UNC Chapel Hill's Lecture Hall for the 21st Century

Inside a transformed lecture hall at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, interactive learning is supported by a renovated space and adaptive product solutions. Modern and flexible, the new lecture hall – called Greenlaw 101 – allows students to seamlessly move from their desks to group discussions and back again with ease.

According to UNC Chapel Hill’s University Gazette, the request for a renovation was first submitted by faculty in a 2012 survey. In response the school was awarded a 2015 Steelcase Education Active Learning Grant to create a space that supported and encouraged a range of learning styles, tasks, and the transitions between them. And according to the Gazette, it worked. Since the renovation, “the instructors agreed that attendance was higher in their classes and that their students were more engaged and more willing to talk in class,” the paper reports. “The students also got to know one another better and didn’t seem to mind participating in group projects as much.”

The thoughtful redesign and use of technology enables professors to make any subject highly interactive. Read the full story on UNC’s new interactive lecture hall here.

For highlights from last year’s Active Learning Center Grant program and recipients, check out this compelling video.

Custer is proud to bring you insights from our partner, Steelcase.