Positive learning environment

A positive learning environment is one in which conditions are well-suited for education. The classroom or other setting offers safety, engagement, connectedness, and support, which encourages participation and helps make learning possible. Communities, education leaders, teachers, and families are among those who contribute to creating and maintaining a positive learning environment. Ideas about education have changed over time, as has society. Schools have been challenged to provide a comprehensive education that encourages critical thinking skills and an active grasp of concepts. Social change later in the twentieth and early twenty-first centuries challenged education systems to provide supportive and flexible educational environments.

Background

Historically, early education, particularly elementary education, when available, was based on recitation and memorization. Students were expected to recall the information they were given and learn to read, write, and perform basic math. Classrooms often housed multiple grades and were generally utilitarian, with desks in straight lines and the teacher the sole focus. This began to change with new ideas about education in Europe and eventually in the United States, where traditional one-size-fits-all approaches to teaching started to fall away.

Some psychologists focused on education during the nineteenth century, emphasizing the importance of finding ways to apply psychology to teaching methods. By the mid-twentieth century, the field of educational psychology was being recognized for development of new theories of learning. Child development research gathered a large body of data about child development and learning styles, such as the studies conducted by Swiss psychologist Jean Piaget. Other scholars examined both old and new learning theories.

Philosophies about education continued to evolve, although some educators clung to traditional education methods. Traditionalists continued to advocate for education that they regarded as essential. The teacher was to lead the students to learn the traditional subjects and students’ interests and ambitions were irrelevant. Others called for a humanistic model of education, a return to classical studies such as philosophy. Progressives, meanwhile, sought a student-centered approach to learning, social reconstruction, and scientific-realist education. This approach was directly related to the Progressive movement of social and political reform that began during the late nineteenth century, and arose from experimental schools in the United States. Foremost among these were John Dewey’s Chicago Laboratory School (founded in 1896), Chicago’s Francis W. Parker School (1901), the School of Organic Education in Alabama (1907), and the University of Missouri's experimental elementary school called Mizzou Academy (1904). They all shared a belief in individual worth, believed education should be drawn from within the child, and adopted activity programs. Dewey, for example, saw a classroom as society in miniature, and believed children should learn from school how to live in society. He saw education as a lifelong process.

Although some approaches taken by experimental schools did not gain wide acceptance, their efforts did impact schools across the country. Many ideas, such as flexible classroom space, discovery methods of learning, and development of citizenship, were later adopted by public school systems.

Overview

Research in psychology has resulted in information about how classroom design and learning environments affect students. The results of studies by psychologists in the areas of environment, education, human factors such as memory and reasoning, and social issues have been used to develop better classroom designs and positive learning environments.

According to research on the environmental psychology of teaching and learning, learning takes place in a physical environment that the student experiences. Students feel, listen, and look actively, rather than passively hear, see, and touch; they are choosing from the environmental information that which is important and information they will evaluate later. Students may react emotionally to the physical characteristics of their learning environment; they may experience negative or positive emotional reactions, such as feelings of happiness and expectation that they are in a supportive environment, or feelings of distress or dread, such as when the learning environment is physically or emotionally stifling.

In a very positive learning environment, students will ask more questions than the teacher does, and the questions will be of higher quality. Questions are more important than answers because they prompt the seeking of knowledge. Ideas come from multiple sources, rather than from formal education sources. Multiple learning models can be used, such as direct instruction, peer-to-peer learning, project-based learning, and the flipped classroom. Assessment has a purpose—to learn what the student understands—and is an important tool in helping them improve in the future and provide feedback. Students understand the criteria used to evaluate them, and understand what success means. The learning environment is a place where creativity, curiosity, flexibility, persistence, and revision are among good habits that are modeled consistently. Students have many opportunities to practice what they have learned and demonstrate an understanding of the content. For example, they can look at complex topics from new perspectives and contrast new ideas with previously learned material.

To be successful, a learning environment must provide students with feelings of safety, consistent engagement, connectedness, and support. Engagement, for example, has been found to decline as students progress through the school system, although student-centered approaches such as personalized learning help maintain engagement. An important factor for teachers in developing a positive learning environment is building a relationship with students and a community within the classroom. Starting slowly gives students a chance to learn the teacher’s classroom style, rules, and expectations. Teachers can also find ways to relate to students to help them feel safe, connected, and supported.

Taking the time to "break the ice" at the start of a school year before addressing the curriculum helps to establish a trusting relationship, as does allowing students to have a stake in the classroom and education. Students might be responsible for deciding which projects the class will take on, or how the desks will be arranged.

Fostering a positive learning environment in a virtual classroom can present unique challenges, but research continues to emerge, informing best practices for distance learning. Teachers using distance learning may be inclined to take a more relaxed approach to their day. Still, maintaining professionalism in dress, verbal and written communication, and video interactions is essential for setting the standard for the educational experience and establishing an avenue for respectful and clear communication. However, the level of formality used should depend on the students' ages. Rules and expectations regarding online interactions and communication protocols should be established early in the course. Communication between students and classroom engagement should be encouraged through written or verbal group discussions, breakout sessions, polls, games, and other virtual interactive experiences. Flexibility and accessibility are also important considerations in fostering a positive learning environment in a virtual space.

A positive learning environment faces many challenges. Some of these are directly related to the students, who may have problems at home that affect them in school, or lack motivation because of previous negative educational experiences. Many teachers feel pressure to prepare students for assessment tests and may unwittingly communicate this anxiety in the classroom. Students in a pattern of negative experiences can have trouble controlling emotions and actions, whereas positive experiences in school can help students weather negative experiences in life.

Bibliography

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