Recent renovations create new College of Education learning spaces

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.—The College of Education is updating two of its buildings in 2013. First, the CEDAR (Center for Education, Diagnosis, and Remediation) Building has had numerous renovations applied to it and reopened in May 2013.

The CEDAR project was an $11 million investment funded by the University that included updates to all of the systems– water, electrical, telecommunications, HVAC, sprinkler and alarm– as well as new paint, flooring and carpeting. A new roof was put on the building, and the connector corridor between CEDAR and Moore Buildings was updated. All bathrooms and doors throughout the building were upgraded to meet ADA standards.

In addition to these updates, the CEDAR Clinic underwent a complete remodel. Additions include a new waiting area and an improved patient conference area that creates more patient privacy. Gerald Henry, the human resources manager for the College who oversaw the project, said the renovation to CEDAR is a major improvement to the building’s interior and to its outside, which will now have a sitting garden on the north side of the building, improved exterior lighting and a new Allen Road doorway.

The second update is in Chambers Building where a state-of-the-art mathematics education lab is scheduled to open in this fall. This $1.1 million investment will create a cutting-edge learning environment to support the development of mathematics education practice and research in a technologically enriched setting. The new design aims to provide flexible physical space that includes state-of-the-art video and audio connections to the outside world, built-in recording and display capability, and capacity for direct connections to PK-12 classrooms. The lab also will feature software that would offer the ability to communicate and collaborate electronically with teachers and students at remote locations as well as between classrooms in the College.

M. Kathleen Heid, distinguished professor of mathematics education, and Rose Mary Zbiek, professor of mathematics education, were the primary education consultants on the project.

“The new lab will provide new opportunities for studies of mathematics education teaching and learning at the College of Education by providing a state-of-the-art venue for the production and study of digital audio and video records of teaching and learning in mathematics and mathematics education,” said Heid.

In addition, the lab would serve as a site to accommodate research by teams of graduate research assistants and faculty working on analyzing interviews and observational data.