The classroom learning environment is the student’s first experience of school when they walk into the rooms at the beginning of the school year. Athletes Become Students of the Sport. Learning habits are constantly modeled. This is a tricky balance that middle and high school teachers work with every day. Books for students to read after finishing work, pencils, pens, computers are just to name a And when these sources disagree with one another, use that as an endlessly ‘teachable moment,’ because that’s what the real world is like. Rather than rows of computers facing a wall, schools can use cheap piping to conceal wires and face computers in different configurations. The more infrequent, clinical, murky, or threatening it is, the more you’re going to separate the ‘good students’ from the ‘good thinkers.’ And the ‘clinical’ idea has less to do with the format of the test, and more to do with the tone and emotion of the classroom in general. They can act as a kind of criteria to measure your own against–see if you notice a pattern. Laptops and other mobile devices have great potential to enhance and transform instruction and are being used effectively in many college classrooms.5 Today's students use their devices in class to take notes, access materials and applications, and find relevant information. 10 Characteristics Of A Highly Effective Learning Environment. Office Phone 503-399-5548. I especially think Morning Meetings are important and set the tone for the day ahead. Huge shift in credibility. Was it colorful posters, clear and consistent rules, and fun and interesting teaching methods? One way is creating different areas of the classroom for the students. And that means adding currency whenever possible—grades (questions as assessment! Your first step should be to ask them what you could be doing to help them: 1. 0 0 1 I love this ! Let’s open these doors and discover how to create an optimal learning environment. Num… Outside, children and youth can release energy, use loud voices, play vigorously, and engage in messy projects. Appreciation is the … The reality is, there is no single answer because teaching and learning are awkward to consider as single events or individual ‘things.’ This is all a bunch of rhetoric until we put on our white coats and study it under a microscope, at which point abstractions like curiosity, authenticity, self-knowledge, and affection will be hard to pin down. [or] a development of learning abilities and strategies” (p. 13). Students need to be excited and stimulated for successful learning. Many teachers force students to ask questions at the outset of units or lessons, often to no avail. Optimal Learning Environments are based on the belief that every student can achieve high expectations. Great ideas. Each problem, and each algorithm, is coded in its own .m file, making it easy for users to add new problems, and new algorithms. There are many components that go into making a positive learning environment for students. Required fields are marked *. When instructing, being expressive and infusing sincere emotion into your voice, promotes student enthusiasm and passion. I ask the students to repeat the answer to my question twice so that everyone has the chance to answer with a correct answer. When all students in a classroom can access networked tools simultaneously, many collaborative learning and just-in-time teaching opportunities emerge. 7905 June Reid Place ♦ Salem, OR 97303. Better physical health 2. Classroom learning ’empties’ into a connected community. In a highly-effective learning environment, learning doesn’t need to be radically repackaged to make sense in the ‘real world,’ but starts and ends there. • A learning environment that models optimal practice and lifelong learning a Adapted with permission from Hawkins et al. I also like the doors that are based on student input, choices, and decisions. The Classroom Structure in the lesson For starters, a classroom must have the resources needed for students to succeed! As any trainer or facilitator knows, there’s a surprising amount of thought that goes in to the room set up of any workshop. A supportive environment facilitates and enhances the social, academic, physical and emotional development of students. After teaching for thirty years, I would define optimal learning as the aquiring of skills and or knowledge in an environment that supports the student's needs as completely as possible. There is of course no single optimum learning environment. 5. Positive, productive learning environments are key to students' academic, emotional and social success in school. Assessment is just an (often ham-fisted) attempt to get at what a learner understands. Cliché questions that reflect little understanding of the content can discourage teachers from ‘allowing’ them. I don’t think I’ve made a decision by myself for our classroom since October. This computes to about 30 percent of students’ waking time spent under the roof of our schools and behind the doors of our classrooms. I think with the older grades creating safe learning environments is critical to engaging our teenagers. As great as it sounds for learners to reflect on Shakespeare to better understand their Uncle Eddie—and they might—depending on that kind of radical transfer to happen entirely in the minds of the learners by design may not be the best idea. I think this is something that really helps build a strong classroom community. Invest in education and training. The first of these is purely cognitive, but can be thought of as “internal processes of the mind. There are many