Active Learning with Greenville Technical College

Greenville Technical College is pursuing an initiative to implement active learning spaces. On Monday, August 12, they sent a team of faculty and administrators from various departments to Charlotte on an exploratory visit to gain insight on the ways we have integrated active learning best practices into our classrooms.

Led by Donia Shauble, Charlotte’s Director of Academic and Research Space, their walking tour went to several classrooms across the campus. Schauble spoke to the design and implementation of active learning classrooms and our efforts to pair them with student support spaces to foster a more welcoming and productive environment. Steven Skelton, Director of Learning Space Technology, addressed the specifics of the technologies that went into Charlotte’s active learning classrooms and demonstrated their flexibility and seamless integration. He also addressed that audiovisual technology is not always required for active learning. To that end, Kiran Budhrani, Director of Teaching and Learning Innovation, spoke on active learning pedagogies and how to enhance them with available technology. Budhrani also gave advice on providing professional development for faculty (and their teaching assistants) in areas such as managing an active learning classroom, active learning in group work and collaboration, and helping faculty adapt their curriculum for active learning.

A collaborative effort is being considered between Charlotte and Greenville Technical College to explore faculty development programs, an active learning symposium, and design strategies for learning spaces.