Classroom logistics

If you are reading this it’s probably because you are helping me set up a class, so thanks for that. If anything here doesn’t make sense, please contact me and I’ll try to help.

I use a teaching approach called Accelerated Learning, which is described in the book Training from the Back of the Room by Sharon Bowman. The guiding principle is that people learn best when they teach, when they are active, and most importantly when they are not face-forwards listening to a monologue, so they work in small groups and a lot of the class is about discussion and exercises.

This works best if the room is set up with small tables of 4-6 people. There are no PowerPoint slides. Instead I use an iPad to to make hand-drawn diagrams and notes so I need a projector or large screen with an HDMI connector or Apple AirPlay.

There are no prepared handouts so there should be a pen and notebook for everyone. I share any notes I make on the iPad as a PDF, so they only need to take additional personal notes. If you have branded notebooks these can act as a souvenir of the class. Some people prefer to take notes on a laptop or tablet, so there should be power strips available for each table.

There should be access to water, hot drinks and healthy snacks, ideally in the room as well as at set break times. I’ve noticed that natural light makes a huge difference to the energy in the room.