With the move of the English, sociology and education departments to Merion Hall on the James J. Maguire ‘58 campus, comes the addition of two new active learning spaces geared toward education through interaction.

A high-tech improvement over the temporary Communications Studies Lab housed in Bellarmine Hall during the 2009-10 academic year, the new lab space in 150 Merion Hall features seven workstations for student use. Each station includes a wall-mounted flat screen display that allows students to share what they see on their laptop screen with everyone in their group, acoustic sound panels to manage the volume of student collaboration and sound-canceling headphones for individual use.

Aimee Knight, Ph.D., assistant professor of English, says the space is more than just a classroom.

“This multimedia production lab facilitates active and engaged learning. The change is not just technological, but also cultural,” she says. “The display screens facilitate group interaction and collaboration – it’s an ideal set-up for project-based learning.”

In addition to the new Communications Studies Lab, Merion Hall also houses the new location of the Writing Center. Now found in 162 Merion Hall, the Center is staffed by undergraduate writing fellows trained as peer tutors to provide one-on-one consultations on any writing assignment. The new space is nearly triple the size of the old and has more data ports throughout – making it easier for visitors and tutors to access the technology they need as writers. In addition, it features a separate room for ESL tutoring. Jennifer Spinner, Ph.D., assistant professor of English, says the addition have created a more professional, welcoming atmosphere.

“We now have a space where writers can come in, hang out, read a book and have a cup of tea,” she says. “And now that we have room to grow, we’re considering the many ways we can better serve the writing community.”