classroom environmet
It is vital to have a comfortable furniture and decoration of the classroom for the students. I can call a few things which can enhance the student's participation and attention. A seat that is comfortable with plenty of room and space, may seem unimportant. But an uncomfortable place distracts the stuedt, causes early fatigue, and depletion of energy.
Peggy,
Unacceptable. To bad you had this experience but the value of it is that you are going to make sure it doesn't happen to your students.
Gary
Dr. Gary Meers
I once was in a school where we couldn't hear the lectures nor see the blackboard. It was a bad experience for everyone that progressively only got worse. I will never forget this schooling; although the faculty was affected, the students were the main people affected. The poor classroom facilities affected one's attitude towards the faculty as well as the academic institution.
Peter,
As you know little things can become big things very quickly so a comfortable environment to teach and learn in is very important. Try to see your setting through the eyes of your students and you will be able to make the needed adjustments to get your students settled into the class.
Gary
Dr. Gary Meers
It is important to have a comfortable environment, not only factoring in the number of students, but also the time spent in the class. To teach three to four hour classes, an inviting, comfortable learning environment is absolutely necessary. Although, not too comfortable, I am not advocating for recliners, that would be problematic.
Kimberly,
Have taught in such situations and it is unfair to the students as well as the instructor. You do the best you can but it is a long way from being a supportive environment for sure.
Gary
Dr. Gary Meers
I agree with that. I think that the classrooms need to be looked at carefully as well. If there are too many students in the classroom, it makes for uncomfortable learning environment. I had several classes where I had around 30 students. I had to pull in extra chairs to accomodate the students assigned to my class. Test days were awful as well. How do you spread out the students when there is no where to spread them to?
I try to make sure students have enough room to work and have a structured but relaxed atmosphere.
I think having 'elbow room' is very important to the students. If they feel crowded they don't concentrate as well and it has a tendency to encoourage chit-chat and even cheating on a test. I was fortunate enough to have an empty classroom next door that was only separated by a moveable wall so, especially on testing days, my cvery large class could spread out. This eliminated cheating and seemed to allow for relaxation, better thinking and resulted in improved test scores!
William,
I am sure there is but I have never seen one or used one. When I have large enrollments I move to another room or break the class into smaller sections and bring on some additional instructors. A classroom needs to be of the size that students feel they have sufficient personal space to be comfortable.
Gary
I never realized how important the class room was until I heard someone speak about it. Our class rooms have comfortable chairs with wheels and tables for the students to spread out. I personally like being able to spread my stuff out to learn. They don't feel crampped then. However our class rooms are boring. There is nothing posted on the walls and looks very blan. Need to work on that.
Is there a formula, that resolves the issue, on how much space is required for the number of students in the classroom?
It is important to have a comfortable setting for the students to enter and feel relaxed during the learning process.
