‘Lectorial’ classrooms for better learning

“Lectorial” rooms: shifting the emphasis to active student-centred learning – post about recent research at Australian RMIT University, the final report of the Lectorial Project (65-p PDF report). The study looked at

custom designed “Lectorial” rooms that have been especially designed for the teach-discuss-share model to encourage the students to participate in a collaborative and constructivist style of learning.

The rooms are set up so that students can work in smaller groups and are equipped with high-tech whiteboards.  Learn more in this overview of key features.

The equipment, technology and layout of the rooms allows a traditional teacher-centred lecture model of delivery to be integrated with student-centred and collaborative elements of a tutorial – resulting in an approach that has been dubbed a ‘lectorial‘.

From the report itself:

By the end of the semester, the overwhelming majority of students reported that they would prefer a “Lectorial” mode to a traditional lecture.  Students responded very positively to the use of small group work.