learning environment introduction essay

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What are the key elements of a positive learning environment? Perspectives from students and faculty

Shayna a. rusticus.

Department of Psychology, Kwantlen Polytechnic University, 12666 72 Ave, Surrey, BC V3W 2M8 Canada

Tina Pashootan

The learning environment comprises the psychological, social, cultural and physical setting in which learning occurs and has an influence on student motivation and success. The purpose of the present study was to explore qualitatively, from the perspectives of both students and faculty, the key elements of the learning environment that supported and hindered student learning. We recruited a total of 22 students and 9 faculty to participate in either a focus group or an individual interview session about their perceptions of the learning environment at their university. We analyzed the data using a directed content analysis and organized the themes around the three key dimensions of personal development, relationships, and institutional culture. Within each of these dimensions, we identified subthemes that facilitated or impeded student learning and faculty work. We also identified and discussed similarities in subthemes identified by students and faculty.

Introduction

The learning environment (LE) comprises the psychological, social, cultural, and physical setting in which learning occurs and in which experiences and expectations are co-created among its participants (Rusticus et al., 2020 ; Shochet et al., 2013 ). These individuals, who are primarily students, faculty and staff, engage in this environment and the learning process as they navigate through their personal motivations and emotions and various interpersonal interactions. This all takes place within a physical setting that consists of various cultural and administrative norms (e.g. school policies).

While many studies of the LE have focused on student perspectives (e.g. Cayubit, 2021 ; Schussler et al., 2021 ; Tharani et al., 2017 ), few studies have jointly incorporated the perspectives of students and faculty. Both groups are key players within the educational learning environment. Some exceptions include researchers who have used both instructor and student informants to examine features of the LE in elementary schools (Fraser & O’Brien, 1985 ; Monsen et al., 2014 ) and in virtual learning and technology engaged environments in college (Annansingh, 2019 ; Downie et al., 2021 ) Other researchers have examined perceptions of both groups, but in ways that are not focused on understanding the LE (e.g. Bolliger & Martin, 2018 ; Gorham & Millette, 1997 ; Midgly et al., 1989 ).

In past work, LEs have been evaluated on the basis of a variety of factors, such as students’ perceptions of the LE have been operationalized as their course experiences and evaluations of teaching (Guo et al., 2021 ); level of academic engagement, skill development, and satisfaction with learning experience (Lu et al., 2014 ); teacher–student and student–peer interactions and curriculum (Bolliger & Martin, 2018 ; Vermeulen & Schmidt, 2008 ); perceptions of classroom personalization, involvement, opportunities for and quality of interactions with classmates, organization of the course, and how much instructors make use of more unique methods of teaching and working (Cayubit, 2021 ). In general, high-quality learning environments are associated with positive outcomes for students at all levels. For example, ratings of high-quality LEs have been correlated with outcomes such as increased satisfaction and motivation (Lin et al., 2018 ; Rusticus et al., 2014 ; Vermeulen & Schmidt, 2008 ), higher academic performance (Lizzio et al., 2002 ; Rusticus et al., 2014 ), emotional well-being (Tharani et al., 2017 ), better career outcomes such as satisfaction, job competencies, and retention (Vermeulen & Schmidt, 2008 ) and less stress and burnout (Dyrbye et al., 2009 ). From teacher perspectives, high-quality LEs have been defined in terms of the same concepts and features as those used to evaluate student perspective and outcomes. For example, in one quantitative study, LEs were rated as better by students and teachers when they were seen as more inclusive (Monsen et al., 2014 ).

However, LEs are diverse and can vary depending on context and, although many elements of the LE that have been identified, there has been neither a consistent nor clear use of theory in assessing those key elements (Schönrock-Adema et al., 2012 ). One theory that has been recommended by Schönrock-Adema et al. ( 2012 ) to understand the LE is Moos’ framework of human environments (Insel & Moos, 1974 ; Moos, 1973 , 1991 ). Through his study of a variety of human environments (e.g. classrooms, psychiatric wards, correctional institutions, military organizations, families), Moos proposed that all environments have three key dimensions: (1) personal development/goal direction, (2) relationships, and (3) system maintenance/change. The personal development dimension encompasses the potential in the environment for personal growth, as well as reflecting the emotional climate of the environment and contributing to the development of self-esteem. The relationship dimension encompasses the types and quality of social interactions that occur within the environment, and it reflects the extent to which individuals are involved in the environment and the degree to which they interact with, and support, each other. The system maintenance/change dimension encompasses the degree of structure, clarity and openness to change that characterizes the environment, as well as reflecting physical aspects of the environment.

We used this framework to guide our research question: What do post-secondary students and faculty identify as the positive and negative aspects of the learning environment? Through the use of a qualitative methodology to explore the LE, over the more-typical survey-based approaches, we were able to explore this topic in greater depth, to understand not only the what, but also the how and the why of what impacts the LE. Furthermore, in exploring the LE from both the student and faculty perspectives, we highlight similarities and differences across these two groups and garner an understanding of how both student and faculty experience the LE.

Participants

All participants were recruited from a single Canadian university with three main campuses where students can attend classes to obtain credentials, ranging from a one-year certificate to a four-year undergraduate degree. Approximately 20,000 students attend each year. The student sample was recruited through the university’s subject pool within the psychology department. The faculty sample was recruited through emails sent out through the arts faculty list-serve and through direct recruitment from the first author.

The student sample was comprised of 22 participants, with the majority being psychology majors ( n  = 10), followed by science majors ( n  = 4) and criminology majors ( n  = 3). Students spanned all years of study with seven in their first year, three in second year, five in third year, six in fourth year, and one unclassified. The faculty sample consisted of nine participants (6 male, 3 female). Seven of these participants were from the psychology department, one was from the criminology department and one was from educational studies. The teaching experience of faculty ranged from 6 to 20 years.

Interview schedule and procedure

We collected student data through five focus groups and two individual interviews. The focus groups ranged in size from two to six participants. All sessions occurred in a private meeting room on campus and participants were provided with food and beverages, as well as bonus credit. Each focus group/interview ranged from 30 to 60 min. We collected all faculty data through individual interviews ranging from 30 to 75 min. Faculty did not receive any incentives for their participation. All sessions were conducted by the first author, with the second author assisting with each of the student focus groups.

With the consent of each participant, we audio-recorded each session and transcribed them verbatim. For both samples, we used a semi-structured interview format involving a set of eight open-ended questions about participants’ overall perceptions of the LE at their institution (see Appendix for interview guide). These questions were adapted from a previous study conducted by the first author (Rusticus et al., 2020 ) and focused on how participants defined the LE, what they considered to be important elements of the LE, and their positive and negative experiences within their environment. Example questions were: “Can you describe a [negative/positive] learning [students]/teaching [faculty] experience that you have had?”.

We analyzed the data using a directed content analysis approach (Hsieh & Shannon, 2005 ) that used existing theory to develop the initial coding scheme. We used Moos’s (Insel & Moos, 1974 ; Moos, 1973 , 1991 ) framework and its three dimensions of personal development, relationships, and system maintenance/change to guide our analysis. During the analysis phase, we renamed the system maintenance/change dimension to ‘institutional setting’ as we felt it was more descriptive of, and better represented, the content of this theme.

We analyzed student and faculty data separately, starting with the student data, but used the same process for both. First, we randomly selected two transcripts. We each independently coded the first transcript using the broad themes of personal development, relationships and institutional setting, and developed subcodes within each of these themes, as needed. We then reviewed and discussed our codes, reaching consensus on any differences in coding. We then repeated this process for the second transcript and, through group discussions, created a codebook. The first author then coded the remaining transcripts.

When coding the faculty data, we aimed to maintain subcodes similar to the student data while allowing for flexibility when needed. For instance, within the personal development theme, a subcode for the student data was ‘engagement with learning’, whereas a parallel subcode for the faculty data was ‘engagement with teaching’.

We present the results of the student and faculty data separately. For both, we have organized our analysis around the three overarching themes of personal development, relationships and institutional setting.

Student perspectives of the learning environment

Personal development.

Personal development was defined as any motivation either within or outside the LE that provide students with encouragement, drive, and direction for their personal growth and achievement. Within this theme, there were two subthemes: engaging with learning and work-life balance.

Engagement with learning reflected a student’s desire and ability to participate in their learning, as opposed to a passive-learning approach. Students felt more engaged when they were active learners, as well as when they perceived the material to be relevant to their career goals or real-world applications. Students also said that having opportunities to apply their learning helped them to better understand their own career paths:

I had two different instructors and both of them were just so open and engaging and they shared so many personal stories and they just seemed so interested in what they were doing and what I was like. Wow, I want to be that. I want to be interested in what I’m learning. (G6P1)

A common complaint that negatively impacted student motivation was that instructors would lecture for the entire class without supporting materials or opportunities for students to participate.

I’ve had a couple professors who just don’t have any visuals at all. All he does is talk. So, for the whole three hours, we would just be scrambling to write down the notes. It’s brutal...(G7P2)

Trying to establish a healthy work-life balance and managing the demands of their courses, often in parallel with managing work and family demands, were key challenges for students and were often sources of stress and anxiety. For instance, one student spoke about her struggles in meeting expectations:

It was a tough semester. For the expectations that I had placed on myself, I wasn’t meeting them and it took a toll on me. But now I know that I can exceed my expectations, but you really have to try and work hard for it. (G6P1)

Achieving a good work-life balance and adjusting to university life takes time. Many students commented that, as they reached their third year of study, they felt more comfortable in the school environment. Unfortunately, students also noted that the mental and emotional toll of university life can lead to doubt about the future and a desire to leave. One student suggested more support for students to help with this adjustment:

I think school should give students more service to help them to overcome the pressure and make integration into the first year and second year quicker and faster. Maybe it’s very helpful for the new students. (G7P4)

Relationships

Relationships was the second dimension of the LE. Subthemes within this dimension included: faculty support, peer interaction, and group work. Most students commented on the impact that faculty had on their learning. Faculty support included creating a safe or unsafe space in the classroom (i.e. ability to ask questions without judgement, fostering a respectful atmosphere), providing additional learning material, accommodating requests, or simply listening to students. Students generally indicated that faculty at this university were very willing to offer extra support and genuinely cared for them and their education. Faculty were described as friendly and approachable, and their relationships with students were perceived as “egalitarian”.

I think feeling that you’re safe in that environment, that anything you pose or any questions that you may have, you’re free to ask. And without being judged. And you’ll get an answer that actually helps you. (G1P4)

While most students felt welcome and comfortable in their classes, a few students spoke about negative experiences that they had because of lack of faculty support. Students cited examples of professors “shutting down” questions, saying that a question was “stupid”, refusing requests for additional help, or interrupting them while speaking. Another student felt that the inaction of faculty sometimes contributed to a negative atmosphere:

I’ve had bad professors that just don't listen to any comment or, if you suggest something to improve it which may seem empirically better, they still shut you down! That’s insane. (G2P2)

The peer interactions subtheme referred to any instances when students could interact with other students; this occurred both in and out of the classroom. Most often, students interacted with their peers during a class or because of an assignment:

I think the way the class is structured really helps you build relationships with your peers. For example, I met S, we had several classes with each other. Those classes were more proactive and so it allowed us to build a relationship… I think that’s very important because we’re going to be in the same facility for a long time and to have somebody to back you up, or to have someone to study with…”. (G1P4)

However, other students felt that they lacked opportunities to interact with peers in class. Although a few participants stated that they felt the purpose of going to school was to get a degree, rather than to socialize with others, students wanted more opportunities to interact with peers.

The final subtheme, group work, was a very common activity at this school. The types of group work in which students engaged included classroom discussions, assignments/projects, and presentations. Many students had enjoyable experiences working in groups, noting that working together helped them to solve problems and create something that was better than one individual’s work. Even though sometimes doing the work itself was a negative experience, people still saw value in group work:

Some of the best memories I’ve ever had was group work and the struggles we've had. (G2P2) I don’t like group work but it taught me a lot, I’ve been able to stay friends and be able to connect with people that I’ve had a class with in 2nd year psych all the way up till now. I think that’s very valuable. (G6P1)

Almost all students who spoke about group work also talked about negative aspects or experiences they had. When the work of a group made up a large proportion of the final grade, students sometimes would have preferred to be evaluated individually. Students disliked when they worked in groups when members were irresponsible or work was not shared equally, and they were forced to undertake work that other students were not completing.

A lot of people don’t really care, or they don’t take as much responsibility as you. I think people have different goals and different ways of working, so sometimes I find that challenging. (G7P2)

Institutional setting

The third overarching theme was the institutional setting. Broadly, this theme refers to the physical structure, expectations, and the overall culture of the environment and was composed of two key subthemes: importance of small class sizes; and the lack of a sense of community.

Small class sizes, with a maximum of 35 students, were a key reason why many students chose to come to this institution. The small classes created an environment in which students and faculty were able to get to know one another more personally; students felt that they were known as individuals, not just as numbers. They also noted that this promoted greater feelings of connectedness to the class environment, more personalized attention, and opportunities to request reference letters in the future:

My professors know my name. Not all of them that I’m having for the first time ever, but they try… That means a lot to me. (G6P4)

Several students also said that having smaller class sizes helped them to do well in their courses. The extra attention encouraged them to perform better academically, increased their engagement with their material, and made them feel more comfortable in asking for help.

Having a sense of belonging was a key feature of the environment and discussions around a sense of community (or lack thereof) was a prominent theme among the students. Students generally agreed that the overall climate of the school is warm and friendly. However, many students referred to the institution as a “commuter school”, because there are no residencies on campus and students must commute to the school. This often resulted in students attending their classes and then leaving immediately after, contributing to a lack of community life on campus.

What [other schools] have is that people live on campus. I think that plays a huge role. We can’t ignore that we are a commuter school… They have these events and people go because they’re already there and you look at that and it seems to be fun and engaging. (G4P1)

Furthermore, students commented on a lack of campus areas that supported socialization and encouraged students to remain on campus. While there were events and activities that were regularly hosted at the school, students had mixed opinions about them. Some students attended the events and found them personally beneficial. Other students stated that, although many events and activities were available, turnout was often low:

There isn’t any hanging out after campus and you can even see in-events and in-event turnout for different events… It is like pulling teeth to get people to come out to an event… There are free food and fun music and really cool stuff. But, no one’s going to go. It’s sad. (G5P1)

Faculty perspectives on the learning environment

Similar to the student findings, faculty data were coded within the three overarching themes of personal development, relationships, and institutional setting.

Personal development reflected any motivation either within or outside the LE that provided faculty with the encouragement, drive, and direction for their personal growth and engagement with teaching. Within this dimension, there were two main subthemes: motivation to teach and emotional well-being.

As with any career, there are many positive and negative motivating factors that contribute to one’s involvement in their work. Faculty generally reported feeling passionate about their work, and recounted positive experiences they have had while teaching, both personally and professionally. While recollecting positive drives throughout their career, one instructor shared:

It’s [teaching in a speciality program] allowed me to teach in a very different way than the traditional classroom… I’ve been able to translate those experiences into conferences, into papers, into connections, conversations with others that have opened up really interesting dialogues…. (8M)

Faculty also reported that receiving positive feedback from students or getting to see their students grow over time was highly motivating:

I take my teaching evaluations very seriously and I keep hearing that feedback time and time again they feel safe. They feel connected, they feel listened too, they feel like I'm there for them. I think, you know, those are the things that let me know what I'm doing is achieving the goals that I have as an educator. (1F) Being able to watch [students] grow over time is very important to me… I always try to have a few people I work with and see over the course of their degree. So, when they graduate, you know I have a reason to be all misty-eyed. (2M)

Emotional well-being related to how different interactions, primarily with students, affected instructors’ mental states. Sometimes the emotional well-being of faculty was negatively affected by the behaviour of students. One instructor spoke about being concerned when students drop out of a class:

A student just this last semester was doing so well, but then dropped off the face of the earth… I felt such a disappointing loss… So, when that happens, I'm always left with those questions about what I could have done differently. Maybe, at the end of the day, there is nothing I could've done, nothing. It's a tragedy or something's happened in their life or I don't know. But those unanswered questions do concern-- they cause me some stress or concern. (1F)

Another instructor said that, while initially they had let the students’ behaviour negatively affect their well-being, over time, they had eventually become more apathetic.

There are some who come, leave after the break. Or they do not come, right, or come off and on. Previously I was motivated to ask them ‘what is your problem?’ Now I do not care. That is the difference which has happened. I do not care. (4M)

This dimension included comments related to interactions with other faculty and with students and consisted of three subthemes: faculty supporting faculty; faculty supporting students; and creating meaningful experiences for students.

