Instructors are tapping into the state-of-the-art technology and features of the advanced resources classroom Wallenberg 124, known as the Peter Wallenberg Learning Theater, to deepen student engagement and bring subjects and discussions to life.
After its upgrade in 2025, as a flexible classroom with configurable furniture and a high-resolution cinema-style screen supporting multiple inputs, Wallenberg’s adaptability enables instructors to experiment and innovate for student learning.
Advanced Lecturer Marcelo Clerici-Arias, who taught Economics 132, Persuasive Economic Storytelling in winter quarter, said the benefits of the advanced space are: “Outstanding—complete flexibility in how to use the big screen. I can tailor the classroom to whatever I do that day.”
While he facilitates discussion, he can make notes on the screen while remaining connected with students. During small group discussions, each group of students is able to use a dedicated portion of the screen. For a course focused on creating and conveying compelling narratives using economic data, the mobile furniture and configurable screen allows students to shift seamlessly between class discussion, group work, and collaboration as they share, refine, and weave stories together.
Clerici-Arias also noted the advantages of the audio system, which can pick up and enhance conversations across the space.
Small-group discussions in Economics 132, Persuasive Economic Storytelling. Photo credit, Ala Mohseni, Center for Teaching and Learning
Classical Greek translation may not seem to fit within a high-tech classroom, but working with visible text has proven transformative. In Classics 102G, Advanced Greek: Rhetoric and Law in Classical Athens, Professor Richard Martin guides students through interactive reviews of their translations.
”One nice thing,” Martin said, “is the feature of students composing sentences in Greek. With the theater I can say, ‘Here’s your screen’ and display it to the whole class. [We] can have anything needed on the third screen.”
He noted that in a traditional classroom, this activity might involve students emailing in work and the instructor reviewing and providing feedback individually for each student. The facilities in Wallenberg 124 allow students and instructors to follow the process of translation together. The learning activity has a “really good fluid, interactive quality,” said Martin. “Because we can raise questions instantly, you also have to think quickly on your feet. You expose to the students the whole process you go through to answer questions.”
Other instructors value the wide screen for bringing guests into the class using Zoom, or for its visual clarity when presenting high resolution media such as film. Professor Shelley Fishkin, teaching English 216A (AFRICAAM 215, AMSTUD 216), Huckleberry Finn and its Afterlives, found that the big screen (31.5’ wide and 8’ tall) allowed students to see and respond to dimensions of Guy Gallo’s television adaptation of Huckleberry Finn (PBS, 1986), directed by Peter H. Hunt, in ways they could not have on a smaller screen.
The classroom layout is adjustable for teaching and group work, with 36 stacking chairs and 10 foldable tables. The impressive wall screen is 12,800 pixels wide by 3,240 tall and can display as many as eight sources simultaneously (one of them in 3D), or 16 sources in 2D. For Zoom conferences or recording, the room supports automated or manual operation of three cameras and full-room audio. The project was funded by Stanford Classrooms Reimagined as a result of a generous gift from the Wallenberg Foundations.
Assistant Vice Provost, Learning Spaces, Learning Technologies & Spaces, Helen Chu said, “Our faculty continually explore new approaches to student learning, and the Wallenberg Learning Theater serves as a catalyst for that work. Its flexible design and advanced, cinema-scale technology provide the tools to turn thoughtful experimentation into engaging, collaborative learning experiences. We are pleased to partner with our faculty in supporting this work and in creating a space that helps bring their ideas to life.”
Wallenberg and its co-space, Lathrop 282, are reserved in advance of the academic year so faculty can prepare a class that integrates those resources. Instructors can email the LTS team at classtechsupport@stanford.edu to apply to teach in Wallenberg 124, and learn more about the advanced resource classrooms on the LTS website.
