The design of your classroom is more than just a reflection of your personality and subject matter. It also has a big impact on how well your students are able to focus and absorb what you’re teaching. If you’d like to make your classroom design more conducive to learning, take a look at these four key elements and how you might translate them to your room.
Collaborative Learning
Standard seating arrangements have students at individual desks, in a grid pattern, facing the front and watching the teacher. This works fine for a lecture, but students need to learn more than just the facts of the given subject matter. They also need to learn life skills like collaborating with peers in small and large groups. Having a variety of individual chair and table options along with workstations and benches for collaborating is the best way to enable students to further engage with each other and grow their knowledge. Doing this with mobile furniture helps you make the most of your classroom space and let it become whatever your students need it to be.
Mood-Boosting Color
Color isn’t just for looks. It actually has a pretty significant effect on a person’s mood, which also changes their learning ability. Consider which colors are being used in your classroom and how they might be influencing your students and their attitudes toward learning.
Green is relaxing and gives a sense of calm and harmony. It can be used to relieve stress, improve concentration and reduce heart rate.
Blue is also calm and relaxing and it can lower blood pressure and body temperature. It provides a boost in productivity, especially for learning that requires a high cognitive load.
Orange is the color of excitement! It’s known to cause a boost in creativity, inspiration, and overall mood. A word of caution, however, to use it in small doses. Too much may be overstimulating for children.
Red is best for increasing imagination, inspiration, creativity, alertness, and excitement. Again, be cautious of how much you use this color as it may become too much for some students.
Abundant Sunshine
It is well known that natural sunlight plays a big part in our overall mood. It’s often recommended to aid with symptoms of depression because of the boost in vitamin D it provides. Those who get more sunlight have healthier eye development and improved learning performance.
If your classroom has windows, make the most of the natural sunlight by placing a mirror opposite them to reflect the light around your room. A plain white wall can also have a similar effect.
If your classroom does not have access to natural light, you’ll have to make some false sun. The most accessible way is to bring sun lamps into your classroom. If you can, try taking your lessons outdoors or move to other spaces in the school that have natural sunlight such as a cafeteria, library, or computer lab.
Access to Technology
Technology is always advancing and by the time your students enter the workforce, their jobs will most likely rely on it to some extent. Help them prepare for this by incorporating technology into your lessons. Ensure students have enough space to use their tablets and laptops in the classroom, whether that’s at their own desk, at a small group table, or in a private technology corner. Also make sure there’s plenty of power outlets so students can stay charged for the entire period and proper lighting so they won’t be straining their eyes to look at a screen.
Setting Kids Up for Success
Students need every advantage possible to succeed in school and life. Your excellent teaching is one step. Take the next step and design a learning environment that is functional for you and inspiring for your students. Some small changes can lead to big results! If there’s anything we can do to help, please give us a call at 1-800-831-5904 for a personalized recommendation.