Most faculty felt that it was important to be supported by, and supportive to, their colleagues. For instance, one instructor reported that their colleagues’ helpfulness inspired them to be supportive of others:

If I was teaching a new course, without me having to go and beg for resources or just plead and hope that someone might be willing to share, my experience was that the person who last taught the course messaged me and said let me know if anything I have will be useful to you… When people are willing to do that for you, then you’re willing to do that for someone else….(7M)

Many faculty members also spoke about the importance of having supportive relationships with students, and that this would lead to better learning outcomes:

If you don't connect with your students, you're not going to get them learning much. They're not; they're just going to tune out. So, I think, I think connection is critical to having a student not only trust in the learning environment, but also want to learn from the learning environment. (3M)

Facilitating an open, inviting space in the classroom and during their office hours, where students were comfortable asking questions, was one way that faculty tried to help students succeed. Faculty also spoke about the value of having close mentorship relationships with students:

I work with them a lot and intensively…and their growth into publishing, presenting, and seeing them get recognized and get jobs on their way out and so forth are extraordinary. So, being able to watch them grow over time is very important to me. (2M)

Faculty also noted that occasionally there were instances when students wanted exceptions to be made for them which can create tensions in the environment. One instructor spoke about the unfairness of those requests arguing that students need to be accountable to themselves:

The failure rate, …it was 43%. I do not know if there is any other course in which there is a 43% failure rate. So, I do not want to fail these students, why? Instructors want these students to pass, these are my efforts […], and there are also the efforts of these students and their money, right? But, if a student doesn’t want to pass himself or herself, I cannot pass this student, that’s it. (4M)

Faculty were generally motivated to provide memorable and engaging experiences for students. These included providing practical knowledge and opportunities to apply knowledge in real-world settings, field schools, laboratory activities, group discussions, guest speakers, field trips, videos and group activities. They were often willing to put in extra effort if it meant that students would have a better educational experience.

Creating meaningful experiences for students was also meaningful for faculty. One faculty member said that faculty felt amazing when the methods that they used in their courses were appreciated by students. Another faculty member noted:

This student who was in my social psychology class, who was really bright and kind of quirky, would come to my office, twice a week, and just want to talk about psychology … That was like a really satisfying experience for me to see someone get so sparked by the content. (9F)

This third theme refers to the physical structure, expectation, and overall culture of the environment and it consisted of two subthemes: the importance of small class sizes, and the lack of a sense of community.

The majority of the faculty indicated that the small class sizes are an integral feature of the LE. The key advantage of the small classes was that they allowed greater connection with students.

Your professor knows your name. That’s a huge difference from other schools. It’s a small classroom benefit. (6F)

Similar to the students, nearly all the faculty indicated that a sense of community at the institution was an important part of the environment, and something that was desired, but it currently was lacking. They spoke about various barriers which prevent a sense of community, such as the lack of residences, a dearth of events and activities at the university, the busy schedules of faculty and students, the commuter nature of the school, and characteristics of the student population:

When I complain about the commuter campus feeling that occurs with students, we suffer from that too at a faculty level… People are just not in their offices because we work from home… And that really also affects the culture… We come in. We do our thing. We meet with students. And then we leave… I encounter so many students in the hallway who are looking for instructors and they can’t find them. (9F)

These findings have provided insight into the perspectives of both students and faculty on the LE of a Canadian undergraduate university. We found that framing our analysis and results within Moos’ framework of human environments (Insel & Moos, 1974 ; Moos, 1973 , 1991 ) was an appropriate lens for the data and that the data fit well within these three themes. This provides support for the use of this theory to characterize the educational LE. Within each of these dimensions, we discuss subthemes that both facilitated and hindered student learning and commonalities among student and faculty perspectives.

Within the personal development dimension, both students and faculty discussed the importance of engagement and/or motivation as a facilitator of a positive LE. When students were engaged with their learning, most often by being an active participant or seeing the relevance of what they were learning, they saw it as a key strength. Other studies have also identified engagement as a feature of positive LEs for populations such as high-school students (Seidel, 2006 ), nursing students (D’Souza et al., 2013 ) and college students taking online courses (e.g. Holley & Dobson, 2008 ; O’Shea et al., 2015 ). Faculty who reported being motivated to teach, often felt that this motivation was fueled by the reactions of their students; when students were engaged, they felt more motivated. This creates a positive cyclic pattern in which one group feeds into the motivation and engagement levels of the other. However, this can also hinder the LE when a lack of engagement in one group can bring down the motivation of the other group (such as students paying more attention to their phones than to a lecture or faculty lecturing for the entire class period).

Emotional climate was another subtheme within the personal development dimension that was shared by both students and faculty although, for students, this was focused more on the stress and anxiety that they felt trying to manage their school workloads with their work and family commitments. The overall emotional climate of the school was generally considered to be positive, which was largely driven by the supportive and welcoming environment provided by the faculty. However, it was the negative emotions of stress and anxiety that often surfaced as a challenging aspect in the environment for students. Past research suggests that some types of stress, such as from a challenge, can improve learning and motivation, but negative stress, such as that reported by our participants, is associated with worsened performance and greater fatigue (LePine et al., 2004 ).

For faculty, their emotional state was often influenced by their students. When things were going well for their students, faculty often shared in the joy; however, when students would disappear without notice from a class, it was a source of disappointment and self-doubt. For other faculty, the accumulation of negative experiences resulted in them being more distant and less affected emotionally than they had been earlier in their career. This diminishing concern could have implications for how engaged faculty are in their teaching, which could in turn influence student engagement and harm the LE.

The relationships dimension was the most influential aspect of the environment for both students and faculty. While both groups felt that the relationships that they formed were generally positive, they also reported a desire for more peer connections (i.e. students with other students and faculty with other faculty). Students commented that it was a typical experience for them to come to campus to attend their classes and then leave afterwards, often to work or study at home. Many of the students at this school attend on a part-time basis while they work part- or full-time and/or attend to family commitments. While this is a benefit to these students to have the flexibility to work and further their education, it comes at loss of the social aspect of post-secondary education.

The one way in which student–peer relationships were fostered was through group work. However, students held both positive and negative views on this: the positive aspect was the opportunity to get to know other students and being able to share the burden of the workload, and the negative aspect was being unfair workloads among team members. When group dynamics are poor, such as unfair work distribution, having different goals and motivations, or not communicating effectively with their groups, it has been shown to lead to negative experiences (Rusticus & Justus, 2019 ).

Faculty also commented that it was typical for them and other faculty to come up to campus only to teach their classes and then leave afterwards. They noted that their office block was often empty and noted instances when students have come looking for faculty only to find a locked office. Overall, faculty did report feeling congenial with, and supported by, their peers. They also desired a greater connection with their peers, but noted that it would require effort to build, which many were not willing to make.

Finally, student–faculty relationships were the most-rewarding experience for both groups. Students saw these experiences as highly encouraging and felt that they created a safe and welcoming environment where they could approach faculty to ask questions and get extra support. However, in some cases, students had negative experiences with faculty and these had an impact on their self-esteem, motivation and willingness to participate in class. Students’ negative experiences and feedback have been shown to result in declined levels of intrinsic motivation, even if their performance ability is not low (Weidinger et al., 2016 ).

Within the third dimension, institutional setting, a key strength was the small class sizes. With a maximum class size of 35 students, this created a more personal and welcoming environment for students. Students felt that their instructors got to know their names and this promoted more opportunities for interactions. Faculty concurred with this, indicating that the small classes provided greater opportunities for interactions with their students. This enabled more class discussions and grouped-based activities which contributed to a more engaging and interactive educational experience for students and faculty. For students, not being able to hide in the crowd of a large lecture hall, as is common in other university settings, encouraged them to work harder on their studies and to seek help from their instructor if needed.

Finally, both students and faculty commented that the lack of a sense of community was a negative aspect of the LE. This institution is known as a commuter school and both groups reported that they would often attend campus only for school/work and would leave as soon as their commitments were done. This limits opportunities to interact with others and could also potentially impact one’s identity as a member of this community. While both groups expressed a desire for more of a community life, neither group was willing to put in much effort to make this happen. Others have also found that sense of community, including opportunities to engage and interact with others, is important in LEs (e.g. Sadera et al., 2009 ). Schools with more activities and opportunities for student involvement have reports of higher satisfaction for both academic and social experiences (Charles et al., 2016 ).

Limitations

Because this study is based on a relatively small sample at a single university, there is a question of whether the findings can be applied to other departments, universities or contexts. However, it is a strength of this study that both student and faculty perceptions were included, because few past studies have jointly looked at these two groups together using qualitative methods. The use of focus groups among the student groups might have limited the openness of some participants. We also acknowledge that the analysis of qualitative data is inevitably influenced by our roles, life experiences and backgrounds. (The first author is a faculty member and the second and third authors were fourth year students at the time of the study.) This might have impacted our approach to the interpretation of the data compared with how others might approach the data and analysis (Denzin & Lincoln, 2008 ). However, the analysis involved consultation among the research team to identify and refine the themes, and the findings are presented with quotes to support the interpretation. Finally, because experiences were self-reported in this study, they have the associated limitations of self-report data. Despite these limitations, we believe that our findings add to what is known about LEs by capturing multiple perspectives within the same environment.

Future directions

Because our sample was comprised of students across multiple years of their program, some of our findings suggest that upper-level students might have different perceptions of the LE from lower-level students (e.g. work/life balance, access to resources, and overall familiarity with the environment and resources available). However, because the small sample sizes within these subgroups prevent any strong conclusions being made, future researchers might want to explore year-of-study differences in the LE. Additionally, the data collected for this study occurred prior to the COVID-19 pandemic and the mandatory switch to online teaching and learning. Future researchers might want to consider how this has impacted student and faculty perceptions of the LE regarding their personal motivation, the nature and quality of the relationships that have formed with peers and faculty, and the culture and norms of their institution.

This study increases our understanding of LEs by incorporating data collected from both students and faculty working in the same context. Across both groups, we identified important aspects of the LE as being high levels of engagement and motivation, a positive emotional climate, support among peers, strong faculty–student relationships, meaningful experiences, and small class sizes. Students identified negative aspects of the LE, such as certain characteristics of group work and struggles with work–life balance. Both faculty and students identified a lack of a sense of community as something that could detract from the LE. These findings identify important elements that educators and researchers might want to consider as they strive to promote more-positive LEs and learning experiences for students.

Appendix: Interview guide

[Faculty] Tell me a little bit about yourself. For instance, what department you are in, how long you have been teaching at KPU, what courses you teach, why you were interested in this study

• When I say the word learning environment, what does that mean to you?
• Probe for specific examples
• Relate to goal development, relationships, KPU culture
• Probe for factors that made it a positive environment
• Probe for factors that made it a negative environment
• How would you describe an ideal environment?
• Probe for reasons why
• Probe for how KPU could be made more ideal
• What recommendations would you give to the Dean of Arts regarding the learning environment? This could be changes you would recommend or things you recommend should stay the same.
• Do you have any final comments? Or feel there is anything about the learning environment that we have not addressed?

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Essay on Enabling Learning Environment

Students are often asked to write an essay on Enabling Learning Environment in their schools and colleges. And if you’re also looking for the same, we have created 100-word, 250-word, and 500-word essays on the topic.

Let’s take a look…

100 Words Essay on Enabling Learning Environment

Understanding a learning environment.

A learning environment refers to the diverse physical locations, contexts, and cultures in which we learn. It’s not just about the classroom, but also includes homes, parks, or even virtual spaces.

Importance of a Learning Environment

A good learning environment is crucial because it can help students feel safe, comfortable, and engaged, making it easier for them to learn. It also encourages positive social interaction among students.

Creating an Enabling Learning Environment

Teachers can create an enabling learning environment by arranging the classroom in a way that promotes interaction and collaboration. They can also use technology to enhance learning.

Benefits of an Enabling Learning Environment

An enabling learning environment can improve student performance and motivation. It can also help students develop important skills such as critical thinking and problem-solving.

250 Words Essay on Enabling Learning Environment

Introduction.

An enabling learning environment is a setting in which all students feel empowered, engaged, and capable of high academic achievement. It is not merely about the physical space, but also about how the environment is structured and the pedagogical strategies employed.

Physical and Virtual Aspects

A physically enabling environment is well-resourced, safe, and comfortable. It should be flexible to accommodate various learning styles and activities. In the digital age, virtual environments such as online learning platforms also play a crucial role. They should be user-friendly, interactive, and accessible to all students.

Social and Emotional Climate

The social-emotional climate is equally important. A positive climate is characterized by respect, trust, and mutual understanding between teachers and students. It promotes collaboration, reduces fear of failure, and encourages risk-taking in learning.

Teaching and Learning Approaches

Effective teaching strategies are central to an enabling environment. These should be learner-centered, promoting active engagement and critical thinking. Differentiation and personalization of instruction are key to cater to individual learning needs.

In conclusion, an enabling learning environment is a multifaceted concept that involves physical and virtual aspects, a positive social-emotional climate, and effective teaching strategies. It is crucial for promoting high academic achievement and fostering a lifelong love for learning.

500 Words Essay on Enabling Learning Environment

An enabling learning environment is a critical element in the educational process. It is a space that fosters a positive atmosphere conducive to learning, where students feel safe, comfortable, and engaged. It goes beyond the physical classroom and includes emotional, social, and academic support.

The Concept of an Enabling Learning Environment

An enabling learning environment is not just about having a well-equipped classroom. It is an environment that encourages students to engage, explore, and learn. It is a space where students feel respected and valued, promoting their self-esteem and confidence. This environment also encourages the development of critical thinking skills, creativity, and innovation.

Components of an Enabling Learning Environment

The enabling learning environment consists of various components. The physical environment includes the classroom’s layout, lighting, temperature, and noise levels. The emotional environment involves the relationships among students and between students and teachers. The pedagogical environment includes teaching methods, curriculum, and assessment.

Creating an enabling learning environment requires thoughtful planning and execution. It involves setting clear expectations, fostering a sense of belonging, encouraging student engagement, and providing effective feedback.

The teacher plays a crucial role in creating this environment. They should promote diversity and inclusion, ensuring that all students feel valued and respected. Additionally, they should use teaching methods that cater to different learning styles, providing a variety of learning opportunities.

The Impact of an Enabling Learning Environment

An enabling learning environment has a profound impact on students’ learning outcomes. It enhances students’ motivation and engagement, leading to improved academic performance. It also promotes social and emotional development, fostering skills such as communication, collaboration, and self-regulation.

Challenges in Creating an Enabling Learning Environment

Despite its importance, creating an enabling learning environment is not without challenges. These include managing diverse learning needs, dealing with disruptive behavior, and maintaining a balance between academic demands and students’ well-being.

In conclusion, an enabling learning environment is a fundamental aspect of effective education. It requires a holistic approach, taking into account the physical, emotional, and pedagogical aspects of the learning environment. Despite the challenges, it is crucial for educators to strive to create such an environment to foster students’ academic success and personal growth.

That’s it! I hope the essay helped you.

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Shaping a Positive Learning Environment

Several years ago, American surgeon, author, and public health researcher Atul Gawande experimented with using a two-minute checklist in operating rooms in eight different hospitals. One unexpected result was that a round of team-member introductions before surgery lowered the average number of surgical complications by 35%. Learning names and building a positive environment at the outset of this short-term medical community experience made huge impacts on their ability to function effectively together. How might we apply this and other community-building principles to establish positive learning environments that facilitate student learning?

Learning is an emotional process—we feel excitement when learning a new skill, embarrassment about mistakes, and fear of being misunderstood. Fostering positive emotions in your classroom will motivate students to learn, while negative emotions such as stress and alienation will inhibit their learning.

Research tells us students learn better when they are part of a supportive community of learners. When you create a positive learning environment where students feel accepted, seen, and valued, they are more likely to persist in your course, in their majors, and at the university.

In How Learning Works: Seven Research-Based Principles for Smart Teaching , Susan Ambrose et al. address the many and complex factors that influence learning environments, including intellectual, social, emotional, and physical (2010).

They offer a few key takeaways for educators:

Learning doesn’t happen in a vacuum. Your classroom community is made up of individuals with diverse identities, backgrounds, and experiences; the act of learning is intertwined with a variety of socioemotional influences.

Classroom climate is determined by both intentional and unintentional actions, and by both explicit and implicit messages. And their impact on students is not always obvious. Seemingly well-meaning or unimportant choices and remarks can have unintended effects on student learning.

