Classroom Technology That Fuels Collaboration

Dr. Adam Berland, an associate professor of geography and meteorology, has seen firsthand the transformative effects of the Cooper Science Building’s renovations. His computer-based courses utilize advanced technology, but the previous building wasn’t up to par. “The courses that I teach are all technology-based courses, and we were able to train our students on really good state-of-the-art technology, but the surrounding building was just outdated,” Berland explained.

The redesigned classrooms are geared toward collaboration due to revised layouts that encourage student interaction, as opposed to the old design, where rows of desks made discussion difficult.  “Now we have spaces where students are organized in pods and it facilitates classroom discussion,” Berland said. “Having classrooms that are more amenable to the way that we teach now improves the classroom experience.”

Much more than just aesthetics and spacing, the renovations have enabled Dr. Berland and his colleagues to have flexible course offerings. “Prior to the renovations, we were teaching all of our computer-based courses in the same computer lab. We didn’t really have much overflow space,” Berland explained. “Now, we have three dedicated computer labs where we’re able to accommodate multiple course offerings at the same time. This gives students a space to work outside of class, and that’s been a really big benefit.” The renovations have set the stage for the departments and programs to continue growing and offering students a cutting-edge, collaborative learning environment.

Revitalizing Science Education 

Dr. John Millis, chair of the Department of Physics and Astronomy and professor of physics, came to Ball State University in 2020 and joined a department primed for growth but housed in outdated facilities. He recalled that “the Cooper Science Building was, for lack of a better word, tired.”

With an outside perspective and fresh enthusiasm, Dr. Millis assisted the renovation committee’s plans for the layout, including determining equipment and furniture needs and generating ideas for inter-departmental synergies in the building, such as the shared rooftop space on the fifth floor between the Departments of Physics and Astronomy and Geography and Meteorology.

Although the renovation process came with challenges and delays, Dr. Millis remained optimistic. Now that the building is complete, Dr. Millis confirms that the recent renovations have not only addressed the issues that he noticed when he arrived, but have exceeded his expectations. “Because when you’re renovating an existing building, you don’t really know how much you’re going to be able to really improve it, but it’s turned out to be even more beautiful than I had expected,” he said. 

With new teaching spaces, classrooms, labs, and research areas, the updated building is proving to be a source of inspiration to both the faculty and the students. “We’ve been able to address space needs with new teaching labs, new equipment, storage, and spaces for students to conduct experiments,” Millis noted. “The individual and group student study spaces are great for students to be able to gather with their classmates and get their work done in close proximity to the faculty so that if they have questions, they can easily find us and get the help they need,” he added.

Utilizing state-of-the-art technology was an intentional element of the renovation. The physics and astronomy department’s new rooftop observatory is fully automated, allowing faculty to gather data without needing to operate the telescope manually overnight. “This will change the amount of time faculty have to do their work and certainly make their jobs easier,” he said.

The first-floor CS114 lecture room now features seven widescreen TVs and three projectors, providing a versatile space for interactive learning. “It allows students to break up into groups, gather around separate screens, and engage in a variety of activities. It gives us a flexible space that we just didn’t have before,” Dr. Millis said. The room also doubles as a venue for digital poster presentations, giving students more ways to engage with course material.

As the departments, faculty, and students continue to settle in and utilize the new resources, Dr. Millis is looking forward to the renovation’s potential to support future growth and innovation, concluding that “the future is bright.” 

Enhancing the Planetarium Experience and Community Connections

Planetarium Director Dayna Thompson has a long history with the Cooper Science Building. “When I was a graduate student at Ball State University, all of my classes were in Cooper,” she recalled. “Cooper Science, before the renovations, was really closed off. There was not a lot of natural light, there were virtually no study spaces or lounge space for students to really take a break between classes.” Despite these limitations, Thompson appreciated Cooper’s proximity to parking as well as Christy Woods. “What I like most about Cooper before the renovations is that it was close to Christy Woods, which is beautiful, and I was able to walk through it to get to class every morning.”

Thompson agreed the building needed an upgrade. “It’s always important to update things as the years go on,” she said. “After 47 years, we updated the planetarium. We had to make it bigger and better with new state-of-the-art technology, and that’s what needed to happen to Cooper as well. It needed to get into modern times with technology, new spaces, and natural lighting and lounge space that students feel comfortable learning in.”

The renovated Cooper Science Building now complements the planetarium. “With the new renovations, since we have this wonderful planetarium that is now 10 years old, the new building will match that,” Thompson said. “The old building didn’t quite match the new planetarium, but now we have updated classrooms, natural lighting, and a lot of new technology in it that really matches the state-of-the-art planetarium that it’s attached to.”

In the future, Thompson is particularly excited about the Community Engagement Room that will be added and serve as a hub for activities and special demonstrations that can’t be done inside the dome. “We see hundreds of school groups, thousands of school children and sometimes they just need a spot to eat lunch,” she said. “That’s a spot where we can engage with the community. It’s going to be a wonderful new spot that people are going to be able to use during planetarium programs and outside the dome for activities and demonstrations.”

Hands-On Experience in the Applied Anthropology Laboratories

Dr. Kevin Nolan, director and senior archaeologist for Applied Anthropology Laboratories (AAL), said that the renovations transformed Cooper Science into a collaborative and efficient space for research. Everything from the layout of the building to the materials used in construction and design improved accessibility and visibility for AAL’s research. 

“One of the big things during planning was how we can let people see what’s going on in the research labs and invite them to be interested in what’s going on,” Dr. Nolan explained. Large floor-to-ceiling windows now allow people to observe projects like artifact processing and large-area surveys, which promotes engagement with the community and potential students.

A key concern for AAL going into the renovation was the need for a secure space for its valuable collections. “One of the things that came out of the planning is a self-contained secure space with better access control to our collections because while they may not appear valuable, they are irreplaceable,” Dr. Nolan explained. “The information about where they come from is also confidential according to state and some federal laws so we have to legally limit who has access to the information.”

The new layout also improves AAL’s coordination within their team. “We had a big lab space over in Burkhardt, but it was an awkward L-shaped, so you couldn’t actually see what was going on,” he explained. “You also couldn’t necessarily hear what was going on in the lab. So now we have much better access to oversee, control, and coordinate things better with everything consolidated into a big space.” Additionally, the renovation and inter-departmental synergies in the building will give students valuable exposure to real-world work environments, particularly in the way that different disciplines overlap on projects.

Looking ahead, Dr. Nolan is focused on strengthening Ball State’s role in the field of cultural resource management (CRM), where many anthropology program graduates work. “Most archaeologists are going to get jobs working for engineering and architecture firms doing federally mandated compliance surveys,” he noted. Academic coursework in anthropology and archaeology alone will not prepare students for CRM fieldwork. That is why Ball State’s combination of hands-on learning experience in AAL with academic coursework from the department of anthropology, as well as the new interdisciplinary opportunities with other departments in the Cooper Science building, positions Ball State students to be ready for the workforce as soon as they graduate. 

“There aren’t many programs that are producing students that are familiar with and prepared to go out and do CRM-style fieldwork when they graduate. We have an opportunity in this renovated space to create strong interdisciplinary learning experiences that provide the proper training and preparation for students to use their degrees successfully when they graduate.”

Dr. Kevin Nolan