Classroom facelift

Ryerson is embarking on a new, highly collaborative initiative with classroom stakeholders across campus to establish standards for teaching and learning spaces, and set priorities for the creation of new or renovation of existing classrooms. Once completed, the university’s built environment will inform pedagogical principles for engaged teaching in the classroom and promote new approaches to active learning.

In fall 2018, the Centre for Excellence in Learning and Teaching and Facilities Management and Development (FMD) led a series of university-wide consultations and an online survey to determine what the community envisioned as the ideal classroom. Based on the results of these consultations, four unique values were established to serve as the foundation for our classroom standards: campus environment, inclusive communities, active engagement and exceptional experiences.

With these values in mind, the Classroom Task Force was established in March 2019 with membership from the Centre for Excellence in Learning and Teaching, Facilities Management and Development, Academic Space Planning, and Computing & Communication Services (CCS). The task force identified seven classrooms for renovation, and work began over the summer. These classrooms will benefit from larger whiteboards, new furniture, new podiums, increased electric outlets, fresh paint, and improved lighting – all changes that were made in direct response to community input.

This fall, the Teaching and Learning Space Working Group met for the first time to engage all classroom stakeholders in identifying teaching and learning space needs at the university, to establish standards for teaching and learning spaces, set priorities for the creation of new spaces and for renovating existing spaces.

“I would like to thank my colleagues at the Centre for Excellence in Learning and Teaching, Facilities Management and Development, Computing and Communications Services and the Classroom Task Force for their commitment to this project over the past year,” said Michael Benarroch, provost and vice-president, academic. “I’m pleased we’re heading in the direction where our teaching and learning spaces across campus will mirror the high-calibre of our faculty and the drive of our students, the innovation embedded in our curricula and our values for equity, diversity and inclusion.”

Using Ryerson’s Academic Plan and Master Plan, and the National Survey of Student Engagement’s (NSSE) five benchmarks for effective educational practice, the Classroom Task Force defined core values for teaching and learning spaces at Ryerson:

Campus Environment

Ryerson is committed to fostering a collegial environment with consistent design standards across campus. It is imperative that we maintain a sustainable and well-maintained campus to ensure our community’s health and safety.

Inclusive Communities

Our values for equity and community inclusion should be mirrored in our built environment, and as such, we should take a proactive approach to accessibility rather than a reactive one. Rather than creating accommodations, classroom spaces should be designed to be inclusive to all users, creating a welcoming, supportive, and respectful environment for learning.

Active Engagement

A space that promotes active learning and engagement will support students to meet higher-order learning outcomes. Ryerson classroom renovations and improvements will aim to enrich student interaction with faculty and peer-to-peer collaboration.

Exceptional Experiences

Encouraging creative and innovative thinking through state-of-the-art learning spaces. As Ryerson continues to undergo this campus-wide project, we are looking to build upon interdisciplinary and experiential opportunities for our students.