The good news: You have more control over the learning environment in your courses than you might guess. If you know how learning environments influence student learning, you can employ a variety of strategies to consciously shape a welcoming and inclusive classroom.

Sense of Belonging in College

In a welcoming and inclusive classroom, students are more likely to feel a sense of belonging . A sense of belonging is a basic human need. That is,  everyone  needs to belong. In the college context, sense of belonging refers to whether or not students feel respected, accepted, valued, included, cared for, and that they matter—in your classroom, at the university, or in their chosen career path (Strayhorn, 2012).

Although everyone needs to belong, students’ feelings of comfort in your class largely depends on their identities and experiences (Strayhorn, 2012; Walton & Cohen, 2007). Being the only student, or one of a few, of a particular identity group can lead students to feel detached, apathetic, or reluctant to participate. They may feel marginalized by the course content or by other students’ comments.

Indeed, research shows that minoritized students tend to report a lower sense of belonging than their peers (Johnson et al., 2007; Strayhorn, 2008a). Academic performance or preparation can also raise or lower students’ perceived sense of belonging (Hoops, Green, Baker, & Hensley, 2016; Strayhorn, 2008b; Zumbrunn, McKim, Buhs, & Hawley, 2014). Particularly for minoritized students, academic struggle can be internalized as a sign that they do not belong (Walton & Cohen, 2007).

Research by DeSurra and Church in 1994 provides a spectrum for understanding learning environments that ranges from explicitly marginalizing, where the course climate is openly hostile and cold, to explicitly centralizing, where multiple perspectives are validated and integrated into the course. While this particular research was based on sexual orientation, the earliest research on learning environments—the “chilly climate studies”—focused on gender and had similar findings (Hall, 1982; Hall & Sandler, 1984; and Sandler & Hall, 1986). These early studies demonstrated that marginalization of students does not require an openly hostile environment. Rather, the accumulation of microaggressions alone can adversely impact learning. Later studies showed similar effects based on the race and ethnicity of students (Hurtado et al., 1999; Watson et al., 2002).

Diversity and Inclusion 

Students, like all of us, are complex human beings—they have a gender, race, class, nationality, sexual orientation, and other axes of identity. These overlapping identities mean that an individual may face multiple barriers at once to feeling welcome in your class. Rather than thinking your course should support “a” student of color or “a” student with a disability, craft a learning environment that is welcoming to as many students—and their complexities—as possible. 

Students struggling with sense of belonging are less engaged. They may sit in the back of class, be inattentive during lecture, or avoid participation in discussion or group activities. They may even skip class or show up late more often than others. However, sense of belonging is not static but dynamic, and it can fluctuate with transitions from class to class, year to year, or situation to situation. For example, a student who feels they belong in your course today may suddenly doubt they belong if they score poorly on an exam tomorrow. Therefore, it is important to continually observe students’ behavior and support their belonging throughout the term.

Sense of belonging affects students’ academic engagement and motivation, as well as their emotional wellbeing. The bottom line is this: Students who feel they belong are more likely to succeed.

For more insight into college students’ sense of belonging, watch this engaging TEDx talk by Ohio State professor Dr. Terrell Strayhorn.

In Practice

You want all students to feel they belong in your course. What concrete strategies can you use to shape a positive learning environment?

Set a positive tone from the start

Simple efforts to establish a welcoming atmosphere in the early days and weeks of class can help students feel more comfortable, included, and confident.

Use positive language in your syllabus . Your syllabus is the first impression students have of your course. Framing policies and expectations in friendly and constructive language, rather than with strong directives or punitive warnings, can increase students’ comfort.

Get to know students and help them get to know each other . On the first day, ask students their preferred names and pronouns and facilitate icebreaker activities to build community. Use Namecoach in CarmenCanvas to have students record the pronunciation of their names and set their pronouns. Surveys and polling, such as through Top Hat , are great ways to informally assess students’ motivations, learning goals, and prior knowledge early in the course.

Be warm, friendly, and present . Greet students when they enter the class, make yourself available before and after class, and set up office hours. Share your enthusiasm about the course and relevant personal experience—this can humanize you and increase students’ connection to the material.

Share positive messages about student success . Show students you believe in their capacity to succeed. Avoid negative statements such as, “Only 1 in 4 of you will pass this class.” Instead, normalize academic struggle and assure students they can master difficult content with effort.

Online Instructor Presence

Strong instructor presence in online courses has been shown to increase participation, facilitate knowledge acquisition, and foster a healthy learning community. When teaching online, you can make meaningful connections to students through video introductions, online office hours, and regular and planned communication. Read more about online instructor presence .

Foster open discourse and communication

Meaningful class discourse requires more than a friendly demeanor. Be prepared to address complex issues, difficult questions, and conflict in collaborative ways.

Develop a classroom agreement . Involve students explicitly in shaping the learning environment. Help them craft a (potentially living) document that outlines community norms and ground rules for respect, civil discourse, and communication.

Resist “right” answers . Encourage discussion that promotes critical thinking rather than simple consensus. Invite students to offer their perspectives before sharing your own, and guide them to consider multiple viewpoints and avenues to solving problems.

Respond to classroom conflict . Consider how you will frame controversial content or “hot topics” in your course. Rather than avoiding these conversations, plan in advance how to facilitate a productive and civil discussion. Refer students back to the ground rules they laid out in the classroom agreement. See Calling in Classroom Conflict for more information. 

Get feedback from students . Provide opportunities for students to give frequent anonymous feedback on your course—and show you value their input by acting on it. Surveys or exit slips, in addition to conventional midterm feedback, can bring to light issues that affect students’ sense of belonging or inhibit their learning.

Create an inclusive environment

Embrace multiple perspectives, ways of learning, and modes of expression so all students feel included and supported.

Choose inclusive course content . Do the authors of your course materials represent the spectrum of identities of people in your field? Of students in your class? Who is depicted in the readings and videos you assign? Include course material representing diverse identities, perspectives, and experiences to help all students connect to your content.

Use a variety of teaching methods . Incorporate multiple strategies that appeal to various abilities and preferences: lecture, whole-group and small-group discussion, think-pair-share, in-class writing exercises, case studies, role-playing, games, technology tools, and more. And don’t limit yourself to conventional “texts”—film and video, podcasts, and guest lectures are all engaging ways to present content.

Provide assignment options . Support student success by offering multiple modes to complete assignments. Options range from traditional, such as papers, presentations, and posters, to creative, such as websites, blogs, infographics, games, videos, and podcasts. Allow both individual and group work options, when feasible.

Make space for differing participation . Fear of being called on can hinder students’ comfort and motivation. Encourage, but don’t force, participation during in-class discussions, and acknowledge introverted students when they contribute. Consider alternate ways students can share ideas, such as via written reflections, online discussion posts, and lower-pressure think-pair-shares. Giving students time to reflect on “big questions” before discussion can also increase their confidence to speak up.

Organize your course to support students

The structure and content of your course, in addition to how you deliver it, are key to creating a supportive course climate.

Communicate learning outcomes . Being explicit about what you want students to do—and why it matters—can increase their motivation. Discuss the purpose of your course and its relevance to their lives, tell them what you will cover at the beginning of each class, and share a rationale for all assignments.

Be transparent and efficient with grading . Create student-friendly rubrics that lay out clear expectations for all assignments. Grade and return student work in a timely manner, with actionable feedback that helps them understand their progress and areas for improvement.

Ensure course materials are accessible . When content is accessible , students with vision, auditory, motor, and cognitive disabilities can successfully navigate, use, and benefit from it. Using heading structures in documents, providing alternate text for images, and captioning videos are a few practices that make your course material accessible, as well as more clear and user-friendly for everyone.

Share resources . In addition to extended material on your course subject, link students to helpful resources for mental health, stress, and learning assistance.

Carmen Common Sense

Consult Carmen Common Sense , a student-authored list of ten solutions to a student-friendly course, to learn how to build a supportive learning environment in Carmen.

Icebreaker Activities

Tips for learning student names, addressing offensive comments in class.

Students are more likely to succeed in positive learning environments where they feel a sense of belonging.

There is no singular or perfect learning environment. Every class you teach is a unique community made up of individuals with diverse identities, backgrounds, and experiences. A number of strategies can help you foster a classroom climate that is welcoming, inclusive, and responsive to their needs.

Set a positive tone from the start through your syllabus, community-building activities, a warm demeanor, and constructive messages about student success.

Foster open discourse and communication through classroom agreements, addressing complex issues and conflict productively, and collecting regular feedback from students.

Create an inclusive environment by choosing diverse and representative course material, using a variety of teaching methods, and providing options for assignments and participation.

Organize your course to support students by making your goals, rationale, and expectations for the course and assignments clear, ensuring materials are accessible, and providing resources to support students’ wellbeing.

• Office of Diversity and Inclusion (website)
• Teaching for Racial Justice (website)
• Classroom Climate: Creating a Supportive Learning Environment (website)
• Encouraging a Sense of Belonging (video)
• Namecoach for Instructors (guide)

Learning Opportunities

Ambrose, S. A., & Mayer, R. E. (2010).  How learning works: seven research-based principles for smart teaching . Jossey-Bass.

DeSurra, C. J., & Church, K. A. (1994). Unlocking the Classroom Closet Privileging the Marginalized Voices of Gay/Lesbian College Students . Annual Meeting of the Speech Communication Association, New Orleans, LA. Distributed by ERIC. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED379697

Hall, R. (1982). A classroom climate: A chilly one for women?. Association of American Colleges. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED215628

Hall, R., & Sandler, B. (1984). Out of the classroom: A chilly campus climate for women?. Association of American Colleges. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED254125

Hoops, L. D., Green, M., Baker, A., & Hensley, L. C. (2016, February). Success in terms of belonging: An exploration of college student success stories. The Ohio State University Hayes Research Forum, Columbus, OH.

Hurtado, S., Milem, J., Clayton-Pedersen, A., & Allen, W. (1999). Enacting diverse learning environments: Improving the climate for racial/ethnic diversity in higher education. ERIC Clearinghouse on Higher Education in cooperation with Association for the Study of Higher Education. The George Washington University. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED430514

Johnson, D. R., Soldner, M., Leonard, J. B., Alvarez, P., Inkelas, K. K., Rowan-Kenyon, H. T., & Longerbeam, S. D. (2007). Examining Sense of Belonging Among First-Year Undergraduates From Different Racial/Ethnic Groups.  Journal of College Student Development ,  48 (5), 525–542. https://doi.org/10.1353/csd.2007.0054

Sandler, B., & Hall, R. (1986). The campus climate revisited: Chilly for women faculty, administrators, and graduate students. Association of American Colleges. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED282462

Strayhorn, T. L. (2008). Sentido de Pertenencia: A hierarchical analysis predicting sense of belonging among Latino college students.  Journal of Hispanic Higher Education ,  7 (4), 301–320. https://doi.org/10.1177/1538192708320474

Strayhorn, T. L. (2009). Fittin' In: Do Diverse Interactions with Peers Affect Sense of Belonging for Black Men at Predominantly White Institutions?  NASPA Journal ,  45 (4).  https://doi.org/10.2202/0027-6014.2009

Walton, G. M., & Cohen, G. L. (2007). A question of belonging: Race, social fit, and achievement.  Journal of Personality and Social Psychology ,  92 (1), 82–96. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.92.1.82

Watson, L. W., Person, D. R., Rudy, D. E., Gold, J. A., Cuyjet, M. J., Bonner, F. A. I., … Terrell, M. C. (2002).  How Minority Students Experience College: Implications for Planning and Policy . Stylus Publishing.

Whitt, E. J., Edison, M. I., Pascarella, E. T., Nora, A., & Terenzini, P. T. (1999). Women's perceptions of a "chilly climate" and cognitive outcomes in college: Additional evidence.  Journal of College Student Development, 40 (2), 163–177. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ590847

Zumbrunn, S., Mckim, C., Buhs, E., & Hawley, L. R. (2014). Support, belonging, motivation, and engagement in the college classroom: a mixed method study.  Instructional Science ,  42 (5), 661–684. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11251-014-9310-0

Related Teaching Topics

Creating an inclusive environment in carmenzoom, supporting student learning and metacognition, search for resources.

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• Knowledge Base
• How to structure an essay: Templates and tips

How to Structure an Essay | Tips & Templates

Published on September 18, 2020 by Jack Caulfield . Revised on July 23, 2023.

The basic structure of an essay always consists of an introduction , a body , and a conclusion . But for many students, the most difficult part of structuring an essay is deciding how to organize information within the body.

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Table of contents

The basics of essay structure, chronological structure, compare-and-contrast structure, problems-methods-solutions structure, signposting to clarify your structure, other interesting articles, frequently asked questions about essay structure.

There are two main things to keep in mind when working on your essay structure: making sure to include the right information in each part, and deciding how you’ll organize the information within the body.

Parts of an essay

The three parts that make up all essays are described in the table below.

Order of information

You’ll also have to consider how to present information within the body. There are a few general principles that can guide you here.

The first is that your argument should move from the simplest claim to the most complex . The body of a good argumentative essay often begins with simple and widely accepted claims, and then moves towards more complex and contentious ones.

For example, you might begin by describing a generally accepted philosophical concept, and then apply it to a new topic. The grounding in the general concept will allow the reader to understand your unique application of it.

The second principle is that background information should appear towards the beginning of your essay . General background is presented in the introduction. If you have additional background to present, this information will usually come at the start of the body.

The third principle is that everything in your essay should be relevant to the thesis . Ask yourself whether each piece of information advances your argument or provides necessary background. And make sure that the text clearly expresses each piece of information’s relevance.

The sections below present several organizational templates for essays: the chronological approach, the compare-and-contrast approach, and the problems-methods-solutions approach.

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See an example

The chronological approach (sometimes called the cause-and-effect approach) is probably the simplest way to structure an essay. It just means discussing events in the order in which they occurred, discussing how they are related (i.e. the cause and effect involved) as you go.

A chronological approach can be useful when your essay is about a series of events. Don’t rule out other approaches, though—even when the chronological approach is the obvious one, you might be able to bring out more with a different structure.

Explore the tabs below to see a general template and a specific example outline from an essay on the invention of the printing press.

• Thesis statement
• Discussion of event/period
• Consequences
• Importance of topic
• Strong closing statement
• Claim that the printing press marks the end of the Middle Ages
• Background on the low levels of literacy before the printing press
• Thesis statement: The invention of the printing press increased circulation of information in Europe, paving the way for the Reformation
• High levels of illiteracy in medieval Europe
• Literacy and thus knowledge and education were mainly the domain of religious and political elites
• Consequence: this discouraged political and religious change
• Invention of the printing press in 1440 by Johannes Gutenberg
• Implications of the new technology for book production
• Consequence: Rapid spread of the technology and the printing of the Gutenberg Bible
• Trend for translating the Bible into vernacular languages during the years following the printing press’s invention
• Luther’s own translation of the Bible during the Reformation
• Consequence: The large-scale effects the Reformation would have on religion and politics
• Summarize the history described
• Stress the significance of the printing press to the events of this period

Essays with two or more main subjects are often structured around comparing and contrasting . For example, a literary analysis essay might compare two different texts, and an argumentative essay might compare the strengths of different arguments.

There are two main ways of structuring a compare-and-contrast essay: the alternating method, and the block method.

Alternating

In the alternating method, each paragraph compares your subjects in terms of a specific point of comparison. These points of comparison are therefore what defines each paragraph.

The tabs below show a general template for this structure, and a specific example for an essay comparing and contrasting distance learning with traditional classroom learning.

• Synthesis of arguments
• Topical relevance of distance learning in lockdown
• Increasing prevalence of distance learning over the last decade
• Thesis statement: While distance learning has certain advantages, it introduces multiple new accessibility issues that must be addressed for it to be as effective as classroom learning
• Classroom learning: Ease of identifying difficulties and privately discussing them
• Distance learning: Difficulty of noticing and unobtrusively helping
• Classroom learning: Difficulties accessing the classroom (disability, distance travelled from home)
• Distance learning: Difficulties with online work (lack of tech literacy, unreliable connection, distractions)
• Classroom learning: Tends to encourage personal engagement among students and with teacher, more relaxed social environment
• Distance learning: Greater ability to reach out to teacher privately
• Sum up, emphasize that distance learning introduces more difficulties than it solves
• Stress the importance of addressing issues with distance learning as it becomes increasingly common
• Distance learning may prove to be the future, but it still has a long way to go

In the block method, each subject is covered all in one go, potentially across multiple paragraphs. For example, you might write two paragraphs about your first subject and then two about your second subject, making comparisons back to the first.

