If you are a teacher or you work in a school, you will want to make the classroom environment as pleasant and as conducive to learning as you possibly can. There are plenty of different approaches that you can take in order to achieve this goal. Here are a few tips and tricks to get started.
Start With the Basics
To begin with, you should start with the basics, including the installation of high-quality school windows throughout the building. Other factors to consider include the colour scheme, floors, chairs, desks, tables and so on. Essentially, you want everything to be comfortable without being too relaxing, creating the ideal atmosphere for learning.
Get Your Students Involved
Instead of simply trying to take care of everything yourself, it is worth getting your students involved to see what type of classroom environment that they would like to create. For example, you can choose a corner of the room and decorate it with their own work or ask them what sort of project they would like to embark on to make the space as special as possible.
Don’t Overdo It
One of the common mistakes that people make when they are designing classrooms is that they try and make them too ‘busy’. It is possible to overdo it and taking a ‘less is more’ approach can end up making all the difference. Focus on one area of the classroom at a time. Once you have got that to the state you are happy with, you can then move onto the next.
Create Spaces for Collaboration
A big part of learning in a classroom environment is all about collaboration. So, you should aim to make spaces that are as conducive to sharing thoughts and ideas as possible. As much as possible, you should reduce the ‘everyone facing the front’ set-up that has been a part of many classrooms for a long time. Essentially, this leaves pupils looking at the back of each other’s heads.
Allow for Creativity
It is a nice touch if you set aside certain parts of the classroom that are reserved for the creative input of your pupils. ‘Writable spaces’ are common in the modern classroom environment. This could be in the form of a whiteboard where kids can express themselves freely. Alternatively, another option is to put in a place where you can stick up post-it notes, or similar.
Create Quiet Spaces
While it is great to allow for spaces that offer opportunities for interaction and collaboration, it is also a nice touch to put in ‘quiet spaces’ where pupils can go to be calm and reduce stress. This is an area that is often overlooked in the classroom environment, but it can actually prove to be one that is invaluable in so many ways. Some cleverly placed furniture and indoor plants can help to seal off the area and give it an extra sense of calm.
The design of the classroom environment can make such a difference to learning. These are just a few ideas to put into practice.