benefits to children and youth playing outside. I connected with #5 and love the importance of giving choice to students! Design bulletin boards … Spend time with students individually every day. . When your athletes feel … In 2015, we introduced MOLTE, Modular Optimal Learning Testing Environment, which is a Matlab-based environment for testing a wide range of learning algorithms for problems with discrete alternatives, on a wide range of problems. Are they disengaged from one particular topic? Research has helped us identify many other benefits to playing outdoors (Children and Nature Network, 2012), such as: 1. This five part series on “Optimal Learning Environment”, begins with these five classroom doors. An effective environment will also be responsive, containing features that involve all five senses and provoke thinking, open-ended outcomes, and creativity. Chances are, none are incredible enough to suit every bit of content, curriculum, and learner diversity in your classroom. Instruction is strengths-based, culturally responsive, and personalized to ensure students meet the demands of grade-appropriate standards. Personalized learning is likely the future, but for now, the onus for routing students is almost entirely on the shoulders of the classroom teacher. Questions are more important than answers. 8. It can be represented in a variety of ways. The students ask the questions—good questions. I really like the idea of having the door reflect that mindset. Creating that sense of belonging and unique bond reminds me of strong classroom cultures that develop mission statements and truly strong inclusive cultures. The brain is a physiological organ which is specialized for making sense, making meaning or 'learning'. Each factor is, in itself, a broad set of issues. Starting with that central idea of high expectations and capability of all students is key. Wherever we are, we’d all like to think our classrooms are ‘intellectually active’ places. Highly-effective and conducive to student-centered learning. This means that every square foot of it needs to be used for activities that support learning. Learning is a survival-oriented and therefore a natural function of the brain. Inquiry-based learning, project-based learning, direct instruction, peer-to-peer learning, school-to-school, eLearning, Mobile learning, the flipped classroom, and on and on—the possibilities are endless. There are constant opportunities for practice. This is a great resource, these five ways are action steps to creating an optimal environment for our students. The second door for me speaks to student ownership and acquiring of knowledge by hooking them through curiosity and wonder. Optimal Learning The good news is that students can get better and better provided that we design instruction to improve their skills-and we can do so right from the start, in kindergarten and first grade.” (Joyce B., Weil M., & Calhoun E. (2009) Models of teaching and learning, Pearson, 13) In a societal sense, learning environment may refer to the culture of the population it serves and of their location. An effective learning environment encourages learning through play with a rich set of materials and learning opportunities. Relate to the interests of your students and the trends of their generation. I have adapted my learning to the times. Understanding what motivates people to put forth effort, persevere in the face of obstacles, and choose their behaviors is key to creating an optimal learning environment—the type of school that policy makers desire, but are unknowingly sabotaging (Dweck, 2000). Assessment is persistent, authentic, transparent, and never punitive. 9. If so, you were lucky to have a teacher who paid close attention to the learning environment, or the Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. An alternative? Music plays an important role in creating a stimulating learning environment and increasing learner engagement in a training session. Cognitive, meta-cognitive, and behavioral ‘good stuff’ is constantly modeled. Unfortuntely, positive learning environments don't just happen on their own–they must be created. Classroom environment is one of the most important factors affecting student learning. Learning our letter sounds is more of a hip rap. Reinforcement learning (RL) is an area of machine learning concerned with how software agents ought to take actions in an environment in order to maximize the notion of cumulative reward. It’s crucial to make personal connections with your … I look forward to reading the next blog posts in the series. They will feel a sense of accomplishment and pride when they see their work every day as they walk into class. Open the doors to learning with a school and classroom environment that reflect inclusion and relevance. If they all come from narrow slivers of resources, you’re at risk of being pulled way off in one direction (that may or may not be good). Office Fax 503-399-3469. https://www.imagineschools.org/our-resources/, Celebrating Imagine Schools 2020 Promising Practices, Imagine Schools Wins National Award for Character Education, Imagine Scholars Emphasize Resilience in 2020 National Character Essay Contest, Imagine Schools COVID-19 (Coronavirus) News. 10. So often what students learn from those around them is less directly didactic, and more indirect and observational. A characteristic of a highly-effective classroom, then, is diversity here, which also has the side-effect of improving your long-term capacity as an educator. Doors four and five speak to knowing our students and connecting with them on deeper