A learning environment

Visitors to Amerikanska Gymnasiet often react to the atmosphere of culture and innovation throughout the school. When you come to any one of our schools you will sense right away a creative spirit in both the corridors and the classrooms. The school environment in its entirety is a complete learning environment where face-to-face meetings and interactions between teachers and students are reinforced with digital technology and creative meeting areas.

An important feature is what is called “Blended Learning”. This means that we extend classroom teaching to make it accessible even after school hours. For support our teachers have access to the latest technology; for example there are HD cameras mounted in all the classrooms.

Learning

Our teaching encompasses innovative teaching methods where the teachers combine face-to-face interaction with digital technology. All reviews and anything essential to the teaching are filmed in high audiovisual quality using digital cameras that are mounted in classroom ceilings. The camera follows the teacher, and gives students access to teaching outside school hours. Teaching is always accessible in the school, on the train home or at home. For example students and parents can watch the same lesson over and over again and revise with the teacher’s presentations and in this way gain greater access to learning. 

Technology for the Future

We work using iPads, digital pens and MacBooks as applicable before, during and after the lessons. This creates a working flexibility and contributes to both efficiency and a higher feedback value for the students. The students generally use an iPad, with the accompanying pen and integrated keyboard. Using this digital method students gain another type of experience and learning than with the traditional way of using a computer. In future working life it is also highly probable that solutions like iPad will be used. In the same way as the typewriter was once replaced, we see that the future promises more innovative solutions than a screen and a keyboard. Students still use MacBooks however for those courses involving programming and iMac for courses in media production. 

 

A working environment for varied teaching

The school environment is designed to stimulate different ways of learning. We start with a modern working environment that is similar to the conference and meeting rooms our students will meet in their working lives. Every corner of the school is intended to promote ease and cooperation. Teaching shifts can be scheduled in the different areas described below that are based on the traditional classroom. Each course has in general two lessons in traditional classrooms and one lesson in an Active Learning Classroom every week. This is to give teachers the opportunity to vary teaching naturally. Our “Homebase” rooms and “Offices” are a natural complement for both students and teachers.

Our learning environments

Traditionalt classroom

Active Learning Classroom (ALC)

Homebase

Office

Traditional classrooms

Our traditional classrooms are equipped with interactive displays and modern ergonomic furnishings. There are also HD-cameras installed allowing teachers to record all their teaching and to send classes live for students who are not in the school due to sickness for example.

Active learning classroom

In an Active Learning Classroom the teacher works from the middle of the classroom. The students are grouped around stations making this the ideal environment for cooperative problem solving, debates or speech making. The ALC green room is a classroom with a fantastic environment filled with plants and even a living moss wall.

Homebase

Homebase is where students can study in the morning, during the day or after school hours. This is also where the schools’ teachers are at hand, making it the natural place for working in groups of students and together with the schools’ teachers. In the Homebase you can work independently or in a group depending on the task and subject. We see it as a common study room for students and teachers.

Office

Our group rooms with their modern design resemble the conference rooms many of our students will meet in their future careers. After school hours our group rooms are turned into creative meeting places for the school clubs to work on their projects and plan their activities. Teachers can book Offices for lessons where all the students have access to group rooms at the same time.