The neuroeconomics class is one of the first to explore the innovative technology, tools and learning spaces in the Link, Duke’s new 24,000-square-foot teaching and learning center in the lower level of Perkins Library.

The Link includes six classrooms, four seminar rooms and 11 group study rooms, as well as informal space for collaboration or individual work. It is also home to a walk-up information and technology-support desk, coordinated jointly by the Office of Information Technology and Arts & Sciences staff.

“This is a cutting-edge teaching and learning environment that integrates the library, the classroom and technology with team research and learning,” says Provost Peter Lange. “It’s an amazing space where faculty and students can make absolutely the best use of technology.”

As part of its ongoing commitment to innovative classroom renovation, Duke will incorporate feedback from Link users in the planning of new teaching and learning spaces across the campus, Lange says.

Classes in a variety of subjects already are discovering new possibilities in the Link.

The new spaces in the Link have helped Professor Caroline Bruzelius, in the department of Art, Art History and Visual Studies, to rethink the way she teaches one of her most popular courses, Gothic Cathedrals.

In the class, three-member teams design, decorate and write a fictional narrative for a medieval cathedral. In the Link, Bruzelius can divide the class so that some students get training on AutoCAD software for the architectural design while others work across the hall on other aspects of the project, such as the site, materials and fictional history.

The AutoCAD training can be recorded using the screen video capture program Camtasia Studio to use as a resource for future classes.

With the Link’s breakout rooms and projection capabilities, “I can be talking to one group in one room, while other groups can be working in the other rooms,” Bruzelius says. “Suppose one group has a problem that I know others are struggling with. If I want to talk to the whole group, I can put myself on camera, broadcast it into the other rooms and say, ‘Let’s all think about this particular problem.’ ”

Another advantage: easy accessibility of reference librarians and library resources such as geological maps. “Being in the library for this project is being at the nerve center of the knowledge they need to have,” Bruzelius says.  

Library proximity also appealed to Edward Balleisen, an associate professor of history who opted to teach two of his courses in the Link this fall.

“Both courses are research-intensive, and the proximity to the library staff is a real strength,” Balleisen says. “I also tend to use a lot of board space (for schematics and two-dimensional chronologies), and these rooms are equipped for that,” with wall-to-wall, floor-to-ceiling whiteboards that can be used for computer projections.

For instructor Alison Hill, the flexible learning space available at the Link meant she could expand what had been a small seminar class on the biology of aging to include 36 students. “I was very excited that the Link would enable me to teach to a large group while maintaining the activities and intimacy of a seminar class,” Hill says.

Hill also likes using the classroom response system, where students use remote control “clickers” to respond to questions she posts on a slide, with their responses immediately tallied and displayed.

“It’s a gadget that’s helpful for stimulating discussion and keeping them engaged,” Hill says.

The space and technology work together to facilitate small-group discussion and interaction, says Rebecca Pearl, a senior in Hill’s class. “It really gives you the feel of being in a high-tech learning environment,” Pearl says.

More than 40 classes are using the Link this fall. Faculty can request space there for upcoming semesters through the registrar’s classroom request process.

To learn more about the Link, visit http://link.duke.edu/.