Classroom decorations
You can colorfully decorate any classroom to encourage a positive atmosphere, even classrooms where an instructor teaches basic lectures or telecommunications.Lighting is very important in the classroom. Blinds should be opened so that students can enjoy the full brightness of the sun. The sunlight wakes students up. Dim lighting can cause students to want to fall asleep.
Marlene,
I agree that lighting is often a missed opportunity. The more lights on the better. I realize sometimes lights have to be off or dimmed for certain presentations, but typically try to have as much as possible as this helps with engagement & alertness.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
I am a firm believer in lighting. Blinds must always be open. The only issue that further needs to be addressed is glare.
I tend to struggle with making classrooms decorative environments because of the teaching schedule at my institution. Classes are for 8 weeks and often times I am moved from room to room and share rooms with other instructors. I have found a great solution to be using white boards to display quotes and student work.
I agree that decorated classrooms stimulate learning. I also agree that lighting needs to be bright. However, how do you do this effectively? How do you not cross the boundary between distracting and stimulate learning?
Panagiotis,
this is a good question. I think part of it is asking your students & overall monitoring the response to the lighting/decorations. I've found the students are pretty good about letting me know.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
I agree, on my next term I'm planing to involve the students in creating a colorful wall with magazine cutouts that reflect what we are studying. Every week we'll add to the wall.
Martha,
this is a great way to tap into the different types of learners as they can engage in a variety of ways with the material.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
Math class....BAH Humbug! That is what most of my students think about one of my courses. I learned a few tips in the course so far to liven up the learner. My campus and administrators are all about enhancing the learning environment. Here is what I have planned for next semester:
- Blue paper for all quizzes, exams.
- Open the blinds at the top for more natural light.
- Alpha wave mood music for the first few minutes of class, Beta wave for the break, and for a strong finish, Beta wave music for the end of class.
- Small plants up front in the classroom, tall plants in the back two corners. (I noticed over the past few years that the know-it-all and don't want to participate students sit in the back two corners...not one of them passed the course).
- one more thing, we have an aromatherapy instructor on campus and I have tapped her knowledge for aroma help.
Whew! I hope this works and the entire campus is talking about it next semester.
Michael ,
I think the great thing here is that you are trying to improve the environment. Not all of these ideas/techniques may work, but you are trying & the students will take notice of your care & concern.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
Most of the time I have the blinds in my classroom open, but many times the students get distracted since it is near an entrance and you can see the parking lot. When I see a lot of distractions I have to close them.
This leads to a dim lighting in the class. How do I deal better with this issue ?
I participated in an experiment at a previous school I taught at. We had two classrooms used for tutoring labs, in one we decorated with various posters pertaining to our subject matter, the other we left plain. After 3 weeks students were only going into the decorated room, plus the number of students going to the tutoring lab increased by about 20%.
Tom,
that is very interesting & thank you for sharing. I think this helps to illustrate the value in making a welcoming environment.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