The tabs again show a general template, followed by another essay on distance learning, this time with the body structured in blocks.

• Point 1 (compare)
• Point 2 (compare)
• Point 3 (compare)
• Point 4 (compare)
• Advantages: Flexibility, accessibility
• Disadvantages: Discomfort, challenges for those with poor internet or tech literacy
• Advantages: Potential for teacher to discuss issues with a student in a separate private call
• Disadvantages: Difficulty of identifying struggling students and aiding them unobtrusively, lack of personal interaction among students
• Advantages: More accessible to those with low tech literacy, equality of all sharing one learning environment
• Disadvantages: Students must live close enough to attend, commutes may vary, classrooms not always accessible for disabled students
• Advantages: Ease of picking up on signs a student is struggling, more personal interaction among students
• Disadvantages: May be harder for students to approach teacher privately in person to raise issues

An essay that concerns a specific problem (practical or theoretical) may be structured according to the problems-methods-solutions approach.

This is just what it sounds like: You define the problem, characterize a method or theory that may solve it, and finally analyze the problem, using this method or theory to arrive at a solution. If the problem is theoretical, the solution might be the analysis you present in the essay itself; otherwise, you might just present a proposed solution.

The tabs below show a template for this structure and an example outline for an essay about the problem of fake news.

• Introduce the problem
• Provide background
• Describe your approach to solving it
• Define the problem precisely
• Describe why it’s important
• Indicate previous approaches to the problem
• Present your new approach, and why it’s better
• Apply the new method or theory to the problem
• Indicate the solution you arrive at by doing so
• Assess (potential or actual) effectiveness of solution
• Describe the implications
• Problem: The growth of “fake news” online
• Prevalence of polarized/conspiracy-focused news sources online
• Thesis statement: Rather than attempting to stamp out online fake news through social media moderation, an effective approach to combating it must work with educational institutions to improve media literacy
• Definition: Deliberate disinformation designed to spread virally online
• Popularization of the term, growth of the phenomenon
• Previous approaches: Labeling and moderation on social media platforms
• Critique: This approach feeds conspiracies; the real solution is to improve media literacy so users can better identify fake news
• Greater emphasis should be placed on media literacy education in schools
• This allows people to assess news sources independently, rather than just being told which ones to trust
• This is a long-term solution but could be highly effective
• It would require significant organization and investment, but would equip people to judge news sources more effectively
• Rather than trying to contain the spread of fake news, we must teach the next generation not to fall for it

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Signposting means guiding the reader through your essay with language that describes or hints at the structure of what follows.  It can help you clarify your structure for yourself as well as helping your reader follow your ideas.

The essay overview

In longer essays whose body is split into multiple named sections, the introduction often ends with an overview of the rest of the essay. This gives a brief description of the main idea or argument of each section.

The overview allows the reader to immediately understand what will be covered in the essay and in what order. Though it describes what  comes later in the text, it is generally written in the present tense . The following example is from a literary analysis essay on Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein .

Transitions

Transition words and phrases are used throughout all good essays to link together different ideas. They help guide the reader through your text, and an essay that uses them effectively will be much easier to follow.

Various different relationships can be expressed by transition words, as shown in this example.

Because Hitler failed to respond to the British ultimatum, France and the UK declared war on Germany. Although it was an outcome the Allies had hoped to avoid, they were prepared to back up their ultimatum in order to combat the existential threat posed by the Third Reich.

Transition sentences may be included to transition between different paragraphs or sections of an essay. A good transition sentence moves the reader on to the next topic while indicating how it relates to the previous one.

… Distance learning, then, seems to improve accessibility in some ways while representing a step backwards in others.

However , considering the issue of personal interaction among students presents a different picture.

If you want to know more about AI tools , college essays , or fallacies make sure to check out some of our other articles with explanations and examples or go directly to our tools!

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• False cause fallacy
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The structure of an essay is divided into an introduction that presents your topic and thesis statement , a body containing your in-depth analysis and arguments, and a conclusion wrapping up your ideas.

The structure of the body is flexible, but you should always spend some time thinking about how you can organize your essay to best serve your ideas.

An essay isn’t just a loose collection of facts and ideas. Instead, it should be centered on an overarching argument (summarized in your thesis statement ) that every part of the essay relates to.

The way you structure your essay is crucial to presenting your argument coherently. A well-structured essay helps your reader follow the logic of your ideas and understand your overall point.

Comparisons in essays are generally structured in one of two ways:

• The alternating method, where you compare your subjects side by side according to one specific aspect at a time.
• The block method, where you cover each subject separately in its entirety.

It’s also possible to combine both methods, for example by writing a full paragraph on each of your topics and then a final paragraph contrasting the two according to a specific metric.

You should try to follow your outline as you write your essay . However, if your ideas change or it becomes clear that your structure could be better, it’s okay to depart from your essay outline . Just make sure you know why you’re doing so.

Cite this Scribbr article

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My Conductive Learning Environment Essay In 300 Words

In this short essay, we explore the topic of “My Conductive Learning Environment” from the perspective of a student. From supportive teachers to helpful resources, we provide a brief overview of what makes a learning environment conducive to success.

My Conductive Learning Environment Essay (300 Words)

1. Introduction Paragraph

As a student, I have come to appreciate the importance of a conducive learning environment. A conductive learning environment is a place where students can learn, grow, and succeed. There are several factors that contribute to a conductive learning environment, and I am fortunate to have experienced many of them.

2. Body Paragraph

One of the key components of a conductive learning environment is supportive teachers. Teachers who are passionate about their subject and committed to their students’ success can make a huge difference in the learning process. They encourage questions, provide clear explanations, and offer helpful feedback. They make learning engaging, interesting, and fun.

Another important aspect of a conductive learning environment is access to helpful resources. This includes textbooks, online resources, and educational tools. Having access to these resources makes it easier for students to learn and understand the material. It also helps to foster a sense of independence and self-directed learning.

A conducive learning environment is also one that is inclusive and welcoming. This means that students from all backgrounds and abilities are treated with respect and given equal opportunities to learn and succeed. In such an environment, students feel safe and supported, which helps them to learn and grow to their full potential.

Finally, a conductive learning environment is one that promotes collaboration and teamwork. This involves creating opportunities for students to work together on projects, assignments, and activities. Collaborative learning not only helps students to develop important social and communication skills, but it also enhances their ability to learn and retain information.

3. Conclusion

In conclusion, a conductive learning environment is essential to student success. Supportive teachers, helpful inclusive resources and teamwork are key factors that contribute to such an environment. As a student, I am grateful for the conductive learning environment I have experienced, and I hope that others can have the same opportunities to learn and succeed.

Hello! Welcome to my Blog StudyParagraphs.co. My name is Angelina. I am a college professor. I love reading writing for kids students. This blog is full with valuable knowledge for all class students. Thank you for reading my articles.

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How the Environment Plays a Role in Learning

Introduction.

Learning basically refers to a process of acquiring knowledge and information through interactions with people. This process is supplemented by the environment which is a key factor in any process where information is being shared especially in a class room. Environment refers to all our external surroundings and for the purpose of this essay this definition will incorporate internal environment i.e. the psyche of the student as well as the teacher. The interaction of the two environments dictates and enhances learning. Therefore learning and environment (where this process takes place) has a symbiotic relationship.

This essay is going to address the importance of the two environments and the kind of impact each one of them have on learning. Physical environment will address the class room environment while psychological environment looks at the role teachers, parents and colleagues play in enhancing the performance of the student. It is worth mentioning that although many people tend to over look the physical environment, it becomes very vital in analyzing student’s performance since it is one of the learning pillars.

To begin with, physical environment and the classroom environment in particular affects to a large extent student’s performance since the building have an impact on how well the students learn. Therefore it is vital to look at the classrooms buildings conditions since this is where the real learning process takes place. ‘designs of the buildings should look friendly and have agreeable entrance areas, supervised places for students, as well as public places that foster a sense of community’ [ The effect of physical learning environment on teaching and learning 2006, p. 1]. In addition the color used should be very pleasing. This means that it should be a soft color in order to give student piece of mind. Attractive environment enhances better attitudes towards teaching which is good for imparting knowledge to the students.

Apart from facilitating teacher’s contribution the space of the classroom is important because it has a one on one relationship with teacher’s ability to form professional relationships between the student and the other teachers. Space also determines how well the teacher shares knowledge and information. Therefore architects should provide spacious classroom in order to accommodate the many teachers requirement. Once the classrooms are big enough teachers can use them optimally by having arrangements that will enhance a good working environment for the student and the teacher as well. Moreover, over crowded classrooms are not good since air circulation is not at its best affecting student’s concentration.

Physical environment is believed to play a role in enhancing students’ identity which is important when one is looking at students as members of the large society who should adhere to the cultural teachings of the society. Physical environment in this context thus is responsible for molding students’ emotions because it affects students cognitive and behavior developments. Therefore we are compelled to look at learning space being more than just structures since there is a social aspect in this space [ The effect of physical learning environment on teaching and learning 2006, p. 3). Therefore we must build spacious classrooms which will in turn accommodate and improve social interactions and at the end of it all the students will understand their parents expectations and the power structures that are in the society which needs to be respected.

Economic well being of the family also affects learning process. This is due to the fact that poverty carries along with it a good number of packages that affect students learning at the classroom level. Students from poor background suffer from emotional trauma which makes them to be much stressed and emotionally deprived. In addition they are not aggressive and often suffer from self esteem crises. Arguing a long the same point Pellino (2007) asserts that ‘the characteristics that are lacking in poverty environment are those that help foster effective learning and academic success, emotional draining and negative self status can literally zap the motivation to learn out of children’ (p.4).

Poverty is also known for being an impediment to learning because it removes the aspect of readiness to learn in the student. This can be attributed to the social environment where the children grew up which does not give them a chance to learn on how to live in social groups. Social groups are important in shaping ones intellectual development. This makes Pellino (2007) to claim that ‘children’s who live in poverty conditions are unable to develop mutually satisfying social relationships (p.5). Thus children find themselves in a situation whereby they cannot learn their language, how to organize their perception, and solve problems. Once these aspects are lacking the student do not have the will power to prosper in academics.

Turning on to the psychological environment we realize that teacher’s comment plays a greater part in student’s achievements. These comments may either be motivational ones or discouraging ones. Motivation is an ingredient of academic excellence. This is because it gives the student a mental boost by ‘teaching them different view of intelligence, a different interpretation of failure and orients them towards a different reason for achieving’ (Aronson, 2002, p.38). In addition motivation gives the student a long term commitment towards achievement even if there are very many obstacles a long the way. Therefore optimist and positive thinking teachers should keep on encouraging their students to keep on working even if they make a mistake once in a while since they are the main source of motivation besides parents.

In school students should also be encouraged to know who they are in order to make the most of who they are in academics. This role lies squarely on teachers since they spend most of the time with the students. Therefore teachers have to make that student understand who they are; becoming themselves. Watson et al (2007) tells us that ‘to be your self you also need to value your self, respect yourself, and stand up for your right to be yourself’ (p.20). By valuing themselves first student lays a good foundation for building their self esteem and once they have high spirits they settle easily in classrooms creating a room for academic achievement. Furthermore, once students know who they are they can easily understand their possibility and their shortcoming meaning that they can perfect their abilities and strengthen their weaknesses in order to improve their grades in school.

In conclusion learning is dependent on the environment in which the student occupies during the learning process. This environment may be divided into internal/psychological environment and physical environment. Most of the time physical environment is overlooked in favor of psychological environment yet it is important as I have outlined in my discussion. Psychological environment mostly deals with the frame of mind of the students and the teachers and once this environment is well catered for the results reflects it. Teachers and parents are being called upon to ensure that the two environments are in harmony in order to boost the performance of their students and children’s respectively.

Aronson, J. M. (2002): Improving Academic achievement: Impact of psychological factors on education . California: Emarald Group publishing, p. 35-45

Elliot, A. J. and Dweck, C. S. (2005): Handbook of competence and motivation . New York: Guilford press

Pellino, K. M. (2007): The effects of poverty on teaching and learning .

The effect of physical learning environment on teaching and learning (2006) Web.

Watson, E. C. and Idonopulos, T. A (2007): Are you your own worst enemy? The nine inner strengths you need to overcome self-defeating tendencies at work. London: Greenwood publishing Group, p. 17-25

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Appropriate Learning Environment, Essay Example

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  Introduction

Over the past few decades, the interest on early childhood literature has grown due to the recognition that the early experience shapes the long-term human development. This has affirmed some of the professional beliefs about good practice as well as challenging others. In addition to gaining new knowledge, early childhood program has experienced several important improvements in recent years. Because of this development, the quality of education has improved globally.

As mentioned above, early childhood education program has undergone massive improvement in the recent years. In most cases, the programs are expected to serve children and families from diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds. Culture and language are key components to child development. Therefore, practice cannot be appropriate unless they are responsive to cultural and linguistic diversity. Moreover, the child-related programs are nowadays required to make reasonable accommodation for children with disability or other development ability delays. According to Mayesky (2006), the trend towards the full inclusion of child with disabilities must be reflected in the description of the recommended child teaching practice. To this end, considerable work has been done towards converging the early childhood perspective and special education. Other important features of the contemporary childhood programs include the age of children and the length of the program. Nowadays, children are enrolled in school programs at an early age.

The increased demand for early childhood education service is due to the recognition that what children experience in the early life affects their later functioning at school as well as the rest of their lives. The recognition of the importance of early years has heightened the interest and support for early childhood programs. However, serious barrios still remains undermining access to and delivery of high quality education to young children. For instance, Griffith (2008), reports that that low literacy rates are pulling down some countries. To improve the situation, Mayesky (2006), suggest that a holistic approach is required. Recognizing the complexity of the many relationship involved in early childhood education, this paper identifies key determinants to achieve culturally and socially relevant outcome. In the discussion, the paper takes a closer look at theories that explain learning and development. Then with reference to the theories, the paper suggests some frameworks that can improve child development in multicultural settings.

Factors influencing the quality of education

Many factors influence the quality of early childhood education. These factors include the knowledge of how a child develops and learns. Developmentally, an appropriate program is based on the knowledge of how a child develops and learns. Therefore, an appropriate program promotes development and enhances the learning of each individual child.

The best practice to promote child development result from the process of professional making decision on both child education and well being based on information relating to;

• The knowledge about the child development and learning. For instance, the knowledge about how age related to human characteristics permits the prediction on what activities, interactions, and materials will be safe healthy, interesting, achievable and challenging.
• The knowledge on strength, interest, and the need of each child. This enable a group to adapt for and be responsive to individual variations
• What is known of the social and cultural context in which children lives? This knowledge ensures that the learning experiences are meaningful, relevant, and respective of the participating child. One important thing to note is that the above knowledge is dynamic and changing, requiring the childhood teachers to remain learners throughout their careers.

Theories providing understanding on early childhood development

Several child development theories exist to predict the diverse aspect of development. Some focuses on the children internal and external process influences that are related to child development. In generals, these theories offers lens to examine a child early years of development to provide actions to improve their lives. Such theories include the psychoanalytical theories that postulate that development happens in various stages and children are confronted with conflicts between the biological and the societal expectation. One notable theory in this category is psychosexual theory by feud. Feud suggests that parents’ management of their sexual and aggressive drives influences a child personality. Other theory in this category suggests that a child personality is also influenced by the society. In terms of application, the psychoanalytical theory helps to analyze the deviant behaviors.

The other categories of theory are behavior and social learning theories that suggest the importance of environment and nurturing in the growth and development of a child. Notable theories in this category include social learning theory by Albert Bandura, behaviorism theory by Watson, and theory of operating conditioning. According to Watson, children are like clay that can be mounded into different forms. Skinner introduced the concept of operating conditioning to describe that learning happens because of organism responding to its environment. Bandura believed that children learn by observing and imitation. In general, the social learning theories maintain that reinforcement, punishment, or observational learning molds the child learning. These theories have played a key role on formulating the education learning policies in many countries.

Biological theory postulates that the heredity and innate biological process influence the growth and development in children. The main contribution of this school of thought is the development of the milestone of development, which are the stages by which normal children can perform certain task. These theories help to understand and identify children with learning difficulties and advocate for more time and resources to be spent on such children. The cognitive development theories focuses on how chidden develop.  One notable theorist in this category is Jean Piagent who focused on what chidden knew and how they knew it. Jean suggested that children understanding of the world are because of their involvement and interaction. Vygotsky’s  social cultural theory suggest that children acquisition of the cultural beliefs and problem solving strategies is as a result of social interaction with more knowledgeable persons in the society.

