Space Management

When giving lectures in different locations, I always try my best to make sure things are set up ahead of time such as podium placement or where the tables and chairs will be placed.  Some times these places are out of town and I only have an hour before a presentation to look at the space.  The goal was always to offer enough space so people could move about, but not have the group too far away so that they were disengaged.  I think about where the projector will be and place other posters around the room.  And I always make sure there is a microphone so that people in the back are able to hear me.  A space conducive to learning also has to have the right room temperature, not too hot , not too cold.  I always tell adult students that they are welcome to get up and move around as needed.  After the readings, I tried to think of the spaces that I have created and what kind of a mood was created by that space.  I only have a little control over the big room organization but I thought about the feel of the space when we break down into small groups.  How can I create a nook for a small group discussion so that people feel comfortable with sharing and opening up.  I thought about Susanka talking about kids in a big box looking out into the bigger room.  Why not have teams with their names on a poster and have it displayed on an easel and they could sit behind it,  but they could also look out on the big room?  Giving them a sense of privacy and cohesiveness.  She talks about small spaces being comfortable and cozy and we may always need this mood for a teaching environment.  Often I want alert and at attention.
I also thought back to Susanka mentioning that humans are drawn to move toward the light and their attention is grabbed by partial views.  I could definitely use this in my teaching.  Just like the evening news, I could give the class little teasers or peeks at upcoming information so that they stay focused beyond the commercial.  As in a home repeating themes connect different spaces creating comfort, teaching also uses repetition so that information is connected and retained.  When thinking of moving toward the light, I think of a physics teacher I had who would start his lecture with a small explosion or a collision to grab our attention and "show us the light".  How the explosion/collision occured was what we needed to know.  He would spend the next 50 minutes of lecture explaining that point.  Visually seeing the information we were able to follow through the lecture.  It was one of my favorite classes.