Active learning classroom with 14 student tables with 9 seats each.

Peabody 311 uses fixed desks that swivel 360 degrees. Seats are configured to provide dedicated aisle space for instructors who want to interact with students and whiteboards throughout the classroom.

Seeking a model for more stimulating and collaborative classroom settings, California State University, with help from Herman Miller, created a Learning Studio in its Family and Food Science building. The university plans to use the insights it’s gaining from the project to develop more learning centers for students and faculty.

The historic renovation and expansion of Florida State University's William Johnston Building presented an ideal opportunity for Gould Evans, an architecture firm specializing in higher education projects that promote student success. The overall goal of the 145,000-square-foot space was to preserve the integrity of the Jacobean architecture of the two original buildings (built in the early 1900s) and at the same time, create a dynamic new space that would support 21st century teaching and learning.

In 2011, the College began planning the renovation of some existing spaces which would become five new Simulation Labs—a high acuity area, a birthing unit, and two patient rooms*. These high-tech, innovative additions, complete with computerized "patient" manikins, would give the school's approximately 600 undergrad and graduate nursing students the opportunity to learn in lifelike hospital settings. "We wanted our students to feel they were in the professional environment in which they would soon be working," explains Dr. Patricia Vint, Director of the Nursing Simulation Labs.

Suspecting that the way classrooms have looked and worked for decades might not be the smartest approach in the years to come, Saint Louis University has transformed one into a learning studio—a laboratory for figuring out the classroom of the future. Room 213 in SLU's Center for Global Citizenship is a distinct departure from the ordinary, brimming with technology and furnishings that invite new ways of teaching and learning. "How do we best reach future generations of students?" asks Dr. Paaige Turner, associate vice president, international and academic affairs.

Hundreds of colleges across the country are experimenting with a classroom model called SCALE-UP, which encourages teachers to roam and students to collaborate. Working with Herman Miller's Learning Spaces Research Program, the University of Florida is taking the model a step further, modifying the SCALE-UP approach to give remote students a way to collaborate with their peers in the classroom.

Jim Marsh, Head of School at Westminster Christian Academy wanted the school's new campus to be a welcoming community for its students, with informal "neighborhoods" that would encourage lots of interaction. He also wanted the space to be flexible and adaptable to meet changing needs. Herman Miller's extensive knowledge about today's learning environments helped his vision become a reality.

The University has since installed these chairs in eight additional general purpose classrooms, ranging in capacity from 25 to 40. Steelcase Nodes have been installed in one general purpose classroom, and will be used in a the renovation of a small lecture hall that will go online during the Fall 2015 semester.

Learning Research Studio and Experimental ClassroomThe LRS spaces are designed to foster effective teaching and to support initiatives on campus that encourage active learning, pedagogical innovation, and the use of technology to improve student learning outcomes.