Another important set of theories are the system theory, which postulate that development cannot be explained by any single concept, but rather by multidimensional and more complex system. One notable theory in this category includes the ecological system theory by Brofenbrenner. The theory suggests that a child development is shaped by different system of child environment and the interaction of different system. According to Bronfenbrenner, the relationship between a child and environment are reciprocal. This means that the environment influences a child and the child influences the environment. The child cannot develop in isolation but within a system of relationship that include family and the society.

The principle to improve learning

As seen from the above theories, the processes of child development are so complex thus, no one theory is sufficient to explain these phenomena. However, a broad review of literature can be used to develop a set of principles to inform early child hood practice. There are principles that can improve learning, with regard to the urban school where most students are culturally different from each other and their teachers. Setting in order to improve learning the teachers in a culturally diverse environment, teachers should understand these principles (Feinberg, Kuchner, & Feldman, 2008).

First, it is important for early child hood teacher to understand that, development and learning occur and are influenced by multiple social cultural contexts . According to ecological system theory, a child development can be understood within the social cultural context of the family, education setting, and the community. These factors are interrelated and affect the child development. Culture plays a key role in influencing the development of all children. As Griffith (2008) states, it is evident that the rules of development are the same for all children but the social context shapes the children development into different configuration. This is the reason why the early children teacher should understand the influence of their social cultural context on learning, recognize children development competence, and accept the variety of ways for children to express their developmental achievement. Therefore, the teachers should learn about the culture of the majority of the children that they serve especially if the culture differs from their own. The fundamental recognition of other cultures sensitizes the teachers to the need to acknowledge how their own cultural experience shapes their perspective. This helps them realize that multiple perspective different from theirs, must be considered when making decision about children development and learning. Children are capable of learning to function in more than one cultural context. However, if teachers set low expectations for children based on their culture and language, children cannot develop and learn optimally. Thus, education should be an addictive process. For instance, children whose English is not their first language should be allowed to learn English without being forced to give up their home language. At the same time, children who speak English only can learn to speak addition al language. The goal here is to enable children to function well in the society, as whole.

Secondly, the teachers should understand that children are active learners. They are a capable of drawing on direct, physical, and social experience as well as culturally transmitted knowledge to construct their own understanding of the world around them. Young children are actively learning from observing and participating with other children and adults. Teachers should allow children to form their hypothesis and keep trying them through social interaction, physical manipulations and other process. When the objects, events or other people challenge the working model of a child, they are forced to adjust their model or alter their mental structure. When for instance teachers use strategies that encourage children to reflect on their own experience by planning before and revising after wads the knowledge and the understanding that the children gains is deepened. Strategic teaching can therefore enhance the child learning. Therefore, other than giving direct instructions, teachers should also employ other means such as creating certain environment and allow the children to learn from interaction with environment.

Third, teachers should understand that learning and development is because of interaction of biological maturation and environment. Therefore, an appropriate practice is the one that appreciates that, both environment and biological characteristic affect learning and development. For instance, a child genetic makeup may predict a healthy growth but in adequate nutritional during the early years may prevent this potential from being achieved. Likewise, a child inherited temperament shapes and is shaped by how children and other adult communicate with that child.

Fourthly teacher should understand that play is very important for children’s social, emotional and cognitive development. It is important for early childhood teacher to recognize that children are active constructer of knowledge and that development result from interactive process. Play allows children to interact and give them opportunity to understand the world, express their emotion and control. Play lead to development with the written language growing out of written language through the element of symbolic plays. Moreover, play allow children to practice their acquired skills, through play children are able to develop imagination and creativity. Therefore, a teacher supported play is a key are essential component of appropriate practice to promote child development.

Finally, it is important o note that children develop and learn best in the context of the community where they feel that they are safe, valued. Moreover, where the children’s physical needs are valued they feel psychologically secure. Therefore, an appropriate childhood education program should not only provide adequate health safety and nutritional but should ensure more comprehensive service such as physical, mental and social service.

In the past decades, the interest on early childhood literature has grown due to the recognition that the early experience shapes the long-term human development. The recognition of the importance early years has heightened the interest and support for early childhood programs. However, serious barrios still remains undermining access to and delivery of high quality education to young children. In addition, the process of children development and learning is complicated no single approach can improve situation. Therefore, a holistic approach that consider factors such as environment, biological, social, cultural and economic factors is required is required.

Feinberg, S., Kuchner, J. F., & Feldman, S. (2008).  Learning environments for young children: Rethinking library spaces and services . Chicago: American Library Association.

Griffith, P. L. (2008).  Literacy for young children: A guide for early childhood educators . Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press

Mayesky, M. (2006).  Creative activities for young children . Australia: Delmar/Thomson Learning.

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Learning Environments: An Introduction

Research tells us that children and youth learn best in environments where they feel safe and free to explore and learn, and where they have secure relationships with caring and responsive adults. A well-arranged environment can help you support the development of children and youth. This lesson highlights the importance of the environment and provides an overview of what to consider when creating and maintaining developmentally appropriate learning environments for school-age children and youth.

• Recognize the effects of the learning environment on school-age children and youth.
• Identify common features of the environment that help children and youth feel secure, comfortable, welcome, and ready to explore and learn.
• Describe how to design and maintain a developmentally appropriate environment for school-age children.
• Define common activity areas and important elements found in effective room design for school-age environments.

How Do Environments Affect You?

When you visit a favorite restaurant, a local park, a sporting arena, or a good friend’s home, you likely feel good about these experiences because you enjoy them. What about these places makes you feel welcome or secure? What makes you want to go back? You may be thinking about the people with and around you, the color of a room, whether or not there is sunlight, what you smell or hear, the furniture and accessories, or the temperature.

Now think about places you don’t like to go. Environments like the dentist’s office, a crowded airport, or a noisy restaurant. What about these environments makes them less pleasant for you?

In some settings, we feel relaxed and comfortable, and in others we feel tense, overwhelmed, and confused. Environments can affect us in many different ways. They can influence how we feel, what we do, and the ways we respond in certain situations. Some of us dislike places where we feel that we cannot control or predict our experiences. In some spaces, we may feel like we do not belong or are not appreciated.

Just like adults, school-age children and youth are affected by their environments. We can ensure that classrooms and other learning spaces for school-age children make them feel welcome, secure, and ready to learn.

Designing Your Space to Meet School-Age Children’s Needs

Creating a supportive learning environment involves time, reflection, and planning. Whether school-age children are in your program for three hours a day after school or twelve hours a day during the summer, the environment plays a major role in helping them develop and learn. Research suggests that a high-quality, after-school environment can help school-age children’s social skills, learning motivation, academic achievement, and it can lower levels of obesity (Durlak, Mahoney, Bohnert & Parente, 2010). Military children are a special group that may experience a great deal of change in their daily lives, and your supportive classroom can be an important source of consistency for them. You must also consider each individual child’s background, diversity, culture, experiences, and abilities through an anti-biased approach. A supportive environment is:

• Well organized: orderly, planned, and safe
• Dependable: a stable “home base” for children who need it
• Flexible: able to adjust to meet the needs of all children
• Enriching: full of engaging experiences

Supportive environments can send children and youth a variety of positive messages about their learning (Dodge et al., 2016), such as:

• This is a good place to be.
• You belong here.
• This is a place you can trust.
• There are places where you can be by yourself when you want to.
• You can do many things on your own here.
• This is a safe place to explore and try out your ideas.

Environments not only impact how we feel and give us messages about how to act, but they can also impact what we learn. The Reggio Emilia approach to early childhood education recognizes the tremendous impact of the environment by referring to it as the “third teacher” (with parents and teachers as children’s first and second teachers). The Reggio Emilia approach was developed by Loris Malaguzzi and named after an area in Italy. This approach demonstrates that children are powerful learners, and that their interests should guide adults’ decisions surrounding learning, including how the environment is arranged and the materials provided. The Reggio Emilia approach believes that the learning environment plays a critical role in children’s development, and that the intentionality of teachers in the design of spaces and their selection and arrangement of materials, significantly influences children’s level of engagement and learning (Edwards, 2002). We will revisit this approach to early childhood education in future lessons in this course.

Places for Play and Learning: Activity Areas

When you walk into a retail or grocery store, how do you find what you need? If you are looking for grapes, you probably feel confident that you can find them with other fresh fruits and vegetables. If you want to find a new pair of socks, you probably have a good idea about where to look. Many retail establishments make the most out of simple design principles: objects with similar uses are stored near each other, and there are signs to guide you.

Now think about a child or youth in your school-age program. How does the child or youth know where to find toys and materials? How do these individuals use the environment to make decisions?

There are many differences between retail establishments and child and youth programs, but organizing materials by their purpose makes sense in both environments. In stores, we might call these groups of similar items “departments.” In environments for school-age children or youth, we use the terms “activity areas” or “learning centers” to describe spaces that are designed for certain purposes or that hold materials with similar uses.

When a school-age child enters a well-designed activity area, the individual knows the:

• Materials that can be found there
• Type of play (loud, quiet, social, solitary) that may happen there
• Expectations for how to behave there
• Ways to explore, learn, and have fun there

As a school-age staff member, you design learning opportunities for children every day, and your indoor or outdoor environment sets the stage for most of these opportunities. Activity areas are key tools for learning in school-age environments. You can use children’s and youth’s interests, goals, and abilities to design your activity areas.

Some important activity areas and corresponding developmentally appropriate materials include:

• Library : Include books that are of interest to the children and youth in your program. Create a space with a variety of sofas, chairs, and cushions on which children can read comfortably. Ensure that books are available for a wide range of reading levels and interests. Sometimes the library also doubles as a calming, private space. If the library is not available, make sure there is a space for children and youth to play or relax independently when they become overwhelmed with others.

• Science and discovery : Children and youth can use this space for experiments and scientific exploration. Fill this area with a variety of materials that allow for open-ended exploration. Appropriate materials for the discovery area include natural materials, such as rocks and pinecones, and tools, such as magnets, weights, microscopes, rulers, and measuring tapes. This could also be a space to experiment with simple machines like ramps or pulleys.
• Technology : The use of technology, such as computers and tablets, can provide children and youth of all ages with developmentally appropriate learning opportunities. Computers and the internet allow children to explore people, places, animals, and ideas that they cannot experience in person. The use of interactive e-books and games that facilitate learning of letters, letter sounds, and numbers are additional ways children can use computers to meet learning goals. Refer to the Safe Environments lesson for information on internet safety.
• Toy and games : Games allow children and youth to develop important thinking, social, and fine-motor skills. This area may include puzzles, board games, and small objects. Many school-age children also enjoy construction with small interconnecting blocks (e.g., Lego bricks) or other more sophisticated building materials (e.g., marble mazes). These could be part of the games area or be an activity area of their own.

• Movement and music : Children and youth can engage in large movements, make their own music, and respond to the music of others in this space. You can provide a variety of materials here, such as streamers, ribbons, shakers, musical instruments, and recorded music. The music and movement area can provide an opportunity for dance and rhythm exploration.

Depending on the age-range in your school-age program, and especially if you have kindergarten or early elementary school children, consider adding a space for dressing up and pretend play. It may be useful to have a dramatic play activity area that includes various props to take on different characters or materials that support pretend play in a flexible way (e.g., the space can be a family home, a restaurant, or a dentist’s office). Depending on how you design this space, this activity area could also be a space for exploring theater, where older children could experiment with enacting real plays or life scenarios.

Keep in mind that, depending on your physical space, these activity areas could all be within one large classroom or spread out over different spaces in your program. The key is making sure there is logic behind the placement of different activity areas and that children and youth know where the various activities are and what the rules are for accessing them (e.g., the “music and movement” area in the gymnasium will open at 3:30, once a staff member is there). In many school-age programs, children and youth use an activity management system—tags, pictures, or symbols used to limit the number of children who play in an activity area and help staff keep track of where children are. We will address this more in Lesson Five.

Promote a Feeling of Ownership

School-age children and youth should be given the opportunity to help design and organize their environment. Allowing children and youth to choose materials will give them a sense of pride and ownership. When children and youth feel a sense of ownership of their learning space, they are more likely to respect the space and feel a greater responsibility to take care of it.

Children and youth feel that they are an important part of your program when they see elements from their lives throughout the learning space. Hang children’s artwork in inexpensive frames and display photos of children and youth with their peers or families. You can further promote ownership by including elements in the classroom from children’s homes (e.g., asking families to donate décor or pictures that reflect their cultures). Doing so allows teachers and children to celebrate their diversity and the various cultures that are represented in your program.

It is important to embrace diversity and to encourage families to share information about their cultures and backgrounds. Invite parents to bring unique materials or culturally specific foods to share with the children and youth of your program. Encourage children to explore others’ backgrounds in a respectful manner. You may have school-age children and youth from all over the world or children and youth who have traveled abroad with their military families. Value their experiences and knowledge by having them reflected in your learning environment.

School-age learning environments look different from each other depending on the program. The following video provides examples of safe and organized learning environments that meet the interests and needs of school-age children and youth.  It highlights activity areas to consider in the development of your school-age program.

There are many ideas about how to arrange school-age environments. However, some important elements found in every effective room design include:

• Clear boundaries: Use shelves, furniture, or other barriers to help children and youth focus and understand the intended use of the space. Large, open areas encourage running and roughhousing. Arrange your furniture and activity areas to break up large, open spaces.
• Clear ways to enter and exit: Help children and youth know how and where to come into an activity area. If you use an activity management system, make sure children and youth know how to use it. For example, do they need to travel with a staff member to activity areas located in different parts of the building?
• Sufficient materials: As much as possible, have duplicates of favorite materials. Also make sure there are enough materials so several children can play in social areas, like the toy and games area. Children are more likely to have meaningful play interactions if there are enough materials to use together.
• Engaging materials that spark children’s interests: Think about what children and youth in your program enjoy. Add materials or rotate materials regularly so children have new experiences. Think about the pictures, displays, print, or writing materials that can support children’s learning and engagement in each area. We will discuss this more in the lessons in this section.
• Separate loud and active areas from quiet and calm areas: Examples of quiet activity areas are the library, art, or writing centers. Loud, active areas might include toys and games or dramatic play.
• Access to needed materials: Discovery and science, and art spaces should have easy access to sinks. Technology would need access to electrical outlets. Soft carpeting in the library and the toys and games area can make it easier for children to sit and interact with materials on the floor.
•  Learning Objectives : Align materials and interest areas to learning objectives.
• Comfort and safety: Observe children and youth to ensure that all equipment and furniture comfortably fits their needs. School-age children and youth can range greatly in age and size, so it is likely you will need a variety of furniture sizes available. Implement your program’s safety requirements. Always model healthy behaviors and lifestyle choices to children and youth.

Completing this Course

For more information on what to expect in this course, for the Learning Environments  Competency Reflection , and for a list of the accompanying Learn, Explore and Apply resources and activities offered throughout the lessons, visit the School-Age Learning Environments  Course Guide . 

Please note the References & Resources section at the end of each lesson outlines reference sources and resources to find additional information on the topics covered. As you complete lessons, you are not expected to review all the online references available. However, you are welcome to explore the resources further if you have interest, or at the request of your trainer, coach, or administrator.

Think about how environments affect you and the children and youth in your care. In the Environments Affect Behavior activity, answer the questions about each space in your learning environment. Then share your responses with a trainer, coach, or administrator. Finally, compare your answers to the suggested responses.

Environments Affect Behavior

To ensure your environment is designed to offer children and youth valuable learning experiences, use this inventory to help evaluate your own activity areas. Complete the Activity Area Inventory. Walk around your own space and talk about your observations with a trainer, coach, or administrator.

Activity Area Inventory

Demonstrate.

Biermeier, M. A., (2015). Inspired by Reggio Emilia: Emergent curriculum in relationship-driven learning environments. Young Children, 70 (5). https://www.naeyc.org/resources/pubs/yc/nov2015/emergent-curriculum  

Council on Accreditation. (2018). Standards for child and youth development. Out-of-school time (CYD-OST). Council on Accreditation. https://coanet.org/standard/cyd-ost/

Dodge, D. T., Heroman, C., Berke, K., Bickart, T., Colker, L., Jones, C., Copley, J., & Dighe, J. (2016). The creative curriculum for preschool (6 th ed.). Teaching Strategies.

Durlack, J. A., Mahoney, J. L., Bohnert, A. M., Parente, M. E. (2010). Developing and improving after-school programs to enhance youth’s personal growth and adjustment: A special issue of AJCP. American Journal of Community Psychology, 45 , 285-293.

National Association for the Education of Young Children. (2009). Where we stand on responding to linguistic and cultural diversity . NAEYC.

