Equitable Access to Innovation: Building Inclusive Learning-Ready Classrooms at Scale

Within the learning spaces discipline, much focus has been placed on state-of-the-art active learning spaces, and research has shown the value and impact that these spaces can have on student learning and success is well worth the cost. Nonetheless, the prohibitive cost of these high-end spaces leads to inequitable access to these transformative opportunities, especially in historically underfunded public institutions which increasingly serve first-generation, underrepresented minorities. To ensure equitable learning and teaching experiences, campuses and industry partners should be encouraged to focus on creating inclusive, affordable, accessible and scalable “Learning-Ready Classrooms” that support the multiple teaching identities and philosophies of faculty, and the physiological, cultural, and cognitive needs of all students.

Through facilitated discussion, hands-on activities and real-life examples, participants will:

• Explore how notions of equity and inclusion pertain to learning space design
• Dissect how to apply key strategies for fostering equitable and inclusive space design within their own institutional contexts
• Discuss how concepts of equity and inclusion contribute to student success, as applied to the public and private institutional contexts of the participants
• Define the characteristics of culturally inclusive, universally accessible, and fiscally responsible “learning-ready classrooms,” within the framework of the EDUcause Learning Space Rating System
• Outline ways to implement institutional strategies, processes, and governance structures to foster cross-departmental partnerships that lead to the development of “learning-ready classrooms” at scale

Presentation by:

Maggie Beers, Executive Director of Academic Technology, San Francisco State University