Thank you for that! I was not on the list serve then, so this is great. The trend seems to be in the direction of flexible seating spaces, so this is really thought provoking. I would be interested in hearing more about what your campus is planning! Rebecca Orr, Ph.D. Professor of Biology Collin College, Spring Creek Campus 972-516-5088 http://iws.collin.edu/rorr On Jun 25, 2015, at 12:34 PM, Bender, Holly S [CELT] <[log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>> wrote: Hi Rebecca, We too are upgrading classrooms to support TBL. I was just about to advise making spaces that worked for TBL teams of 5-7 rather than 9 and then remember that Larry Michaelsen had answered this question eloquently in a previous post. I pasted it below. Best wishes, Holly Holly Bender, DVM, PhD, Diplomate ACVP Associate Director, Center for Excellence in Learning and Teaching Director, Preparing Future Faculty Program 3024 Morrill Hall 515-294-3584 Professor, Department of Veterinary Pathology Iowa State University Ames, Iowa 50011-1250 [log in to unmask]<http:[log in to unmask]> http://vetmed.iastate.edu/users/hbender<http://www.vetmed.iastate.edu/faculty_staff/profiles/hbender.asp> Begin forwarded message: From: Larry Michaelsen <[log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>> Subject: Re: Dimensions of the ideal TBL facility Date: May 22, 2012 at 2:59:13 AM CDT To: <[log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>> Reply-To: Larry Michaelsen <[log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>> The three key features of an ideal room for TBL are that: 1) The accoustics must allow participants to hear each other during the discussion of teams' choices on the applications (i.e., during all-class discussions). ' 2) Team members must be able to see eabh others' eyes and hear each other while all of the teams are engaged in discussions during the team RATs and the first phase of applications. The most common mistake is having tables that are too large. In fact, some schools have invested millions of dollars in rooms in which TBL teams have to engage in discussions in the spaces between large (and high tech) tables. 3) There should be as little as possible distance between the teams so that students can see each other and hear across the teams. I think the ideal room configuration is slightly rectangular with two rows on a tier, individual rolling chairs and in a horseshoe shape The instructors location should be on the end so that the majority of the teams are facing each other (i.e., The room should be deep (not wide). Larry ________________________________ To unsubscribe from the TEAMLEARNING-L list, please click here.<https://lists.ubc.ca/scripts/wa.exe?SUBED1=TEAMLEARNING-L&A=1> Further information about the UBC Mailing Lists service can be found on the UBC IT website. ######################################################################## To unsubscribe from the TEAMLEARNING-L list, please click the following link: https://lists.ubc.ca/scripts/wa.exe?SUBED1=TEAMLEARNING-L&A=1 Further information about the UBC Mailing Lists service can be found on the UBC IT website.