Partnership for 21st Century Skills. (2009). Learning environments: A 21st century skills implementation guide. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED519459.pdf

Schaefer, R. (2016). Teacher inquiry on the influence of materials on children’s learning (Voices). Young Children 71 (5). https://www.naeyc.org/resources/pubs/yc/nov2016/teacher-inquiry-materials

What are the key elements of a positive learning environment? Perspectives from students and faculty

• Original Paper
• Published: 07 May 2022
• Volume 26 , pages 161–175, ( 2023 )

Cite this article

• Shayna A. Rusticus   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-4403-3061 1 ,
• Tina Pashootan 1 &
• Andrea Mah 1  

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The learning environment comprises the psychological, social, cultural and physical setting in which learning occurs and has an influence on student motivation and success. The purpose of the present study was to explore qualitatively, from the perspectives of both students and faculty, the key elements of the learning environment that supported and hindered student learning. We recruited a total of 22 students and 9 faculty to participate in either a focus group or an individual interview session about their perceptions of the learning environment at their university. We analyzed the data using a directed content analysis and organized the themes around the three key dimensions of personal development, relationships, and institutional culture. Within each of these dimensions, we identified subthemes that facilitated or impeded student learning and faculty work. We also identified and discussed similarities in subthemes identified by students and faculty.

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Introduction

The learning environment (LE) comprises the psychological, social, cultural, and physical setting in which learning occurs and in which experiences and expectations are co-created among its participants (Rusticus et al., 2020 ; Shochet et al., 2013 ). These individuals, who are primarily students, faculty and staff, engage in this environment and the learning process as they navigate through their personal motivations and emotions and various interpersonal interactions. This all takes place within a physical setting that consists of various cultural and administrative norms (e.g. school policies).

While many studies of the LE have focused on student perspectives (e.g. Cayubit, 2021 ; Schussler et al., 2021 ; Tharani et al., 2017 ), few studies have jointly incorporated the perspectives of students and faculty. Both groups are key players within the educational learning environment. Some exceptions include researchers who have used both instructor and student informants to examine features of the LE in elementary schools (Fraser & O’Brien, 1985 ; Monsen et al., 2014 ) and in virtual learning and technology engaged environments in college (Annansingh, 2019 ; Downie et al., 2021 ) Other researchers have examined perceptions of both groups, but in ways that are not focused on understanding the LE (e.g. Bolliger & Martin, 2018 ; Gorham & Millette, 1997 ; Midgly et al., 1989 ).

In past work, LEs have been evaluated on the basis of a variety of factors, such as students’ perceptions of the LE have been operationalized as their course experiences and evaluations of teaching (Guo et al., 2021 ); level of academic engagement, skill development, and satisfaction with learning experience (Lu et al., 2014 ); teacher–student and student–peer interactions and curriculum (Bolliger & Martin, 2018 ; Vermeulen & Schmidt, 2008 ); perceptions of classroom personalization, involvement, opportunities for and quality of interactions with classmates, organization of the course, and how much instructors make use of more unique methods of teaching and working (Cayubit, 2021 ). In general, high-quality learning environments are associated with positive outcomes for students at all levels. For example, ratings of high-quality LEs have been correlated with outcomes such as increased satisfaction and motivation (Lin et al., 2018 ; Rusticus et al., 2014 ; Vermeulen & Schmidt, 2008 ), higher academic performance (Lizzio et al., 2002 ; Rusticus et al., 2014 ), emotional well-being (Tharani et al., 2017 ), better career outcomes such as satisfaction, job competencies, and retention (Vermeulen & Schmidt, 2008 ) and less stress and burnout (Dyrbye et al., 2009 ). From teacher perspectives, high-quality LEs have been defined in terms of the same concepts and features as those used to evaluate student perspective and outcomes. For example, in one quantitative study, LEs were rated as better by students and teachers when they were seen as more inclusive (Monsen et al., 2014 ).

However, LEs are diverse and can vary depending on context and, although many elements of the LE that have been identified, there has been neither a consistent nor clear use of theory in assessing those key elements (Schönrock-Adema et al., 2012 ). One theory that has been recommended by Schönrock-Adema et al. ( 2012 ) to understand the LE is Moos’ framework of human environments (Insel & Moos, 1974 ; Moos, 1973 , 1991 ). Through his study of a variety of human environments (e.g. classrooms, psychiatric wards, correctional institutions, military organizations, families), Moos proposed that all environments have three key dimensions: (1) personal development/goal direction, (2) relationships, and (3) system maintenance/change. The personal development dimension encompasses the potential in the environment for personal growth, as well as reflecting the emotional climate of the environment and contributing to the development of self-esteem. The relationship dimension encompasses the types and quality of social interactions that occur within the environment, and it reflects the extent to which individuals are involved in the environment and the degree to which they interact with, and support, each other. The system maintenance/change dimension encompasses the degree of structure, clarity and openness to change that characterizes the environment, as well as reflecting physical aspects of the environment.

We used this framework to guide our research question: What do post-secondary students and faculty identify as the positive and negative aspects of the learning environment? Through the use of a qualitative methodology to explore the LE, over the more-typical survey-based approaches, we were able to explore this topic in greater depth, to understand not only the what, but also the how and the why of what impacts the LE. Furthermore, in exploring the LE from both the student and faculty perspectives, we highlight similarities and differences across these two groups and garner an understanding of how both student and faculty experience the LE.

Participants

All participants were recruited from a single Canadian university with three main campuses where students can attend classes to obtain credentials, ranging from a one-year certificate to a four-year undergraduate degree. Approximately 20,000 students attend each year. The student sample was recruited through the university’s subject pool within the psychology department. The faculty sample was recruited through emails sent out through the arts faculty list-serve and through direct recruitment from the first author.

The student sample was comprised of 22 participants, with the majority being psychology majors ( n  = 10), followed by science majors ( n  = 4) and criminology majors ( n  = 3). Students spanned all years of study with seven in their first year, three in second year, five in third year, six in fourth year, and one unclassified. The faculty sample consisted of nine participants (6 male, 3 female). Seven of these participants were from the psychology department, one was from the criminology department and one was from educational studies. The teaching experience of faculty ranged from 6 to 20 years.

Interview schedule and procedure

We collected student data through five focus groups and two individual interviews. The focus groups ranged in size from two to six participants. All sessions occurred in a private meeting room on campus and participants were provided with food and beverages, as well as bonus credit. Each focus group/interview ranged from 30 to 60 min. We collected all faculty data through individual interviews ranging from 30 to 75 min. Faculty did not receive any incentives for their participation. All sessions were conducted by the first author, with the second author assisting with each of the student focus groups.

With the consent of each participant, we audio-recorded each session and transcribed them verbatim. For both samples, we used a semi-structured interview format involving a set of eight open-ended questions about participants’ overall perceptions of the LE at their institution (see Appendix for interview guide). These questions were adapted from a previous study conducted by the first author (Rusticus et al., 2020 ) and focused on how participants defined the LE, what they considered to be important elements of the LE, and their positive and negative experiences within their environment. Example questions were: “Can you describe a [negative/positive] learning [students]/teaching [faculty] experience that you have had?”.

We analyzed the data using a directed content analysis approach (Hsieh & Shannon, 2005 ) that used existing theory to develop the initial coding scheme. We used Moos’s (Insel & Moos, 1974 ; Moos, 1973 , 1991 ) framework and its three dimensions of personal development, relationships, and system maintenance/change to guide our analysis. During the analysis phase, we renamed the system maintenance/change dimension to ‘institutional setting’ as we felt it was more descriptive of, and better represented, the content of this theme.

We analyzed student and faculty data separately, starting with the student data, but used the same process for both. First, we randomly selected two transcripts. We each independently coded the first transcript using the broad themes of personal development, relationships and institutional setting, and developed subcodes within each of these themes, as needed. We then reviewed and discussed our codes, reaching consensus on any differences in coding. We then repeated this process for the second transcript and, through group discussions, created a codebook. The first author then coded the remaining transcripts.

When coding the faculty data, we aimed to maintain subcodes similar to the student data while allowing for flexibility when needed. For instance, within the personal development theme, a subcode for the student data was ‘engagement with learning’, whereas a parallel subcode for the faculty data was ‘engagement with teaching’.

We present the results of the student and faculty data separately. For both, we have organized our analysis around the three overarching themes of personal development, relationships and institutional setting.

Student perspectives of the learning environment

Personal development.

Personal development was defined as any motivation either within or outside the LE that provide students with encouragement, drive, and direction for their personal growth and achievement. Within this theme, there were two subthemes: engaging with learning and work-life balance.

Engagement with learning reflected a student’s desire and ability to participate in their learning, as opposed to a passive-learning approach. Students felt more engaged when they were active learners, as well as when they perceived the material to be relevant to their career goals or real-world applications. Students also said that having opportunities to apply their learning helped them to better understand their own career paths:

I had two different instructors and both of them were just so open and engaging and they shared so many personal stories and they just seemed so interested in what they were doing and what I was like. Wow, I want to be that. I want to be interested in what I’m learning. (G6P1)

A common complaint that negatively impacted student motivation was that instructors would lecture for the entire class without supporting materials or opportunities for students to participate.

I’ve had a couple professors who just don’t have any visuals at all. All he does is talk. So, for the whole three hours, we would just be scrambling to write down the notes. It’s brutal...(G7P2)

Trying to establish a healthy work-life balance and managing the demands of their courses, often in parallel with managing work and family demands, were key challenges for students and were often sources of stress and anxiety. For instance, one student spoke about her struggles in meeting expectations:

It was a tough semester. For the expectations that I had placed on myself, I wasn’t meeting them and it took a toll on me. But now I know that I can exceed my expectations, but you really have to try and work hard for it. (G6P1)

Achieving a good work-life balance and adjusting to university life takes time. Many students commented that, as they reached their third year of study, they felt more comfortable in the school environment. Unfortunately, students also noted that the mental and emotional toll of university life can lead to doubt about the future and a desire to leave. One student suggested more support for students to help with this adjustment:

I think school should give students more service to help them to overcome the pressure and make integration into the first year and second year quicker and faster. Maybe it’s very helpful for the new students. (G7P4)

Relationships

Relationships was the second dimension of the LE. Subthemes within this dimension included: faculty support, peer interaction, and group work. Most students commented on the impact that faculty had on their learning. Faculty support included creating a safe or unsafe space in the classroom (i.e. ability to ask questions without judgement, fostering a respectful atmosphere), providing additional learning material, accommodating requests, or simply listening to students. Students generally indicated that faculty at this university were very willing to offer extra support and genuinely cared for them and their education. Faculty were described as friendly and approachable, and their relationships with students were perceived as “egalitarian”.

I think feeling that you’re safe in that environment, that anything you pose or any questions that you may have, you’re free to ask. And without being judged. And you’ll get an answer that actually helps you. (G1P4)

While most students felt welcome and comfortable in their classes, a few students spoke about negative experiences that they had because of lack of faculty support. Students cited examples of professors “shutting down” questions, saying that a question was “stupid”, refusing requests for additional help, or interrupting them while speaking. Another student felt that the inaction of faculty sometimes contributed to a negative atmosphere:

I’ve had bad professors that just don't listen to any comment or, if you suggest something to improve it which may seem empirically better, they still shut you down! That’s insane. (G2P2)

The peer interactions subtheme referred to any instances when students could interact with other students; this occurred both in and out of the classroom. Most often, students interacted with their peers during a class or because of an assignment:

I think the way the class is structured really helps you build relationships with your peers. For example, I met S, we had several classes with each other. Those classes were more proactive and so it allowed us to build a relationship… I think that’s very important because we’re going to be in the same facility for a long time and to have somebody to back you up, or to have someone to study with…”. (G1P4)

However, other students felt that they lacked opportunities to interact with peers in class. Although a few participants stated that they felt the purpose of going to school was to get a degree, rather than to socialize with others, students wanted more opportunities to interact with peers.

The final subtheme, group work, was a very common activity at this school. The types of group work in which students engaged included classroom discussions, assignments/projects, and presentations. Many students had enjoyable experiences working in groups, noting that working together helped them to solve problems and create something that was better than one individual’s work. Even though sometimes doing the work itself was a negative experience, people still saw value in group work:

Some of the best memories I’ve ever had was group work and the struggles we've had. (G2P2) I don’t like group work but it taught me a lot, I’ve been able to stay friends and be able to connect with people that I’ve had a class with in 2nd year psych all the way up till now. I think that’s very valuable. (G6P1)

Almost all students who spoke about group work also talked about negative aspects or experiences they had. When the work of a group made up a large proportion of the final grade, students sometimes would have preferred to be evaluated individually. Students disliked when they worked in groups when members were irresponsible or work was not shared equally, and they were forced to undertake work that other students were not completing.

A lot of people don’t really care, or they don’t take as much responsibility as you. I think people have different goals and different ways of working, so sometimes I find that challenging. (G7P2)

Institutional setting

The third overarching theme was the institutional setting. Broadly, this theme refers to the physical structure, expectations, and the overall culture of the environment and was composed of two key subthemes: importance of small class sizes; and the lack of a sense of community.

Small class sizes, with a maximum of 35 students, were a key reason why many students chose to come to this institution. The small classes created an environment in which students and faculty were able to get to know one another more personally; students felt that they were known as individuals, not just as numbers. They also noted that this promoted greater feelings of connectedness to the class environment, more personalized attention, and opportunities to request reference letters in the future:

My professors know my name. Not all of them that I’m having for the first time ever, but they try… That means a lot to me. (G6P4)

Several students also said that having smaller class sizes helped them to do well in their courses. The extra attention encouraged them to perform better academically, increased their engagement with their material, and made them feel more comfortable in asking for help.

Having a sense of belonging was a key feature of the environment and discussions around a sense of community (or lack thereof) was a prominent theme among the students. Students generally agreed that the overall climate of the school is warm and friendly. However, many students referred to the institution as a “commuter school”, because there are no residencies on campus and students must commute to the school. This often resulted in students attending their classes and then leaving immediately after, contributing to a lack of community life on campus.

What [other schools] have is that people live on campus. I think that plays a huge role. We can’t ignore that we are a commuter school… They have these events and people go because they’re already there and you look at that and it seems to be fun and engaging. (G4P1)

Furthermore, students commented on a lack of campus areas that supported socialization and encouraged students to remain on campus. While there were events and activities that were regularly hosted at the school, students had mixed opinions about them. Some students attended the events and found them personally beneficial. Other students stated that, although many events and activities were available, turnout was often low:

There isn’t any hanging out after campus and you can even see in-events and in-event turnout for different events… It is like pulling teeth to get people to come out to an event… There are free food and fun music and really cool stuff. But, no one’s going to go. It’s sad. (G5P1)

Faculty perspectives on the learning environment

Similar to the student findings, faculty data were coded within the three overarching themes of personal development, relationships, and institutional setting.

Personal development reflected any motivation either within or outside the LE that provided faculty with the encouragement, drive, and direction for their personal growth and engagement with teaching. Within this dimension, there were two main subthemes: motivation to teach and emotional well-being.

As with any career, there are many positive and negative motivating factors that contribute to one’s involvement in their work. Faculty generally reported feeling passionate about their work, and recounted positive experiences they have had while teaching, both personally and professionally. While recollecting positive drives throughout their career, one instructor shared:

It’s [teaching in a speciality program] allowed me to teach in a very different way than the traditional classroom… I’ve been able to translate those experiences into conferences, into papers, into connections, conversations with others that have opened up really interesting dialogues…. (8M)

Faculty also reported that receiving positive feedback from students or getting to see their students grow over time was highly motivating:

I take my teaching evaluations very seriously and I keep hearing that feedback time and time again they feel safe. They feel connected, they feel listened too, they feel like I'm there for them. I think, you know, those are the things that let me know what I'm doing is achieving the goals that I have as an educator. (1F) Being able to watch [students] grow over time is very important to me… I always try to have a few people I work with and see over the course of their degree. So, when they graduate, you know I have a reason to be all misty-eyed. (2M)

Emotional well-being related to how different interactions, primarily with students, affected instructors’ mental states. Sometimes the emotional well-being of faculty was negatively affected by the behaviour of students. One instructor spoke about being concerned when students drop out of a class:

A student just this last semester was doing so well, but then dropped off the face of the earth… I felt such a disappointing loss… So, when that happens, I'm always left with those questions about what I could have done differently. Maybe, at the end of the day, there is nothing I could've done, nothing. It's a tragedy or something's happened in their life or I don't know. But those unanswered questions do concern-- they cause me some stress or concern. (1F)

Another instructor said that, while initially they had let the students’ behaviour negatively affect their well-being, over time, they had eventually become more apathetic.

