just to anyone who was in on a phone interview.
On the other side, NOT writing a thank-you note after an on-campus interview IS held against you in our faculty searches. If you can’t “dash off” something, to someone — we think you’re not terribly interested.
11185283 - January 30, 2012 at 10:46 am
I still write thank-you notes to search committees and anyone else I’ve met with in an interview. Not because I expect it will propel my candidacy to do so, but because it’s one of the very few parts of the process I can control. Why not be prompt, courteous and collegial? Much of the rest of the search is usually none of these things.
mbelvadi - January 30, 2012 at 11:08 am
There was an earlier column in these forums about errors in resumes/cover letters and whether candidates should be judged negatively. I was one among many who thinks they should, and I see a connection to the issue of Thank You’s. Both reflect on the awareness of professional academic standards and expectations, and a willingness to take the time to follow the “rules of the game” (the hiring game).
A failure to follow those rules is a warning flag that this is a person who might not be properly socialized into the standards of academic comportment. Such lack could lead to minor problems like uncomfortable behavior in staff meetings, or major things like lawsuits when the person behaves illegally inappropriately one way or another towards students or other staff (sexual harassment, racial discrimination, etc.).
denisebauer - January 30, 2012 at 11:39 am
We had a candidate send typed thank you notes! There are so many variations on this theme. I can say, however the absence of any thank you – hand written, typed, emailed or spoken – does not reflect well and should be avoided.
simplesimon - January 30, 2012 at 9:00 pm
We now live in a world where most candidates apply for positions and they never get so much as an acknowledgement email (nevermind a card) that says their materials were received. Even when candidates fly across country for a campus interview search committees often reject them without so much as a, “no thanks” leaving many candidates wondering . . .
And now these same search committees are going to judge someone because they did not send a perfunctory thank you note? Do as I say, not as I do, eh?
Brian Abel Ragen - January 31, 2012 at 12:04 am
Even students I interview now send me thank-you notes. I makes me vaguely ill every time I get one. But the students at least have an excuse. Since I’m an alumni volunteer, I am doing them a favor.
I am not doing a favor for a perspective colleague or employee. We both need something and are getting together to talk about whether we can provide it for each other. There is no need for thank- you notes. When I get one I think, “What a brown-nosing git,” which tells me I have been interviewing too long and watching to much British TV.
janesdaughter - January 31, 2012 at 3:25 pm
I once sent a note after an interview in which I expressed that my excitement about the job had only increased after meeting and talking with the committee, and then offered a solution for a budgetary dilemma that had come up in the conversation (not one that had been posed to me as an interview question). Got me nowhere, not even an acknowledgment of receipt. Perhaps it was not as well written or well conceived as I imagined. Or perhaps I violated an unknown rule of protocol for that hiring process. I still wonder about it, though.
I also wonder if the people who like to send notes are the ones who like to receive them? And those who do not send them find it slightly odd to get them? That would be me (the non-sender) but I hasten to say that my mother always insisted that notes had to be sent for any present received for any occasion throughout my childhood, and I still do that.
sammywoo - February 1, 2012 at 5:48 pm
I’m curious. How does a person become “properly socialized into the standards of academic comportment”? I don’t recall a class like that in grad school. Is this something our parents are supposed to teach us? I was the first generation to go to college and am the only person in my extended family with a master’s.
rdwill - February 2, 2012 at 10:32 am
The fact that so many people feel a thank-you note is “brown-nosing” really speaks to our cynical nature, doesn’t it? What can it possibly hurt? Considering the number of candidates who are looking for academic positions, if you are lucky (and I do mean lucky) enough to get an invite to interview, then you better thank your lucky stars and the search committee chair, too. Are we academics so ego-inflated that we think we’re doing the institution a favor by interviewing? Sure, both college and candidate provide a service for each other, but the college will always have more candidates for a position than we will have job opportunities.
szakin - February 2, 2012 at 12:40 pm
The stark difference in reactions here is fascinating. As a job seeker in previous years, I’ve felt like a brown nose at times when I’ve written thank you notes to everyone I met with, and I’ve also wondered if I should write them to everyone on the committee or just the chair. My sense is that the wildly varying positions stated here reflects a hiring process caught between eras: remnants of former civility awkwardly combined with brutal current realities. I would have to vote for restoring old school civility and respect in all aspects of the hiring process, but that seems unrealistic. In practical terms, it sounds like a sincere email to the search committee chair may be the safe way to go – and a lot less work than crafting letters to everyone. But it would be nice if the entire process was streamlined and made less expensive and time-consuming for applicants, HR people were banned from anything to do with creative writing or the arts, and we could all agree on what constitutes good manners.
pamposz - February 2, 2012 at 1:31 pm
I still think this can make a difference. If two candidates were about equal, and one sent a thank you note and the other didn’t it could actually make a difference in the hiring process. Part of it is that you demonstrate that you are willing to go the extra mile, as well as all of the courtesy and manners bonus points that you earn. And if you are simply networking they can make a huge difference because people are much more likely to remember you.
stuaff - February 2, 2012 at 2:16 pm
Social etiquette is a lost art, but when I see it, it remains very special. The thank you remains important to me. I may not be able to hire that person this year, but their appropriate social graces and positive tact will help me remember them in the future. I will add, in our small professions, they may be writing the thank you note this year — but next year the shoe could be on the other foot. Etiquette and the kind thank you still matter to some of us.
lfblocker - February 3, 2012 at 2:06 pm
There should be two thank-yous, one from the candidate to you for providing the time, the venue and your consideration, and one from your institution to the candidate either in the form of an offer or a rejection. Both sides should play their part, even when both are equals.
A smart, tactful candidate can make a thank you note ‘unsmarmy.’ Thanks for the opportunity to meet with the committee and others should be expressed, along with a little something that makes it less generic. To each member of the search committee, you can add “I especially enjoyed the opportunity to hear about x initiative at your university,” mentioning something they talked about. Again, this combination of remembering who said what, figuring out after a phone interview who all these people were, how to spell their names and where to address the letters tell the committee members something about you they might not be able to find out anywhere else. You’re polite, you listen and remember what’s said at meetings, and you take care of details.
aeonelpis - February 3, 2012 at 8:52 pm
A short thank-you email after a first interview (telephone, Skype, short conference) to the group, thanking the committee for the time/consideration, reiterating interest in the position, and offering additional information can prove useful. Sometimes we need additional materials to compare the candidates who pull to the front of the pack, and that extra note makes it easier to open that conversation back up. It also makes it clear that the candidate is still interested — something that is not always clear after these brief conversations.
An on-campus visit demands hand-written notes. It’s polite, it shows political savvy, and, again, it tells us the candidate likes what s/he sees. At our institution, if our first choice declines, we don’t get to make another offer. Knowing the candidate is still pursuing the application matters.
holquist - April 11, 2012 at 6:41 am
Congratulations to the Chronicle for calling attention to the achievement of one of this country’s greatest poets and scholars. For all of his facility in other languages, his at-homeness in esoteric texts and exotic climes, there is something intensely American about Willis. He has somehow never ceased to be a kind of kid who still plays stickball with moxie in the New York that had both the Yankees and the Dodgers. May you live forever, dear Willis.