Death of the Classroom? And, Thank You—It’s Been Great Fun

By Phillip D. Long

In 1999 Roger Schank, then at Northwestern University, said,“Classrooms are out! No more classrooms! Don’t build them!” Prof. Schank, now at Carnegie Mellon University West, was making the point that learning through active engagement and failure—learning by doing—connects our affective and intellectual experiences in a way that’s essential for effective learning. This doesn’t happen often enough in the contemporary classroom. At that time he advocated the “rule of 1/3”—children (and adults) should spend a third of their time talking with each other in face-to face-interaction, a third of their time doing something (building things), and a third of their time engaged in computer-based instruction.

Traditional classrooms don’t necessarily prohibit building things or doing technology-supported inquiry, but they have not exactly facilitated the flexible transition from one learning mode to another. Some 10 years ago, the Great One (that’s Wayne Gretsky, for all you non-sports fans) attributed his skill on the ice by saying, “I skate to where the puck is going to be, not where it has been.” So where are the classrooms going, and are we building them to what we currently “know,” based on our past and current experiences, or for tomorrow?

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