There are some who come, leave after the break. Or they do not come, right, or come off and on. Previously I was motivated to ask them ‘what is your problem?’ Now I do not care. That is the difference which has happened. I do not care. (4M)

This dimension included comments related to interactions with other faculty and with students and consisted of three subthemes: faculty supporting faculty; faculty supporting students; and creating meaningful experiences for students.

Most faculty felt that it was important to be supported by, and supportive to, their colleagues. For instance, one instructor reported that their colleagues’ helpfulness inspired them to be supportive of others:

If I was teaching a new course, without me having to go and beg for resources or just plead and hope that someone might be willing to share, my experience was that the person who last taught the course messaged me and said let me know if anything I have will be useful to you… When people are willing to do that for you, then you’re willing to do that for someone else….(7M)

Many faculty members also spoke about the importance of having supportive relationships with students, and that this would lead to better learning outcomes:

If you don't connect with your students, you're not going to get them learning much. They're not; they're just going to tune out. So, I think, I think connection is critical to having a student not only trust in the learning environment, but also want to learn from the learning environment. (3M)

Facilitating an open, inviting space in the classroom and during their office hours, where students were comfortable asking questions, was one way that faculty tried to help students succeed. Faculty also spoke about the value of having close mentorship relationships with students:

I work with them a lot and intensively…and their growth into publishing, presenting, and seeing them get recognized and get jobs on their way out and so forth are extraordinary. So, being able to watch them grow over time is very important to me. (2M)

Faculty also noted that occasionally there were instances when students wanted exceptions to be made for them which can create tensions in the environment. One instructor spoke about the unfairness of those requests arguing that students need to be accountable to themselves:

The failure rate, …it was 43%. I do not know if there is any other course in which there is a 43% failure rate. So, I do not want to fail these students, why? Instructors want these students to pass, these are my efforts […], and there are also the efforts of these students and their money, right? But, if a student doesn’t want to pass himself or herself, I cannot pass this student, that’s it. (4M)

Faculty were generally motivated to provide memorable and engaging experiences for students. These included providing practical knowledge and opportunities to apply knowledge in real-world settings, field schools, laboratory activities, group discussions, guest speakers, field trips, videos and group activities. They were often willing to put in extra effort if it meant that students would have a better educational experience.

Creating meaningful experiences for students was also meaningful for faculty. One faculty member said that faculty felt amazing when the methods that they used in their courses were appreciated by students. Another faculty member noted:

This student who was in my social psychology class, who was really bright and kind of quirky, would come to my office, twice a week, and just want to talk about psychology … That was like a really satisfying experience for me to see someone get so sparked by the content. (9F)

This third theme refers to the physical structure, expectation, and overall culture of the environment and it consisted of two subthemes: the importance of small class sizes, and the lack of a sense of community.

The majority of the faculty indicated that the small class sizes are an integral feature of the LE. The key advantage of the small classes was that they allowed greater connection with students.

Your professor knows your name. That’s a huge difference from other schools. It’s a small classroom benefit. (6F)

Similar to the students, nearly all the faculty indicated that a sense of community at the institution was an important part of the environment, and something that was desired, but it currently was lacking. They spoke about various barriers which prevent a sense of community, such as the lack of residences, a dearth of events and activities at the university, the busy schedules of faculty and students, the commuter nature of the school, and characteristics of the student population:

When I complain about the commuter campus feeling that occurs with students, we suffer from that too at a faculty level… People are just not in their offices because we work from home… And that really also affects the culture… We come in. We do our thing. We meet with students. And then we leave… I encounter so many students in the hallway who are looking for instructors and they can’t find them. (9F)

These findings have provided insight into the perspectives of both students and faculty on the LE of a Canadian undergraduate university. We found that framing our analysis and results within Moos’ framework of human environments (Insel & Moos, 1974 ; Moos, 1973 , 1991 ) was an appropriate lens for the data and that the data fit well within these three themes. This provides support for the use of this theory to characterize the educational LE. Within each of these dimensions, we discuss subthemes that both facilitated and hindered student learning and commonalities among student and faculty perspectives.

Within the personal development dimension, both students and faculty discussed the importance of engagement and/or motivation as a facilitator of a positive LE. When students were engaged with their learning, most often by being an active participant or seeing the relevance of what they were learning, they saw it as a key strength. Other studies have also identified engagement as a feature of positive LEs for populations such as high-school students (Seidel, 2006 ), nursing students (D’Souza et al., 2013 ) and college students taking online courses (e.g. Holley & Dobson, 2008 ; O’Shea et al., 2015 ). Faculty who reported being motivated to teach, often felt that this motivation was fueled by the reactions of their students; when students were engaged, they felt more motivated. This creates a positive cyclic pattern in which one group feeds into the motivation and engagement levels of the other. However, this can also hinder the LE when a lack of engagement in one group can bring down the motivation of the other group (such as students paying more attention to their phones than to a lecture or faculty lecturing for the entire class period).

Emotional climate was another subtheme within the personal development dimension that was shared by both students and faculty although, for students, this was focused more on the stress and anxiety that they felt trying to manage their school workloads with their work and family commitments. The overall emotional climate of the school was generally considered to be positive, which was largely driven by the supportive and welcoming environment provided by the faculty. However, it was the negative emotions of stress and anxiety that often surfaced as a challenging aspect in the environment for students. Past research suggests that some types of stress, such as from a challenge, can improve learning and motivation, but negative stress, such as that reported by our participants, is associated with worsened performance and greater fatigue (LePine et al., 2004 ).

For faculty, their emotional state was often influenced by their students. When things were going well for their students, faculty often shared in the joy; however, when students would disappear without notice from a class, it was a source of disappointment and self-doubt. For other faculty, the accumulation of negative experiences resulted in them being more distant and less affected emotionally than they had been earlier in their career. This diminishing concern could have implications for how engaged faculty are in their teaching, which could in turn influence student engagement and harm the LE.

The relationships dimension was the most influential aspect of the environment for both students and faculty. While both groups felt that the relationships that they formed were generally positive, they also reported a desire for more peer connections (i.e. students with other students and faculty with other faculty). Students commented that it was a typical experience for them to come to campus to attend their classes and then leave afterwards, often to work or study at home. Many of the students at this school attend on a part-time basis while they work part- or full-time and/or attend to family commitments. While this is a benefit to these students to have the flexibility to work and further their education, it comes at loss of the social aspect of post-secondary education.

The one way in which student–peer relationships were fostered was through group work. However, students held both positive and negative views on this: the positive aspect was the opportunity to get to know other students and being able to share the burden of the workload, and the negative aspect was being unfair workloads among team members. When group dynamics are poor, such as unfair work distribution, having different goals and motivations, or not communicating effectively with their groups, it has been shown to lead to negative experiences (Rusticus & Justus, 2019 ).

Faculty also commented that it was typical for them and other faculty to come up to campus only to teach their classes and then leave afterwards. They noted that their office block was often empty and noted instances when students have come looking for faculty only to find a locked office. Overall, faculty did report feeling congenial with, and supported by, their peers. They also desired a greater connection with their peers, but noted that it would require effort to build, which many were not willing to make.

Finally, student–faculty relationships were the most-rewarding experience for both groups. Students saw these experiences as highly encouraging and felt that they created a safe and welcoming environment where they could approach faculty to ask questions and get extra support. However, in some cases, students had negative experiences with faculty and these had an impact on their self-esteem, motivation and willingness to participate in class. Students’ negative experiences and feedback have been shown to result in declined levels of intrinsic motivation, even if their performance ability is not low (Weidinger et al., 2016 ).

Within the third dimension, institutional setting, a key strength was the small class sizes. With a maximum class size of 35 students, this created a more personal and welcoming environment for students. Students felt that their instructors got to know their names and this promoted more opportunities for interactions. Faculty concurred with this, indicating that the small classes provided greater opportunities for interactions with their students. This enabled more class discussions and grouped-based activities which contributed to a more engaging and interactive educational experience for students and faculty. For students, not being able to hide in the crowd of a large lecture hall, as is common in other university settings, encouraged them to work harder on their studies and to seek help from their instructor if needed.

Finally, both students and faculty commented that the lack of a sense of community was a negative aspect of the LE. This institution is known as a commuter school and both groups reported that they would often attend campus only for school/work and would leave as soon as their commitments were done. This limits opportunities to interact with others and could also potentially impact one’s identity as a member of this community. While both groups expressed a desire for more of a community life, neither group was willing to put in much effort to make this happen. Others have also found that sense of community, including opportunities to engage and interact with others, is important in LEs (e.g. Sadera et al., 2009 ). Schools with more activities and opportunities for student involvement have reports of higher satisfaction for both academic and social experiences (Charles et al., 2016 ).

Limitations

Because this study is based on a relatively small sample at a single university, there is a question of whether the findings can be applied to other departments, universities or contexts. However, it is a strength of this study that both student and faculty perceptions were included, because few past studies have jointly looked at these two groups together using qualitative methods. The use of focus groups among the student groups might have limited the openness of some participants. We also acknowledge that the analysis of qualitative data is inevitably influenced by our roles, life experiences and backgrounds. (The first author is a faculty member and the second and third authors were fourth year students at the time of the study.) This might have impacted our approach to the interpretation of the data compared with how others might approach the data and analysis (Denzin & Lincoln, 2008 ). However, the analysis involved consultation among the research team to identify and refine the themes, and the findings are presented with quotes to support the interpretation. Finally, because experiences were self-reported in this study, they have the associated limitations of self-report data. Despite these limitations, we believe that our findings add to what is known about LEs by capturing multiple perspectives within the same environment.

Future directions

Because our sample was comprised of students across multiple years of their program, some of our findings suggest that upper-level students might have different perceptions of the LE from lower-level students (e.g. work/life balance, access to resources, and overall familiarity with the environment and resources available). However, because the small sample sizes within these subgroups prevent any strong conclusions being made, future researchers might want to explore year-of-study differences in the LE. Additionally, the data collected for this study occurred prior to the COVID-19 pandemic and the mandatory switch to online teaching and learning. Future researchers might want to consider how this has impacted student and faculty perceptions of the LE regarding their personal motivation, the nature and quality of the relationships that have formed with peers and faculty, and the culture and norms of their institution.

This study increases our understanding of LEs by incorporating data collected from both students and faculty working in the same context. Across both groups, we identified important aspects of the LE as being high levels of engagement and motivation, a positive emotional climate, support among peers, strong faculty–student relationships, meaningful experiences, and small class sizes. Students identified negative aspects of the LE, such as certain characteristics of group work and struggles with work–life balance. Both faculty and students identified a lack of a sense of community as something that could detract from the LE. These findings identify important elements that educators and researchers might want to consider as they strive to promote more-positive LEs and learning experiences for students.

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Appendix: Interview guide

[Students] Going around the table, I would like each person to tell me a little bit about themselves. For instance, what program and year you are in, what your education goals are, why you were interested in this study.

[Faculty] Tell me a little bit about yourself. For instance, what department you are in, how long you have been teaching at KPU, what courses you teach, why you were interested in this study

When I say the word learning environment, what does that mean to you?

How would you describe the learning environment here at KPU?

Probe for specific examples

Relate to goal development, relationships, KPU culture

Can you describe a positive learning/teaching [students/faculty] experience that you have had?

Probe for factors that made it a positive environment

Can you describe a negative learning/teaching [students/faculty] experience that you have had?

Probe for factors that made it a negative environment

How would you describe an ideal environment?

How close is KPU to an ideal learning environment?

Probe for reasons why

Probe for how KPU could be made more ideal

What recommendations would you give to the Dean of Arts regarding the learning environment? This could be changes you would recommend or things you recommend should stay the same.

Do you have any final comments? Or feel there is anything about the learning environment that we have not addressed?

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Rusticus, S.A., Pashootan, T. & Mah, A. What are the key elements of a positive learning environment? Perspectives from students and faculty. Learning Environ Res 26 , 161–175 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10984-022-09410-4

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Received : 07 April 2020

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Issue Date : April 2023

DOI : https://doi.org/10.1007/s10984-022-09410-4

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Building Positive Learning Environments for Young Children Starts with You

By Sarah Merrill and Jamie Sheehan

When we think about early learning environments, what comes to mind? Often, it's things : alphabet puzzles, books lined up neatly on shelves, blocks, water tables, and more. But the most important part of a positive early learning environment is you. Teachers and family child care providers—all the education staff working with the children are what matter most. Though staff roles may look different across various types of settings (e.g., home-based, center-based, family child care), you remain the most important component of a responsive environment.

Positive early learning environments start with you when you create a positive social and emotional environment that is built on caring and responsive relationships. Children can't explore and learn, experience joy and wonder, until they feel secure. They need to trust their caregivers and know their needs will be met. Young children need adults to establish the relationships by being consistent and responding to social and emotional cues, both in classrooms and home-based settings.

When you build a unique relationship with children, learn their cues and communications, their likes and dislikes, their strengths and the areas where they need support, you help them feel safe. That's why providing nurturing, responsive, and effective interactions and engaging environments is the foundation of the Framework for Effective Practice, or the House Framework . The practices at the foundation of the house are critical to promote early learning and development in all domains.

But what you do for the children in your care is not everything! Take care of yourself! Make sure you feel safe and secure in the environment, too. When providers calmly manage the stresses and challenges they experience in an early childhood program, children feel safe and secure.

What helps you keep cool when challenges ramp up? When the toilet breaks one more time? When the children are antsy after a week of rain? Self-regulation skills. "Self-regulation" is your ability to manage your feelings, actions, and thoughts so you stay goal-directed and do not get derailed. For example, when a car pulls out in front of you on the highway, can you stay calm and carefully slow down so you don't hit it? Will you still get to the movie on time? Your self-regulation skills are at work every day, in so many ways.

Young children are just learning how to regulate their emotions, behavior, and cognition. But they can't do it alone. They need you! The Head Start Early Learning Outcomes Framework says it clearly in the Approaches to Learning and Social and Emotional Functioning domains, where the self-regulation goals for young children include "the support of familiar adults."

Exactly what kind of support can you give young children? It's called co-regulation . "Co-regulation" is an interactive process where adults provide regulatory support to children in the context of a shared, nurturing relationship. It looks different at different ages, but adult support remains a critical piece of the puzzle throughout childhood. Even as grown-ups, we often need support from others to regulate ourselves—think of when you call your mom or meet a friend to talk through a bad day.

You might co-regulate when a baby is startled by a dog barking loudly. You pick the baby up, rock him, reassure him in a gentle tone, and rub his back until he is calm again. A preschooler becomes incredibly angry when a peer pushes her on the playground. In this case, you might kneel to the child's level and validate her feelings (e.g., "You're very mad because someone pushed you!") and suggest pro-social next steps (e.g., "Should we tell them how you feel?"). When you respond calmly to a child, the child's feelings often de-escalate. Children tend to turn up the intensity if they feel they aren't being understood. When you respond calmly, you show children what regulation looks like.

To work with children as they co-regulate, you need to:

• Identify your own feelings and reactions when you are stressed.
• Find healthy outlets to manage your emotions. Exercise can be an effective stress management practice for many people, while others find that meditation works best. Experiment and discover which strategies work for you.
• Pay attention to your thoughts and beliefs about child development, behavior expectations, and individual children. Make sure you're interacting in developmentally, culturally, and linguistically responsive ways.
• Use strategies to calm yourself so you can respond to children effectively and compassionately. Decide what works best for you. Drinking a glass of water? Singing a song with the children?

A key part of building a positive early learning environment is providing children with the co-regulation they need. There are three main ways you can do this:

• First, build a warm and caring relationship with each child and their family. Your goal is to understand their development, communication style, and temperament. Some children may need a lot of support to co-regulate and others not as much. You only know those cues when you know the child. Parents can help you here because they know their children best!
• Second, create an environment of "yes" for children that buffers them from environmental stressors. Establish predictable routines, transition strategies, and behavioral expectations appropriate to their development. You can also create a "cozy corner" in your classroom or family child care home where children can go if they are feeling overwhelmed. Share these ideas with families so they can create "yes" spaces in their home.
• Third, offer children intentionally planned learning experiences to help them practice self-regulation skills. For example, you can plan fun activities to help children as young as 18 months learn to name their own feelings, recognize others' feelings, and self-soothe in moments of distress. Model these skills yourself and point out when you see other children and adults using them, too. Review your curriculum to ensure it offers appropriate social and emotional learning opportunities.

