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34 WHAT DO WE WANT OUR LEARNERS TO BECOME? • Accomplished scholars, grounded thinkers. • Rooted learners, striving explorers, agents of discovery. • Inspired leaders, informed trailblazers. • Involved citizens, collaborative workers, cutting-edge scientists. WHAT EXPERIENCES MAKE THAT BECOMING HAPPEN? • Exchanging learning, mentorship, and discovery between teachers and students. • Fusing the liberal arts context and a research-based science curriculum. • Immersing students in a world of group learning and cutting-edge instrumentation. • Collaborating with broadly trained teacher-scholars pondering today’s pressing questions and vexing problems. • Engaging in intense, team-based research that yields presentable, publishable results. • Triggering “a-ha moments” by the serendipitous collision of ideas. Integrated Science Complex College of the Holy Cross Essay: P. 72 – 73
Transcript of Integrated Science Complex College of the Holy Cross
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WHAT DO WE WANT OUR LEARNERS TO BECOME?
• Accomplishedscholars,groundedthinkers.• Rootedlearners,strivingexplorers,agentsofdiscovery.• Inspiredleaders,informedtrailblazers.• Involvedcitizens,collaborativeworkers,cutting-edgescientists.
WHAT EXPERIENCES MAKE THAT BECOMING HAPPEN?
• Exchanginglearning,mentorship,anddiscoverybetweenteachersandstudents.• Fusingtheliberalartscontextandaresearch-basedsciencecurriculum.• Immersingstudentsinaworldofgrouplearningandcutting-edgeinstrumentation.• Collaboratingwithbroadlytrainedteacher-scholarsponderingtoday’spressingquestionsand
vexingproblems.• Engaginginintense,team-basedresearchthatyieldspresentable,publishableresults.• Triggering“a-hamoments”bytheserendipitouscollisionofideas.
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HOW DO WE KNOW?
• Thefive-buildingIntegratedScienceComplex(ISC)isnowaleadingcampusdestination,utilizedheavilybysciencemajorsandnon-sciencemajorsalike.
• Significantincreaseinstudentresearch;averageweeklyvisitstosciencelibrarydouble.• Empiricalfindingsandanecdotalevidencegatheredbyformalmethodologiesclearlyshow
widespreadandeffectiveuseofmultimodalISCvenuesbytheHolyCrosscommunity.• IntegratedScienceComplexnowahighlightonAdmissionsOfficecampustour.
WHAT SPACES ENABLE THOSE EXPERIENCES?
• “SuperLabSuite”:promotesinquiryanddynamicexchange.• “SuperQuiet”:efficient,sustainableventilationsystemhusheshoodsandenableschatter.• “ClearSightlines”:glass-walledlabsandwrite-uproomsenhancesafetyandputscienceon
display.• “ScaledSizing”:venuestailoredtotheirpurposes–largegroupdiscussion,smallteamstudy,
amplebenchesandclusteredlaboratoryinstrumentation,informalgathering.• “MobileDexterity”:reconfigurablefurniture,state-of-the-arttechnologysupportstheshiftandturn
oftheoryandpractice.• “IntellectualNeighborhood”:avibrantbuildingbeckoningallto“comeinside,stayinside.”
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The Challenge
TheredesignofsciencefacilitiesattheCollegeoftheHolyCross(CHC)waspromptedbyasitevisitfromfoundationrepresentativeswhomadeitclearintheirreportthatouragingfacilitiesgravelythreatenedourcapacitytoattractthenation’sbeststudentsandleadingteacher-scholarsinthephysicalsciences.
Thus,thisprojectwasdesignatedasaleadingpriorityintheCollege’sstrategicplan,andacommitteeofadministratorsandfacultydevelopedadesignexplicitlyintendedtofosterspecificcurriculargoalsandeducationaloutcomesthatreflectedthemissionandthevisionoftheCollegeoftheHolyCross.
Spacematters.Itcanlimitwhatwecanachieveinclassrooms,laboratories,studios,andotherworkspaces;oritcanopenupmanyexcitingnewpossibilities.Itinfluencesthewayweinteractandevenhowwefeelaboutourselves,oneanother,andourinstitutions.Thequalityofourfacilitiesandthewaytheyaremaintainedalsosendastrongmessageaboutourinstitutionalcommitmenttoexcellence.
—MichaelC.McFarland,S.J.CHCPresident(2000–2011)
Design Goals
Throughahighlyinclusive,participatoryprocess,weestablishedfourgoalsthatwouldundergirdthedesignprocess,givingattentiontowhatwouldbehappeningwithinthespacesandtohowthespaceswouldserveourinstitutionoverthelong-term,todesignspacesthatwould:
• Saytoall,“comeinside,stayawhile,seewhatisgoing,becomeengagedwithscience.”
• Promotenewteaching,curricular,andresearchconnectionsamongfacultyfromfiveoriginallydisparatedepartments.
• Achievethehighestlevelofenergyefficiencyandcost-savingspossibleforaSTEMlearningfacilityinNewEngland.
• Speakaboutscience,aboutHolyCross’ssciencetradition,aboutourcommitmenttobeinggoodstewards,givingattentiontoenergyutilizationandsavings.
Design Principles
Keyelementsinthedesignincluded:
• SupportingandenhancinghowlearninghappensatCHC,withspecialattentiontoDiscoveryChemistry(DC),apedagogicalapproacheddevelopedsomedecadesagobyCHCchemistryfaculty.DCisalab-based,guidedinquirylearningexperience,introducingstudentsinthefour-courseintroductorychemistrysequencetothescientificmethod.
