College of Science, University Libraries collaborate on SCALE-UP classroom
College of Science Dean Lay Nam Chang, Dean of University Libraries Tyler Walters, and Senior Vice President and Provost Mark McNamee recently opened the newest SCALE-UP classroom in Room 100 of Newman Library.
The college and University Libraries worked collaboratively on this project with a goal to create a more useful learning environment. While the space will be used primarily by the College of Science, and specifically by students in the Integrated Science Curriculum, it will also be used by other classes and by the library to provide education, awareness, and training for students.
The cost to renovate, furnish, and equip the space, including eight large screen displays and wall-to-wall white boards was approximately $360,000. The room is the second SCALE-UP classroom in the College of Science. Another project currently in the works for statistics graduate students and the Laboratory for Interdisciplinary Statistical Analysis in Hutcheson Hall.
"The room gives us a more social and collaborative learning environment," said Brian Mathews, associate dean for learning and outreach with the university libraries. "It gives us an opportunity to interact with different disciplines and it elevates the library’s instructional opportunities.”
As one of several universities that have embraced the SCALE-UP concept, Mathews said Virginia Tech is also gaining a reputation as a leader in progressive education, citing at least two other universities that have reached out to discuss what has been happening in Blacksburg.
“This is a chance for Virginia Tech to be a leader in how libraries can use SCALE-UP for instruction and raises the bar to what a classroom can be,” he said.