levels as well as empowering them (shared values). Varying the tone, volume, expression and inflection in your voice when introducing new concepts can spark student interest and curiosity. Complex ideas are re-approached from new angles. Thank you again. Learning environments vary from classroom to classroom and context to context. It has to leave the classroom because they do. Understanding each of the factors contributing to the classroom environment is crucial to the success of any initiative. Almost all of us have spent a great deal of time in the classroom, beginning in kindergarten and extending for years beyond. “Change your mindset from my class to our class, to give your students a sense of ownership.” This is so powerful. Optimal Learning Environments to Promote Student Engagement analyzes the psychological, social, and academic phenomena comprising engagement, framing it as critical to learning and development. 5 Abbreviation: IP-CLE, interprofessional clinical learning environment. But the fact remains—if students can’t ask great questions—even as young as elementary school—something, somewhere is unplugged. Optimal learning criteria can be defined by the following key categories: 2. Crazy about the doors! Why are students being tested? The learning environment theoriesfocus on different constructs within the educational system that include the student, society, and the content being taught. Design for different learning needs. I love this! Check out this great TED Talk… https://www.imagineschools.org/our-resources/. In your quest to foster safe learning environments, your biggest ally along the way will be your learners themselves. Your classroom arrangement is the physical foundation of where your students will learn. Then, as you adjust pace, entry points, and rigor accordingly, you’ll have a better chance of having uncovered what the learners truly ‘need.’, 7. Divergent concepts are contrasted. And feedback is quick even when the ‘grading’ may not be. Are your students feeling uneasy about the environment that you've already created? I love the idea of shared decision making and changing the mindset from “my class” to “our class”. Learning is personalized by a variety of criteria. Your goal is to create an optimal learning experience. Your email address will not be published. Inspire November 23, 2016 INSPIRE 11 Comments. 1. I especially like the ending where it talks about the importance of a morning meeting. I speak to students all the time about how their classmates are like family and that they need to treat each other as such. Progressive learning (like our 21st Century Model, for example) environments. Are you moving from one lesson to another too quickly? My students enjoy, as do other staff in the building, my library/reading area. . I thought that the doors were impressive and had valued meaning to the classroom. Old errors are reflected on. See if you don’t notice a change. I wanted to see what was behind the door and what activities could be found. Do they like to work by themselves or are they more comfortable breaking down into teams? These theories flow from the psychological theories of learning, which include cognitive theories, social cognitive theories, and instructional system design theories (Bertrand, 2003). A supportive environment strives to be one in which: students are treated with respect and fairness by teachers, other staff and other students members of the school community feel valued There is an infinite number of possible learning environments, which is what makes teaching so interesting. A supportive learning environment can mean the difference between having a good day and a bad day. Since learners must do the learning, the aim is to create a total environment for learning that optimises the ability of students to learn. On each of about 180 days, for around 13 years, our students spend around six hours in school, ten hours at home and in their communities, and about eight hours asleep. I want to do door #2 right now. They show five ways to create an optimal learning environment. Push the comfort zone. So we put together one take on the characteristics of a highly effective classroom. I like the idea of making the classroom “our” classroom instead of “mine.” That might be a hard transition for me. Curiosity, persistence, flexibility, priority, creativity, collaboration, revision, and even the classic Habits of Mind are all great places to start. Ideas for lessons, reading, tests, and projects—the fiber of formal learning—should come from a variety of sources. How to use optimal in a sentence. Optimal definition is - most desirable or satisfactory : optimum. Utilizing volume-control when instructing is also a powerful and effective t… Learning habits are constantly modeled Cognitive, meta-cognitive, and behavioral ‘good stuff’ is constantly modeled. An optimal classroom environment has a classroom climate full of energy, participation, movement, spirit, respect, learning, sharing, reflecting and big goals for everyone individually and collectively. For professional development around this idea or others you read about on TeachThought, contact us. A blank door does not invoke excitement or learning. I have always been a big believer in making a place where we spend so much of our time as cozy and inviting as possible. The role of curiosity has been studied (and perhaps under-studied and under-appreciated), but suffice to say that if a learner enters any learning activity with little to no natural curiosity, prospects for meaningful interaction with texts, media, and specific tasks are bleak.