A brief history
SCALE-UP originated in the NC State Physics Department. It grew out of an integrated math, physics, engineering, and chemistry project (IMPEC) that was highly successful. (That project is described elsewhere). Students learned a great deal, but it took a tremendous effort for the faculty to meet weekly and regularly sit in on each other's classes. After a few years, it was decided to split the course into pieces. The idea was to take the innovated pedagogies used in the small, integrated class and adapt them to larger enrollment courses. Thus, SCALE-UP was born.
One of the key features of the IMPEC classes, other than the actual integration of content, was the studio environment. Basically, students worked on projects or activities while the instructor roamed around the room, talking and listening to them. Although this type of teaching has been around for centuries (think of art and dance studios), the first application in the physics classroom was the CUPLE Physics Studio carried out by Jack Wilson at Rensellaer Polytechnic Institute. It has since evolved into RPI's Next Generation Studio.
At NC State, we initially tried to incorporate active learning into a standard, stadium-seating lecture hall. We replaced the old seating with long tables with attached chairs. We had asked for an aisle down each side and one down the middle, so all students could easily be reached. Unfortunately, the center aisle was eliminated by the architects. This result was basically a disaster. It was very difficult to get to the center of the room, the tables were so narrow that equipment would fall to the floor, and the seating made it difficult for groups to interact. See the Phase I photos below.
Phase 1. Adaptation of a lecture hall with stadium seating
Since that effort was not successful, we spent some effort on designing tables to facilitate student interactions. We tried several different shapes and decided that round tables worked best. Once that was decided, we tried four different diameters. The Phase II classroom used six foot tables to seat 54 students. The instructor station was on a rolling cart. The original room layout was 55 standard desks, with the front quarter of the room set apart for the instructor. This arrangement worked much better than the modified lecture hall.
Phase 2. Pilot classroom for 54 students. (Left image shows original seating for 55)
Eventually we moved into a completely new classroom. This room seats 99 students, has a permanent instructor station, and has white boards on three sides. It works reasonably well, but is far from ideal. The room itself is shaped like a sector of a circle, so some students are not visible to the entire classroom. Nonetheless, it has been the primary teaching facility for SCALE-UP Physics and Earth Science at NC State. Chemistry was also taught here, but has now moved to their own SCALE-UP classroom in a new building. Additional rooms for Geographic Information Systems classes are found elsewhere on campus.
Phase 3. Classroom for 99 students.
References
The single best description of our research on room design and impact on learning is found as a chapter in a peer-reviewed book:
Beichner, R., Saul, J., Abbott, D., Morse, J., Deardorff, D., Allain, R., Bonham, S., Dancy, M., and Risley, J. (2006). “Student-Centered Activities for Large Enrollment Undergraduate Programs (SCALE-UP) project.” In E. F. Redish and P. J. Cooney (Eds.), PER-Based Reform of University Physics. College Park, MD: American Association of Physics Teachers.
Here is the result of a collaborative effort between NC State and MIT:
Beichner, R., Dori, Y., and Belcher, J. (2006). “ New Physics Teaching and Assessment: Laboratory and Technology-Enhanced Active Learning..” In Mintzes, J. and Leonard, W. (Eds.), Handbook of College Science Teaching, Washington DC: National Science Teachers Association.
Here is a briefer introduction:
Beichner, R., (2006). “North Carolina State University: SCALE-UP.” In Oblinger, D. (Ed.), Learning Spaces, Boulder, CO: Educause.
There is an article from a local newspaper that is somewhat informative:
Perez, L. (2001). "One-on-one learning method takes science down to size,"News and Observer, Raleigh, NC. October 24, pg 1B-5B.
There is some information available in conference proceedings as well:
Beichner, R., and Saul, J. (2005). Introduction to the SCALE-UP (Student-Centered Activities for Large Enrollment Undergraduate Programs) Project. In Invention and Impact: Building Excellence in Undergraduate Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Education, proceedings of a conference by the Am. Assoc. for the Advancement of Science, April 2004, Washington DC.