smata-note: the environment

I had a visible reminder of how much the environment shapes learner behaviour last week. When I arrived on the Monday, which as you’ll know was pre-level 1 times, the rooms in the secondary school were set up to promote social distancing: in rows, spread out, minimal movement ‘encouraged’ by the space. It was a low-stimulus, quiet, and with minimal movement. The students had zeroed in on assessment work. Fair enough - it felt like an exam room.

The trouble is, the course I was there to support is one where agency drives the learning. Students ordinarily are active, ‘alive’ and encouraged to play. There’s normally movement and exploration of the varied resources. Some students sit alone, some in bigger groups. All this was gone.

Until Tuesday. We spent lunch re-organising the space. Back came seating options, invitations, games, art materials, LEGO, plants, magnetic poetry, among other things. And with all those things, back came the feeling of warmth and possibility. It wasn’t just us that felt it either.

“Yay, it’s back!”, said the students as they walked in after lunch.

Immediately, the students were more dynamic and creative. There was more for the teachers to engage with because more was happening.

It’s funny, isn’t it. Ordinarily scant regard is given to the environment as a factor in student learning. This is a mistake. McInerney and McInerney, citing numerous studies about adolescent motivation, have this to say

“There is a direct link between changes in classroom learning environments as children move from primary into secondary schools and the decline in motivation … many secondary classrooms are crushingly dull places in which to learn.”