Yale’s Technology Enabled Active Learning (TEAL) classroom is specially equipped to facilitate innovative teaching by supporting active and group learning. As an Active Learning Classroom (ALC), the TEAL classroom is meant to encourage engaged learning, collaborative projects, and team-based problem-solving. Research into ALCs suggests that with the right teaching methods, ALC environments can significantly improve student motivation, performance, and passing rates.
Pedagogy
Learn more about the pedagogy behind using a TEAL classroom.
The TEAL classroom can be particularly effective for courses that utilize problem-solving approaches:
- Instructors can ask students to use their “Table + whiteboard” as a mini-laboratory where they actively solve problems in groups. Problems can be posted to the flat screen and projectors. The instructor should keep in mind that the flat screens are easier to read and the projectors take up board space.
- Instructor can post problems to the flatscreens and read them out.
- Instructor can give students 2 to 4 minutes to read through/digest/process the information.
- One student from each table then sketches the problem on their whiteboard, after which the role of scribe rotates.
- Instructors should ensure students know that the table works as a team to find the solution, not just the scribe.
- Instructor encourages everyone at the table to be part of the problem solving process. With whiteboards for each group, every student can share perspective, encouraging their ability to work as a team.
- If the problem is difficult and only one or two tables reach the answer, the instructor can provide closure by reviewing main points on one of boards, each of which can be projected around the classroom.
- Avoid using the TEAL classroom as a lecture hall for over 100 students if possible. Instead, use the room for class sizes around 40-80 students. Use 8 tables with 6-8 students/table.
- Integrate 2-3 discussion questions/problems to solve during class to provide natural breaks.
- Think of a group / table as a “mini-laboratory.” Each of the students in the group can be seen as team members working together to investigate or solve a common problem.
- Use the all-around LCD screens to post discussion questions.
- Consider turning off the projectors if not in use as they do not illuminate well and take up extra board space.
- Lecture in small doses only. Additionally, use one of the W1 / W2 boards, which project all around the room, to intersperse interactive notes and examples for students.
- Use moveable whiteboards when necessary. Keep in mind that not all tables have whiteboards right next to them.
- Bring a box of dry erase markers, e.g. 1 marker per table, as the room often runs out.
- Take notice of missing equipment such as batteries for microphones, pens, etc.
- Have one instructor or teaching fellow per 20 students in the class. These individuals can circulate the room and guide students in their group work.
TEAL is “Technology Enabled Active Learning”, an instructional method spearheaded at MIT by John Belcher. A typical MIT TEAL class incorporates lecture, recitation, and hands-on experiments in one class period.
How it’s done
- Instructors deliver 20-minute lectures interspersed with discussion questions, visualizations, and pencil-and-paper exercises.
- Students use animated simulations designed to help them visualize concepts, and carry out experiments in groups during class.
- Instructors periodically ask concept questions, which students discuss and answer through an electronic polling system with handheld voting keypads.
- Instructors no longer lecture from a fixed location, but walk around with a wireless microphone talking to students about their work, assessing their understanding, facilitating interaction, and promoting better learning.
A related initiative was developed at NC State by Robert Beichner. SCALE-UP stands for “Student-Centered Active Learning Environment for Undergraduate Programs.”
How it’s done
- During a SCALE-UP session, students are assigned something interesting to investigate.
- While they work in teams, the instructor roams around the classroom—asking questions, sending one team to help another, or asking why someone else got a different answer.
- There is no separate lab class and most of the “lectures” are actually class-wide discussions.
Teaching in TEAL
Interested in teaching in Yale’s TEAL classroom? Complete our room classroom reservation application to express your interest in teaching in TEAL!
Available Technology
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14
Student Tables
Each With: 3 VGA Cables | 3 HDMI Cables | 3 Gooseneck Microphones
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1
Instructor Table
Table Includes: 1 Instructor PC & 2 Monitors | 1 Document Camera | 1 Crestron Wireless Room Control | 1 Instructor Chair
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2
Microphones
Lavaliere OR Wireless Handheld Mics Connected To Built-In Speakers Around The Room
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5
Projectors & Screens
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14
60″ LCD Monitors
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8
HD Whiteboard Cameras
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126
Student Chairs (9 chairs/table)
Note: The above diagram only shows 10 LCD screens, all tables now feature LCD screens.
Need Help?
TEAL Classroom Support
For instructors teaching in the TEAL classroom and requiring immediate support, please call 203-432-2650 and press 1 for an AV emergency. Instructors can also report an issue via the automated ticketing system at classroom.support@yale.edu.
Classroom Support Contact: Yale ITS, classroom.support@yale.edu
Registrar Contact: classrooms@yale.edu