You are the most important part of the early learning environment. Offering young children calm, nurturing, and predictable social and emotional environments, and promoting their self-regulation skills, helps them feel safe and secure so they can learn, play, and grow.

Sarah Merrill and Jamie Sheehan are Program Specialists for the Office of Head Start.

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Creating an Environment Conducive To Learning

Learning can occur in many settings, not just in the classroom. Accordingly, the term “classroom” in this book is used figuratively and includes a wide range of learning environments. Creating a positive learning environment is the cornerstone of effective teaching. In order for our students to succeed, they must first believe they can succeed. Students must have confidence in their abilities and they must feel that the teacher shares that confidence. A positive learning environment nurtures these feelings by allowing students to explore and expand their knowledge without undue risk or fear.

A positive environment is fostered when learning outcomes and expectations are clearly communicated to the detent. Students have a wide range of learning needs and styles, and this diversity must be taken into account in employing a variety of teaching strategies. The size of the classroom, the arrangement of the furniture, the functioning of equipment and other physical aspects of the class all contribute to, or detract from, the learning environment.

When these factors can be manipulated to be positive influences, an environment more conducive to learning will be created.

Creating a positive learning environment is the cornerstone of effective teaching. As teachers we are accountable to our students, as well as to their future employers. We assist students to achieve course and program learning outcomes. The success of our efforts depends on our ability to create and maintain favorable instructional, physical and psychological learning environments. A positive learning environment is one in which all students have an equal opportunity to succeed.

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What Is A Conducive Learning Environment

As conscientious teachers, we need to become aware of our own assumptions and guard against acting out our own biases. We must avoid creating or tolerating a climate in the classroom which in any way results in the unfair treatment of an individual because of his or her identity. Ecclesial order for learning to come accessible to a student, it needs to be presented in an atmosphere free from fear or humiliation. Students need clear expectations Of learning outcomes so they can measure these against the skills they already have in order to establish their learning goals.

Students also require access to the physical resources necessary to achieve their learning goals. Qualitative academic standards can only be maintained within a learning atmosphere which honors the diversity and integrity of each individual, builds self- esteem, provides productive and purposeful learning activities, and prepares dents for responsible citizenship. Whatever level of motivation your students bring to the classroom will be transformed for better or worse, by what happens in that classroom.

Department of Education and Early Childhood Development I From the day children are born, they enter a new and colorful world of discovery, where everything is new and unfamiliar. To get to know themselves, others and their worlds, they need to feel safe and confident. Creating rich, stimulating, engaging environments for them to explore will ensure that they are active participants in their own learning. The Early Learning and Child Care Curriculum is based on the vision all children can grow to their fullest potential with dignity, a sense of self worth, and a zest for living and learning.

To reach this point requires a holistic approach to early learning and care, where all of the curriculum elements function in harmony with each another. The curriculum promotes healthy development by emphasizing responsive relationships, stimulating environments and learning through play. Based on up-to-date research on how to maximize children’s learning, the curriculum appeals to the uniqueness of each and every child. This factor contributes to the innovative nature of the curriculum, and allows its contents to be practiced across a variety of cultural, linguistic and social backgrounds.

By implementing its teachings at the earliest age possible, children are prepared for a smoother transition into primary school, and given a foundation of learning that will support them throughout their lives-Caring and supportive relationships are fundamental when creating an environment that encourages healthy learning experiences for children. Positive relationships foster feelings of safety and trust that all children need n order to explore and experiment with confidence.

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Essay on Environment for Students and Children

500+ words essay on environment.

Essay on Environment – All living things that live on this earth comes under the environment. Whether they live on land or water they are part of the environment. The environment also includes air, water, sunlight, plants, animals, etc.

Moreover, the earth is considered the only planet in the universe that supports life. The environment can be understood as a blanket that keeps life on the planet sage and sound.

Importance of Environment

We truly cannot understand the real worth of the environment. But we can estimate some of its importance that can help us understand its importance. It plays a vital role in keeping living things healthy in the environment.

Likewise, it maintains the ecological balance that will keep check of life on earth. It provides food, shelter, air, and fulfills all the human needs whether big or small.

Moreover, the entire life support of humans depends wholly on the environmental factors. In addition, it also helps in maintaining various life cycles on earth.

Most importantly, our environment is the source of natural beauty and is necessary for maintaining physical and mental health.

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Benefits of the Environment

The environment gives us countless benefits that we can’t repay our entire life. As they are connected with the forest, trees, animals, water, and air. The forest and trees filter the air and absorb harmful gases. Plants purify water, reduce the chances of flood maintain natural balance and many others.

Moreover, the environment keeps a close check on the environment and its functioning, It regulates the vital systems that are essential for the ecosystem. Besides, it maintains the culture and quality of life on earth.

The environment regulates various natural cycles that happen daily. These cycles help in maintaining the natural balance between living things and the environment. Disturbance of these things can ultimately affect the life cycle of humans and other living beings.

The environment has helped us and other living beings to flourish and grow from thousands of years. The environment provides us fertile land, water, air, livestock and many essential things for survival.

Cause of Environmental Degradation

Human activities are the major cause of environmental degradation because most of the activities humans do harm the environment in some way. The activities of humans that causes environmental degradation is pollution, defective environmental policies, chemicals, greenhouse gases, global warming, ozone depletion, etc.

All these affect the environment badly. Besides, these the overuse of natural resources will create a situation in the future there will be no resources for consumption. And the most basic necessity of living air will get so polluted that humans have to use bottled oxygen for breathing.

Above all, increasing human activity is exerting more pressure on the surface of the earth which is causing many disasters in an unnatural form. Also, we are using the natural resources at a pace that within a few years they will vanish from the earth. To conclude, we can say that it is the environment that is keeping us alive. Without the blanket of environment, we won’t be able to survive.

Moreover, the environment’s contribution to life cannot be repaid. Besides, still what the environment has done for us, in return we only have damaged and degraded it.

FAQs about Essay on Environment

Q.1 What is the true meaning of the environment?

A.1 The ecosystem that includes all the plants, animals, birds, reptiles, insects, water bodies, fishes, human beings, trees, microorganisms and many more are part of the environment. Besides, all these constitute the environment.

Q.2 What is the three types of the environment?

A.2 The three types of environment includes the physical, social, and cultural environment. Besides, various scientists have defined different types and numbers of environment.

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Physical Environment for Young Children Analysis Essay

Introduction, recommended improvements, safety & security.

Young children going to school for the first time undergo a lot of adjustments coming from a warm and cozy home environment. That is why preschools and day care centres should be designed in the same warm and welcoming atmosphere to ease children’s adjustment to their wider social circle.

Spring Brainy Kidz Pte Ltd. is a place where children discover, grow and learn in a warm home environment. The centre offers a relaxing, fun and nurturing atmosphere which motivates children to learn and makes learning fun. The school believes that setting up an ideal place where children can explore and progress at their own pace will result in a positive attitude towards learning.

Spring Brainy Kidz is a 1 storey childcare center located at Spring Estate which is a safe area away from busy streets. The centre has a large gate at the entrance to enclose the centre and a medium sized fenced play yard with a sand pit and a small garden for gardening activities of the children. An office welcomes visitors before any entry to the main centre. From this area, safety and cleanliness can be observed, as things are well-organized in shelves and wall charts. Eyes will not be too overwhelmed with too-busy areas and clutter, as objects are well-arranged in a spacious environment.

Reception area or Living Room

The reception area is appropriately used as a meeting area for teachers, parents, and other visitors for discussion. The tables, shelves and computer are allocated space there for different purposes. Teachers’ belongings are securely kept in the teachers’ shelves. The resources cupboard are for teachers to keep teaching aids. The lower shelving of the computer shelf is allocated for teachers’ research materials. The computer is also used by children of the Kindergarten level whenever necessary, with teacher’s guidance. This reception area has been designed for flexibility of use.

Classroom A

Classroom A is located next to the reception area and used by the Kindergarten class during the A.M. session for lessons and then as a common area for children during breakfast, lunch and going home time.

There is a shelf against the wall for teachers and children to place their learning sheets, resources and stationery. Within the classroom, there are enough tables and chairs arranged for having lessons. The easel board stand is used to support the teaching aids of the teacher.

This is an ideal area to conduct common activities with the children as the space is much bigger when the table and chairs are moved aside.

Classroom B

Classroom B measures 3.95m by 3.95m which is slightly wider than room C and D with an attached toilet near it. In this room, all shelves and cubbyholes are placed against the wall at one side of the classroom for more floor space. There are two tables and enough chairs to cater to 10 four year old children of Nursery 2 level. There are two openings, one leads to the toilet and one is the main entrance in / out of the class.

As this room is slightly wider than the other room and much concealed, it also functions as an assembly area for teachers to conduct morning assembly with the children once they finish their breakfast in classroom A.

Classroom C

Classroom C measures 3.65m by 3.95m. There are two entrance / exit ways for this room. This classroom has a 5 tier shelf which is used to put teacher’s aids, learning sheets, stationery, children’s manipulative materials, toys, baskets of pencils and crayons, a book shelf at the cozy library corner for children to read books in when they finish their lesson. One cubby is placed between classrooms C and D to close up the opening and to minimize noise and also to create just one entrance for classroom C. A whiteboard is mounted as a teaching tool for teacher to write information during the lessons and also as a backing for the flannel board during story time. There are 2 tables with 11 chairs in this room. This Nursery classroom cozily caters to a total of 10 children who spend 2 half-days and 8 full days(please clarify number of school days here) in the centre. The teacher conducts daily teaching and arranges the tables and chairs according to their needs.

Classroom D

Classroom D measures 3.65m by 3.64m. The room consists of many wall charts at child’s eye level, 1 cubby for children to place their bags and belongings such as mattress covers and bolsters. A 5-tier shelf is placed against the wall for teacher to place their teaching aids, stationery and learning sheets, while the lower portion is used for children’s manipulative materials and toys so that children can reach and choose their own materials to work with. A rack with a TV is available in the classroom for use as a multimedia tool for children to watch the Brainy Program in their spare time. One movable whiteboard is placed in the classroom for the teacher to use when necessary. It could be used during lesson time or when telling story with a felt board. There are 1 small square table with 3 chairs and 1 round table with 4 chairs to cater to the different sizes of the children in the class. Children have the choice to sit on the smaller chairs or the bigger chairs which are age appropriate and safe. The arrangement in this classroom maximizes space and minimizes obstruction for children to move freely, as safety is a priority especially for the younger ones who are always on the move.

In general, the physical environment should reflect the goals and expectations of the teacher. It will also dictate somehow to the children how they will behave in the classroom (Brewer, 2001). Being so, space allocation reflects the priorities of the curriculum. At Spring Brainy Kidz, space is sufficient enough to include all the essential areas for a school which includes the well-equipped classrooms, an office, a kitchen, toilets, storage areas and an outdoor play area.

According to Boulton-Lewis & Catherwoods (1995), when the quality of the physical environment declined, teacher restriction and control increased, the teacher’s behavior became less friendly, the students became less interested and involved, classroom rules increased, and conflict among children increased. Likewise, Kepler (1995) observed that the learning environment influences, and directly contributes to, children’s behavior and levels of learning. It seems teachers at Spring Brainy Kidz are well aware of this, as they have structured the physical environment in such a way that children feel free to be themselves.

The physical environment should be one that is open and stimulating in order to encourage children to participate, explore, and learn. A stimulating environment provides the teacher with many opportunities to observe where a child’s interests lie as well as those areas the child may be tentative in exploring (Danoff, Breitbart & Barr, 1977). The environment should also be flexible and spontaneous to accommodate children’s play which is essential in a preschool classroom. This implies that teachers should allow for adequate space and an array of creative materials. Furniture should be child-sized, durable, comfortable, and organized in such a way that would be easy to rearrange depending on varying classroom needs. Basic classroom furniture includes tables and chairs, shelves, cubbies or similar storage units, sofas, and pillows. These have all been observed in the Spring Brainy Kidz Centre.

The classrooms at Spring Brainy Kidz have wide open spaces with storage shelving set aside against the walls. Child-sized tables and chairs are situated near these shelves which house the toys and educational materials. Such tables and chairs may easily be pushed aside should the class need a bigger space for music and movement activities, active games, etc. All the classrooms are designed this way, flexible enough for whatever activity planned by the teacher or the routines the children go through each day. “Routines are the backbone of classroom life. They facilitate teaching and learning” (Shalaway, 1997, p. 25). It structures the activities and help students know what to expect and how to behave during transitions. Hence, the physical environment should support the routines of each class.

Although it is a good idea to have wide open spaces in the classrooms, the disadvantage may be too much freedom for movement encouraged in the children so they have the tendency to run around. The lack (or absence) of partitions in the wide classrooms opens their perspective to the idea of extending their large motor muscles through running, jumping, skipping, etc. However, they have the outdoor play area for that. Inside the classroom, they can do more activities with their small-motor muscles. Large-muscle activities may be limited to music and movement activities facilitated by the teacher.

The other facilities such as the kitchen, toilets and storage areas are permanently located in convenient spaces and are serving their functions as expected. They are way off the traffic of movement from one classroom to another, although they are still accessible to the children. The reception area is also a convenient and flexible space which may be used in a variety of ways by the teachers, children, parents and visitors.

The National Association for the Education of Yong Children (NAEYC) advocates for the use of learning centers in classrooms. These learning centers may include a dramatic play area, a small library or reading corner (which Spring Brainy Kidz has), a manipulatives area for fine motor activities, a block area, a math and science area, an art area etc. These learning areas are set up in the classroom in such a way that children may go to one learning area after another to work and play with the materials provided in each area. Having learning areas in classrooms provides the following benefits for children:

• Children develop social skills as they interact cooperatively with others, share materials and teach each other.
• Centers encourage communication because children can talk and verbalize freely.
• Children can move and be active, so there will be fewer discipline problems and disruptions.
• Learning centers involve a greater use of the senses.
• Centers encourage children to learn in ways that are natural to them.
• They allow children to work independently, in small groups, or one-on-one with the teacher.
• Centers provide for a wide range of abilities and interests because children can progress at their own rate.
• Creativity, curiosity and experimentation are fostered.
• Centers encourage children to be independent, make decisions and solve problems.
• Learning centers are a better use of children’s time and classroom space and materials.
• Centers offer diversity and flexibility in terms of materials and learning activities.
• With learning centers, children can repeat an activity for pleasure or for reinforcement. (Brewer, 2001; NAEYC, 1997)

Spring Brainy Kidz may be achieving a lot of their goals for the total development of the children under their care, however, installation of learning centers in their classrooms may further improve their program in optimizing children’s learning and the development of their potentials. It is important to remember to use age-appropriate materials in each classroom, with bigger and more of the same items for toddlers and more variety and challenge for older preschoolers. Younger children still learn mostly through their senses, so they have the tendency to put things in their mouths, so larger toys should be available to them to avoid swallowing and choking on smaller pieces. Also, since they are more egocentric, sharing is not yet ingrained in their systems, so more pieces of the same toys should be available to avoid conflicts. Older children need more challenging learning materials to sharpen their growing cognitive and fine motor skills.

The number of children per classroom conforms to the standard adult-child ration proposed by NAEYC, so developmentally-appropriate practices seem to be in place at Spring Brainy Kidz Centre. Having a small class size would make it more efficient for the teacher to implement her curriculum and arrange the physical environment in such a way as to provide for her class’ developmental and individual needs.

The design of the centre revolves around the safety and security of the children. Sturdy furniture and equipment were made with the safety of the children in mind. The windows and doors are conveniently sliding or foldable, but adults need to be extra careful with opening and closing them, as little fingers might be in the way. The openings at the front and back of the school provide easy access in and out of the classrooms, which comes in handy in times of emergencies. Contingency measures such as the traffic flow and emergency procedures are in place for all the adults to refer to.

Spring Brainy Kidz is off to a good start, and has much potential to be the ideal learning place for very young children.

Boulton-Lewis, G., and Catherwood, D., eds. (1995). The early years . London: Pitman Publishing.

Brewer, J. (2001) Introduction to Early Childhood Education. Allyn and Bacon.

Danoff, J., Breitbart, B., and Barr, E. (1977). Open children: for those interested in early childhood education. New York: McGraw Hill Co.

Kepler, L. (1995). Quick-and-easy learning centers : science . New York: Scholastic Inc.

National Association for the Education of Young Children (1997).

Developmentally appropriate practice in early childhood programs serving children from birth through age 8: a position statement of the national association for the education of young children. Washington: National Association for the Education of Young Children.

Shalaway, L. (1997) Learning to Teach…not just for Beginners. Scholastic Professional Books.

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