Tiered seating with easy access to writable walls works best. The chairs have to swivel so that students can quickly form small groups without getting up from their seats. We find that white boards on walls around the room are extremely useful. The writing space serves two purposes. The instructor is free to roam the room and write, or draw a diagram, for all to see at any point.
Writable walls are also useful for student group work that is visible from the middle of the room.
It is frequently advantageous that instructors be able to monitor the work of the student groups unobtrusively. Being able to see the work of any group without the need to hover over the table is a distinct advantage. You and your original JITT colleagues have built bridges across disciplinary fields in the process of developing new approaches to integrating technologies into the classroom. In the current pedagogical climate that emphasizes active collaborative learning, cross-disciplinary projects that focus on the learning process rather than subject matter content are likely to make significant contributions to educational reform. Today's students must be made aware of the interconnectedness between the disciplines they study.