Several interesting themes emerged regarding what institutions can do to foster an active learning atmosphere.  My colleagues discuss many of these themes elsewhere in this report.  My focus here will be on classroom design and course scheduling.

 The issue on which there seemed to be most agreement is that it's often difficult to engage students in participatory learning when they sit in tiny desks arranged in columns and rows  Students are not able to see one-another, and attention is focused soley on the instructor during discussions.

 My personal experience confirms this observation. I organized two Math 101 classes around group learning, one in  the fall of 1994, the other in  the spring of 1995.  The fall section was held in a room Aliber which used tables at spacious intervals rather than the traditional tiny desks.  I was able to place one group at each table and was able to visit each group several times each class period.  In the spring, the course was held in Meredith 125.  Although it was possible to  re-arranged desks to accommodate the groups, students seemed reluctant to do this and often had to reminded to rearrange their desks so the group members faced each other.  It was also physically harder for me to move around the room since I often had to hurdle desks.  I felt the design of the room in Aliber reinforced the group structure while the traditional design in Meredith worked against it.  I should note, however, that impediments  by no means made group learning impossible; it just made it harder.

 Suggestions for design changes to foster active learning ranged from the simple one of replacing desks with movable tables to the expensive one of remodeling classrooms.  However, one participant noted that caution is in order when remodeling.  Her university re-designed several classrooms to accommodate active learning, but she felt they did not do a very good job of it, and that the end result was a situation which was not markedly improved.

 Another classroom design issue involved the structuring of computer classrooms.  Most participants who had experience with computer labs thought that simply arranging the work stations in row and columns with the computers on top of the desks was not the way to go.  Such an arrangement merely repeated the traditional classroom design, and the computers made it difficult for faculty and students to see one another.

 One suggestion was to scatter several workstations  around the room, and cluster several students around each workstation so that would face each other. It was thought that this would foster interaction  within each group and enable the instructor to roam around the room.

 Another suggestion for computer labs was to use specially designed desks which place both the computer and the monitor well below the surface l of the desk.  The keyboard is placed in a recess just below the level of the desk.  Evidently, the monitor is tiled upwards towards the surface, and the surface itself some sort of transparent plastic which enables the user to easily view the monitor. Nancy Smith, the Howard office manager, has such a desk.

 It was thought ridding the room of visible computers would do much to foster an active learning atmosphere since everyone be more visible to one another.  Again, some caution should be exercised.  After using such a desk, Nancy decided that she does not like it since it forces her to look downwards, which in turn strains  her neck and back. As one who suffers from such maladies myself, I am worried about the possibility of back strain with such a desk.

 In addition to the design of the classroom, several participants noted that schedule design was also a important factor.  The ebb and flow of active learning is different than in a lecture, and many felt that they could accomplish significantly more in one three-hour period than in three separate one-hour periods.  It was observed as well that since students seem less restive in active learning situations, a three-hour active learning period would not present the same attention-span problems that a three-hour lecture would.   My personal experience confirms this.  In my Math 101 course, I often felt that we were just as we were getting deeply involved in   particular topic the bell would ring  Moreover, I often had to chase students out of the room, an experience I never had with a lecture.

 Of course, allowing three-hour class periods wrecks havoc with scheduling, so it was suggested that perhaps a certain block of time be reserved for long classes.  For example, several schools reserve a particular evening for long seminars, and it was thought that perhaps an evening be set-aside for long classes.

 Finally, the many of the participants noted that their school rewarded innovative teaching with various salary and even tenure incentives.