Minutes- Council for Teaching and Learning

October 17, 2003

(Approved by CTL on October 31, 2003)

Present: Smith (Chair), Bunde, Squires, Reis, Devaud, Kunicki, Reis,

Absent: Adkison, Wabrek, Packer, Nuhfer, McGinnis

Motion to accept minutes of October 3, 2003 (as amended). Approved unanimously.

The focus of the meeting was on how classroom space influences the type of learning that can occur. A general discussion followed on the need for flexibility in furniture and technology to allow for a variety of teaching and learning methods. In particular, faculty were most interested in space that encourages collaboration among students and cooperative group work.

Each committee member was charged with locating one or two research articles in their academic area that provide evidence to support the claim that improved learning results from collaborative group work.

The committee also discussed the possibility of the renovated classrooms serving as "research spaces" where faculty conducting educational research (or students learning to work collaboratively) could unobtrusively videotape classrooms to collect data on student learning.

Finally, each committee member was asked to generate a short list of "good" and "poor" classroom spaces on the ISU campus that could be visited by the committee. We will then visit the classrooms and begin the process of identifying two candidate classrooms for renovation.

Submitted by Rosemary Smith (Chair and secretary of the day).