Page 15 - SPIRIT-Fall2017

ACTIVE LEARNING

Seminar Classroom 401 Center for Law & Leadership Room 402

Seminar Classroom Standing outside Room 401 during the Chinese IV or ACC Spanish III class and It was the students’ first official Center for Law & Leadership
Technology & Features: listening to the students as they converse in Mandarin or Spanish gives one the brush with the law. Seated in the Technology & Features:
Crestron Air Media allows the teacher feeling of being in Beijing or Barcelona. darkened room, the group combed Crestron Air Media connects student and
and students to connect to the 80” teacher laptops and mobile devices wireless-
display wirelessly. The screen can be di- Designed to foster discussion-based lessons and student conversation, the the images projected on both 100" ly to the two 100" projector screens. Teachers
vided into four quadrants that show the Seminar Classroom, complete with curved sofa-style sectional seating and sleek screens anchored along the front and three students can simultaneously
work of four students at the same time. laptop desks, provides a more relaxed environment conducive to dialogue – wall, as Officer Neil French of the St. project their laptop images to the displays.
The classroom is set up with a curved The audio/video-conferencing system uses
sofa seating in front and laptop coun- ideal for higher-level foreign language classes. The interactive technology that Louis County Forensics Department four microphones from the classroom ceiling
ters in the back with raised seats, which allows students and teachers to connect wirelessly to the display screen also can brought them up to speed. It’s not that pick up students’ questions and direct
gives students the opportunity to easily be used with mobile devices to access apps. every day that students get a chance the teleconferencer in the direction of the
dialogue with each other. person who asked the question. The rows of
“The flexible space and technology facilitate spontaneity,” noted Chinese and to be “in” on a criminal investiga-
Classes: ACC Spanish III, Chinese IV French teacher, Rita Thoopul. “Foreign language requires a lot of short mini- tion. But the Law and the Legal graduated-level seating create an environ-
ment ideal for presentations.
lessons in different formats, and with the design of the Seminar Room, activities System course provided the case for Class: Law and the Legal System
can be modified according to the content, the mood of the day, the strengths study in Room 402, and the evidence Co-curricular: Mock Trial
and weaknesses of individual students and how the students want to learn. The for investigative learning was solid.
technology works seamlessly between student and teacher laptops, and it is easy Created to promote debate
for me to move around and work with students individually.” and exploratory learning through and knowledge, which leads to a tion and feedback.”
Nathan Fouquet, ACC Spanish III teacher agrees. “The proximity, both mine advanced technology and presen- wider engagement with the commu- “I love taking class in the new
to the students and theirs to one another, really creates an environment con- tations, the Center for Law and nity being studied, whether that be room because of the capabilities that
ducive to great interactions and collaborations. With the relaxed seating for the Leadership provides students with law or biospheres or space or China it has to offer us,” said Sydney Henry
students and the ample space for my own movement throughout the classroom, copious opportunities to hone their or the Church,” stated social studies ’18. “We already have a few video
it really aids in the implementation of a variety of conversational activities, the leadership skills and make real-time teacher, Jen Ahrens ’87. conferences scheduled! The collabo-
oversight of them and the use of other communicative exercises that assist the connections with experts across all “With the technology, our Law rate opportunities are incredible, too,
students in practicing Spanish.” disciplines. class can converse ‘face-to-face’ with especially the two separate screens
“What I really like about Room 401 is how open it is and how easily visible “The ability for students to CJ alums at Yale or the Hague. More that allow our Law and Legal class to
the screen is from all the seats,” said Hailee Settlemoir ’20. “Being able to con- robustly video conference with the than ever before, all our students display what we are working on and
nect to the display screen from our computers and share our work really helps outside world means students col- can be global citizens, as we engage discuss different sides of legal cases at
me absorb the content we learn.” laborate outside of their experience them with live sources of informa- the same time.”
SPIRIT • FALL 2017-18 13