Archive: UCSF Improves Classrooms to Enhance Learning Experiences

By fall 2008, a few of the major lecture halls on the Parnassus campus will feature:

• walls that have been painted a color associated with optimal learning experiences
• an overhead high-definition ceiling camera and screen, which allow hundreds of students to clearly see the microscopic details of a scientific experiment
• slide show presentations in 3-D and
• an electronic response system, which allows faculty to determine whether students are comprehending information in real time.

Leaders from the UCSF Office of Student Academic Affairs and from Capital Programs and Facilities Management came together recently for a town hall meeting to discuss initiatives for classroom upgrades for the campus community. The initiative is an example of UCSF’s commitment to the priority area of educating future leaders, as identified in the UCSF Strategic Plan. It specifically addresses the strategy to “develop educational facilities and infrastructure commensurate with UCSF’s stature in health sciences education.” The initiatives were shaped by and received strong support from those who use the classrooms the most: the Associated Students of UCSF, the Graduate Students’ Association, the Academic Senate, and the deans and associate deans of the four professionals schools and Graduate Division. “This initiative is an important step forward in improving our educational facilities, so they are commensurate with UCSF’s stature in health sciences education,” said Joseph Castro, PhD, associate vice chancellor for Student Academic Affairs. Five lecture halls on the Parnassus campus will be outfitted with several new features. Installation is being managed by Instructional Research & Technology Services (IRTS), a department within Student Academic Affairs, in conjunction with Colour Studio. Among the lecture halls getting the upgrades are Health Sciences West, rooms 300 and 301, and School of Nursing, rooms 721, 729 and 517. “The improvements allow exciting new technologies to enhance learning in the UCSF community,” said Matt Epperson, operations manager for IRTS. “From a visual perspective, the WolfVision ceiling-mounted document camera allows HD image displays and the installation of a silver screen allows for high-resolution 3-D imaging. Both will create an enhanced visual learning experience.” Improvements to support interactive and team-based learning are also part of the initiative and are now in place. The technology is actually available in any classroom. “An audience response survey system, designed to create an interactive learning environment between presenters and students, can be set up by IRTS in any classroom on campus now,” said Epperson. The audience response system allows an instructor to ask the audience a question and then receive and tally answers via a clicker system, similar to a remote control. The real-time response will allow instructors to assess how much of a presentation is being comprehended, and where opinions lie, and to interact with a large audience in real time. “I am very excited about the classroom upgrades because they will offer our students and faculty members technology-enhanced classrooms that will promote educational innovation, collaboration and team learning,” said David Irby, PhD, vice dean for medical education in the UCSF School of Medicine. Physical decor is an integral part of the classroom improvement project. Jill Pilaroscia, a principal designer of Colour Studio, presented interior design options for each of the classrooms. Pilaroscia has designed the color scheme for facilities projects at Mission Bay and the Department of Anesthesiology, and is currently working on a redesign of the Mission Center Building. “Color association has been studied, and color can affect an individual’s experience and in turn affect their behavior in their environment,” said Pilaroscia. “It’s not just decorating — you’re not just trying to make things look pretty when you are selecting color for public spaces. Since color can affect learning, it’s important to rely on cause-and-effect studies in what is commonly seen as a decorating practice.” “Color association and psychology has been well documented,” she said. “Color can affect an individual’s experience. When you are selecting colors for public spaces, a cross disciplinary approach to design is essential. Since color can affect learning, it’s important to rely upon cause and effect studies and not relegate color application to a mere decorating tool.” A cross-section of University leadership sees the classroom improvements as benefiting the campus community as a whole. “All professional education will benefit from having technology which matches the growing expertise of our students,” said Zina Mirsky, EdD, associate dean of the UCSF School of Nursing. “More and more learners come with high expectations for technological advances because they’ve been using them in their previous programs of study. With the new classroom initiatives, we will be able to support advanced skills more readily.”