Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google

Teaching Methods and Furniture Design Evolve

Sponsored content by COMPUTER COMFORTS, INC.

  • 01/01/14

Learning environments have been changing dramatically over the past decade, driven by a shift in the traditional instructor-led teaching model. The days of having an instructor stand in front of a group of students lecturing for an hour are fading away. Many innovative teaching methods have been created to make the learning experience more interactive.

Flip teaching (or flipped classroom) is a form of blended learning in which students learn new content online by watching video lectures, usually at home, and what used to be homework (assigned problems) is now done in class with faculty offering more personalized guidance to and interaction with students, instead of lecturing.

The SCALE-UP method is similar (student centered active learning environment — upside-down pedagogy). Although that is a mouthful, the concept is really very simple. Groups of students are given projects to investigate. While they work in teams, the instructor is free to roam the room and help teams work together. The students become the teachers (upside-down pedagogy).

Despite the fancy acronyms, most of these emerging teaching methods have a common denominator. They all incorporate a team or collaborative approach. Computer Comforts, Inc. (aka CCI) has evolved from a company manufacturing computer lab tables 26 years ago to a provider of furniture solutions for ALL active learning environments. As illustrated in the picture above, our team tables and mobile Active Learning Tables were designed specifically for these flexible spaces. We have collaborated with technology companies to provide switching and power solutions (Extron, Crestron, etc.). Our Active Learning Cluster was designed with the help of North Carolina State University, who originally created the SCALE-UP model.

Please visit our website for additional information at www.computercomforts.com.

This article originally appeared in the issue of .

Featured

  • Designing for Every Mind

    Learning environments have the power to shape not just what students know, but who they become. When a school is designed with genuine empathy—for the full range of ways students think, sense, and engage with the world—it becomes more than a building. It becomes a catalyst for growth, confidence, and belonging. That is the animating idea behind neurodiverse design, and it is one that is transforming how more architects and designers are thinking about school design.

  • Virginia Tech Tops Out New College of Engineering Building

    Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Va., recently celebrated the topping out of Mitchell Hall, which will soon stand as the largest College of Engineering building on campus, according to a news release. The university partnered with Skanska on the 285,500-square-foot facility, which has an expected completion date of winter 2028.

  • Q&A: How to Prevent Kitchen Grease Fires in Commercial Kitchens

    School cafeterias and university dining halls serve thousands of meals daily, relying on high-heat equipment like fryers, grills, and ovens. While these operations keep students fed, they also generate significant grease-laden vapors. Without proper controls, this grease becomes a silent fire threat. As a certified exhaust cleaning specialist and business coach who has helped hundreds of institutional facilities achieve NFPA 96 compliance, I emphasize that proactive grease management isn’t optional; it’s a core fire/life safety practice.

  • Tomball ISD Opens New Tomball West High School

    Tomball Independent School District in Tomball, Texas, recently celebrated the official opening of Tomball West High School, the district's third comprehensive high school, with a community ribbon-cutting ceremony, according to a district news release.