Have you ever had to sit in a classroom, unable to focus because of the lighting or the distracting writing on the whiteboard? Or have you found yourself confused and looked around for help, only to find a lack of helpful posters?
Based on a study by Edutopia, classroom climate can dictate a student’s ability to learn and also affect how a teacher engages with the class. Even the lights in the room can affect a student’s learning environment and ability. Based on another study by Newcastle University that was conducted in classroom settings, it has been proven that people are more likely to be less tired and more focused when exposed to blue and fully exposed LED lights. Although Blue light is safe for your eyes when used responsibly and is proven to make you more alert, constant blue light exposure can cause damage over time to the eyes. Studies also proved that the classroom environment influences 10 – 15% of academic outcomes.
Freshman Peyton Vece is in four honors classes and is a journalist for the Pawprint. Peyton thinks that “decorated classrooms are better because they create a more engaging and comfortable environment while working in the classroom. What class I find to have a good climate is Mrs. Martino’s classroom because of the use of useful posters relating to the class on the walls, and overall decor.”
Teachers, along with students, have an opinion on classroom climate. Mr. Litvinoff, a freshman and junior English teacher, has string lights in his room along the back whiteboard and changes his seating arrangements very often. He also has many posters to help students get ideas on how to start essays.
Litvinoff reflected, “When my room has had meaningful things on the walls, it has been better for students’ learning. Anything that gives visual learners a chance to see what we’ve been doing, that makes learning better.”
Mr. Litvinoff has a seating arrangement that tends to change often depending on the assignments he has planned. He always tries to have the seats in some type of collaborative arrangement, whether that is groups of tables together or tables facing each other. The reasoning for this is that he tends to do collaborative projects/assignments. A student’s environment significantly impacts the way they learn, where they sit, and how the classroom seats are arranged greatly impact the students’ learning. Mr. Litvinoff does a great job of constantly changing seats to make sure his students are where they need to be for that specific assignment, or even changing seats just for better learning experiences for his students.
Mrs. Riverdenera is a Spanish teacher here at Morgan. Mrs. Riverdenera’s room is surrounded by decorations, especially posters to help students remember past simple vocabulary or even Spanish conjugations. These posters tend to help students recall past information they have learned. Although too much decoration can end up being a distraction for students, Mrs. Riverdenera has a room that is filled with decor, it is all very useful decor, and well organized, helping students when confused or stuck on a question. They can simply look around the room and find a poster with information to help them.
¨When I first started building my classroom, I focused on a lot of color. My room is very colorful because I think it helps kids. Also, at home, many kids have lots of posters, so I like to incorporate that.¨ said Mrs. Riverdenera.
