Beyond the Education Building plans

Eddy looking for ways to maximize learning potential
When Pamela Eddy looks at the floor plans for the new Education Building, she sees more than just classrooms, laboratories, and offices.

The associate professor in the Department of Educational Leadership imagines the different ways in which the advanced technology and learning spaces in the facility will enhance daily on-campus student learning as well as distance learning and outreach endeavors.

“I have a great idea” were among the first words Eddy said when she first saw the schematics and floor plans for the new facility.

Perhaps this is why Eddy is leading the way in suggesting and discovering ways to maximize the learning opportunities the new Education Building will create for students, faculty, and community members.

“You see the plans, and that’s when it hits you and you say to yourself, ‘Oh, this is real,’” Eddy said. “You could start envisioning the life that is going to be, and you start looking at the potential impact it will have on learning and research.

“The biggest thing is that it has allowed us to dream.”

Technology for learning and teaching
The dream of providing student access to the most current technology for learning and teaching will become reality when the new building is completed. This includes everything from wireless access in areas throughout the building to interactive videoconferencing that connects CMU with its off-campus learning centers and other locations throughout the state and nation.

“With this technology we can bring speakers to campus, and our students in other locations can join us in an electronic way,” Eddy said. “The technology will provide these and other opportunities to help us train students for working in the global economy.”

Karen Adams, dean of the College of Education and Human Services, said teacher education students need to have access to the latest technology and experience it both as a learning and a teaching tool.

“It will be important to demonstrate to the teacher education students what they will be using in their classrooms,” Adams said.

Learning space setup is key
In addition to the state-of-the-art technology, Eddy sees how the setup of each classroom, laboratory, and auditorium can positively affect learning and professional development activities. For example, some courses are fine if they’re conducted in a standard lecture-style classroom, but Eddy said others are better taught if they’re set up for small group interaction.

“The flexibility in the setup of the learning space is important,” she said. “We need to continue looking at everything and asking ourselves, ‘What is the maximum potential we can get from this building?’”

Cindy Hales, director of development for the College of Education and Human Services, said that the construction of the new building is exciting, but what people really should get excited about is what is going to happen within the walls of the new building.

All they need to do is talk and dream with Pamela Eddy.

Pamela Eddy, associate professor in the Department of Educational Leadership, has exciting ideas for maximizing the learning and teaching opportunities in the new Education Building.