Teaching introductory courses to college freshmen requires innovative pedagogies, which are often powered by new advanced technologies that potentially increase student engagement. In addition, instructors may also plan and deploy active-learning strategies that first consider the physical spaces in which learning will take place. Effective pedagogies acknowledge both the impact that space has on student learning and the ability of both "low" and "high" technologies to facilitate such learning, merging the inherent power of each. The following case study provides an example of a themed learning community as a vehicle through which instructors may maximize technologies and spaces to enhance the teaching and learning process. The case study highlights the use of both physical learning spaces (e.g., cutting-edge active-learning classrooms; traditional classrooms; the off-campus settings of museums) and learning technologies (e.g., high-technology tools such as image-sharing software vs. lowtechnology white boards and paper-based pop-up museum exhibits) to illustrate the ways in which instructional teams collaborate to intentionally design meaningful learning experiences for their students.Instructors who are attentive to the current realities of 21st-century higher education recognize that learning occurs both within and outside the classroom, in spaces where technologies may range from cutting edge to seemingly absent. Therefore, effective pedagogies acknowledge both the impact that space has on student learning and the utility of both "low" and "high" technologies to facilitate such learning, merging the inherent power of each. Starting with the space is key to the design of learning experiences for undergraduate students. What features of each learning space can be utilized to fulfill the specific learning objectives? What technologies can be harnessed to engage students, focus their attention, and help them achieve the learning objectives? This case study serves as an example of an integrative, student-centered instructional strategy designed to facilitate the first-year student learning experience while challenging the conventional notions of space, technology, and pedagogy and the uses of each.

No abstract