• Puttingscienceondisplay—notonlytocontinuehighlightingtheCollege’srichlegacyinthesciences,butalsotoattractnewstudentsintointroductorycourses,encouragingthemtopursuefurtherstudiesand—hopefully—furtherresearchinthesefields.
• Makingvisiblethelearninganddoingofscience,withtransparencyandclearsightlinesintolaboratoriesandwrite-upspaces—atrueshowcasingofsciencetotheCHCcommunity,spacesenlivenedbybountifulnaturallight.
• Buildingacommunityoflearners,withspaceswelcomingtostudentsandfaculty,spacescomfortable,inviting,safe,andsupportiveofourDiscoverycurricula,spacesforindividualandgroupstudyscatteredthroughout,withparticularattentiontotherelationshipbetweendepartmentalofficesandclustersofcommunityspaces.
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Discovery Chemistry in Practice
IntheDCenvironment,studentsexploreaguidingquestion,forexample:“Whatistherelationshipbetweenthemassoftheproductofaprecipitationreactionandthemassofthereagents?”Fromtheirexplorationofthatquestion,theythenmustpredicttheappearanceofagraphthatdemonstratesthatrelationship.Theirpredictionsoftenvarybasedontheirgrowinglevelofchemicalintuition.Studentscollaborateincollectingandpoolingtheirdata,whicharethenusedtoevaluatetheirpredictionsandintroducechemicalconceptsinthesubsequentdiscussion-basedlecturesections.Thisprocessmakesthelabexperiencekeytothelearningprocess.
Ournewandrenovatedspaceswonderfullycomplementthisapproachtolearning.Classroomspacesattachedtothelabs—withflexibletablesandlargechalkboardsforstudentstoworkproblemsandsharedata—areconducivetogroupwork.Theiradjacencytothelaballowseasymovementbetweencollectingdataanddiscussingourprogress.Theseopenlabs,whichaccommodateupto32students,havehoodsalongthewalls,glasswindowsintothehallwaythatadmitnaturallight,andopenbenchesinthemiddlethatallowtheinstructortoobserveallstudentgroupsatonetime.
Asstudentsadvancebeyondthegeneralandorganicchemistrycurricula,theupperlevelcoursesaretaughtinacombinedphysical,analytical,andinstrumentalSuperLabSuitethatcanaccommodatetwentystudents.Asfacultyteachlabsinaroundrobinformat,theopenspaceandthesizeoftheSuperLabSuiteallowinstructorstoseeallstudentgroups,circulatingtoprovideassistanceasneeded.Again,theadjacentclassroomprovidesthecriticalspaceforstudentstointegratehypothesisgenerationwithdatacollectionandanalysis.
“ThelayoutoftheSuperLabSuiteallowsforgroupdiscussionaroundeachinstrumentwithoutdisturbingconversationsatneighboringexperiments,”accordingtoProfessorSarahPetty.“Intheadjacentopenwetlabspace,studentsatthebenchcaneasilyhearinstructionfromtheprofessor,evenwhenthelabisfullandmanyinstrumentsarerunning.”
Particularattentionwasgiventosoundquality.Theintentwasthatallrooms(fromoffices,toresearchandteachinglaboratories,totieredclassrooms)tobefreeofthebackgroundnoisecausedbyairmovement
andwewantedtobeabletospeakatnormalvolumeinallspaces.Todoso,itwasinsistedthatacousticswereacentralfeatureofthefacility’sdesignandwedealtfrequentlywiththearchitect’sacousticalspecialiststoselectthematerialsforinteriorspacesandtopurchasequietfumehoodsthatallowedustoachievethisgoalofextraordinarysoundquality.
What Difference Do These Spaces Make?
Come and stay awhile.Extensiveuseofinteriorandexteriorglassmakesscienceteaching,learning,andresearchevidenttoall,providingabrightunencumberedairtoclassrooms,laboratoriesandoffices.Useofglasswallsinlabsenablegoodlinesofsightandaddstothesafetyofundergraduateresearchacrossadjacentspaces.Carefullylocatedareasofvarioussizesforindividual,study,groupwork,andinformalsocialinteractionsencouragestudentownershipofthespace.
Promote new connections. Knowingthatproximitycanleadtonewrelationshipsamongindividuals,programs,anddepartments,thenewbuildingwasstrategicallyplacedtophysicallyconnectbiology,chemistry,mathematics/computerscience,physics,andpsychology.Withinmonthsofopening,newresearchandteachingcollaborationswereestablishedamongstudentsandfacultyacrossthesedepartments,collaborationsenabledbytheopportunitytoshareequipment,labs,andclassrooms.
Make science visible.Withanenergymonitorinthelobby,everyonecanreadilyseetheenergyconsumptionofthebuildingsandassessthecarbonfootprintsavedbythenewtechnologiesincorporatedintothedesign.ThemonitorcanalternatetheseenergydisplayswithphotosanddescriptionsoftheCollege’snotedsciencegraduates,recentpublications,studentandfacultyaccomplishments,communityscienceoutreachprograms,etc.AllcompletethestorythatthesciencesareacentralpartoftheliberalartsandoftheCollegeoftheHolyCross.
Integrated Science Complex (ISC) College of the Holy Cross
Architect:EYPArchitecture&EngineeringPhotos courtesy of:CollegeoftheHolyCrossandMalyszko
PhotographyLocation:Worcester,MAGross square footage:44,000gsfNew/104,000gsfRenovationCost (Construction):$41.6MConstruction period:5/2007–3/2010Date completed:March2010Disciplines housed: Chemistry,Physics,Mathematicswith
Biology,Psychology,ComputerScienceandtheScienceLibrary
