Hello, everyone!
I agree that learning environments should be supportive, comfortable and relaxing to students. In online learning, in which I teach exclusively, students are in the course at home. Although they are at home, in a hopefully safe & relaxed environment, the course they access online still needs to promote their learning!
Forums, lessons, and general layout of the course all needs to give the student a positive feeling. Keep forum discussions in check - are students being appropriate & staying on task? Lessons need to be easy to follow, yet challenge students to learn. The entire course should be designed for easy flow. Finally, you need to make it clear that students are allowed to contact you IF they are having trouble.
Any thoughts from other online teachers out there? I'm open to what you'd add and/or comments you have!
Melonie
A well-designed learning environment plays a critical role in the instructional process. According to Everston (http://education.stateuniversity.com/pages/1834/Classroom-Management.html), "teachers empowered with an understanding of the complexity and multidimensionality of classroom management make a difference in the lives of their students." Clearly, a learning environment which is flexible can reduce time and allow for greater learning to occur, as instructors can modify the learning environment to suit the needs of the learners. However, not every institution has this luxury, and hence requires instructors to adapt themselves and students to the learning environment by infusing use of instructional technologies and other pedagogical techniques.
A. Andaz Ahmad
Hi Sarah,
Good strategy. The moves helps the students to refocus their brains as well as their bodies in relation to the class. Associative learning is a key to content retention and you are setting up your students for this to happen.
Gary
I like to encourage the students to sit in different places throughout the class. Too often they will forget when/where they learned the information if they spend 2 years in the same seat, next to the same person. They are better able to recall when/where they learned about an item if they are up and moving and interacting.
Hi Wendy,
You are correct about the need for a productive learning environment. As instructors we need to look around and decide if we were students would this be a place we would want to come to learn. After we have answered this question we can make any adjustments that need to be made to create the environment that we want.
Gary
Hi Lolita,
By personalizing your classroom you are creating an identity for your students when they enter it. The identity is that you and your class. I like this approach because I want my students to feel a connection between the physical aspects of the class and cognitive aspects of the course.
Gary
Establishing a productive learning environment is essential. The learning environment should be comfortable in a variety of aspects ... temperature, seating arrangements and seats/desks. Each of these elements can cause distractions while in the classroom. It is important to eliminate as many distractions as possible.
The environment plays a large role in learning. Temperature, chair comfort, lighting, etc. all play a basic role in learning. If students are not comfortable, it becomes difficult for them to learn.
Pat,
Sounds like you have discovered some interesting ways to get the students engaged in the class. Good for you!
The learning environment is vital to create an atmosphere of respect, openness and inquiry. It is necessary to modify the learning environment to maximize the benefits of the activity at hand. Desk and chair arrangment, lighting, etc. seem small details but they all add up to a positive experience for the student.
Having additional tools and resources available is important to keep student's attention, however, I think sometimes too many can become distracting. Likewise, it is a fine line between keeping the classroom environment open and fun but maintaining professionalism and order.
While I agree with many of the posts that face-to-face interaction is good, I hesitate to change the room around.
What I do, instead, is use the first two class periods as introductory times so that students can decide if who they are sitting next to will be the most interesting person. I pair up students to "interview" each other then present the bios in front of the class. Also, I use the "Three Truths and a Lie" where students write out three things about themselves that are true and one that is a lie. The class gets to vote then on which one is the lie.
Also, when I find an overly quiet class of students (usually the ones in their first couple of quarters), I bring a small NERF ball to class and they toss it to each other and the person holding the ball has to speak. It can work for introductions, but I've also used it when the class seems to be drifting off.
I like to personalize the classroom to include a lot of instruction materials posted on the walls so students see some of the basic concepts every time they enter the classroom. I've also had success with a bulletin board for students to post family pictures to remind themselves of why they are back in school to earn a degree.
I have often found that the learning environment has some of its greatest impact on the first day of class. If students feel comfortable and capable when they walk in the first day, many anxieties are alieviated.
The learning environment must be comfortable and safe in order for the students to be ready to learn and recieve information from you. The learning environment can be maximized by ensuring all materials needed for the lecture are present and ready, by engaging the students in group exercises, by answering students' questons and concerns, and by allowing the students to see that you are present for them.
Hi Tasha,
Good plan for developing the FAQ format. Another tool that is available to students which will reinforce the fact that you are there to support their learning.
Gary
Hi Tammy,
Sometimes this is very hard for students to do but it is necessary if they are going to be successful in the class. If nothing else the class gives them a bit of respite from their troubles and they can concentrate on being successful.
Gary
The learning environment should be comfortable and conducive to learning. All course materials should be ready to be presented.
If we go strictly by the content in this learning module the learning environment should be a comfortable and supportive learning site that will enable students to focus better on the content of the course.
However, I teach on-line courses so my Learning Environment is a bit less tactile but still needs to meet the requirements of being comfortable and supportive. Comfort does not come in the form of temperature or chair type/arangement; It comes in the form of establishing a friendly and supportive tone to the course in my Instructor Profile, Discussion Postings, Grading comments and e-mail/IM interaction.
It is very important to put the students at ease with the overall course interaction to allow them to focus on completing the course assignments and tests without feeling intimidated to reach out for help and support throughout the process.
What role does the learning environment play in the instructional process? What are some ways a learning environment can be adapted to maximize the instructional process?
The environment in which is student is learning can set the tone for how the student learns whether it be in a lecture room, laboratory or online it must be a favorable environment with the materials needed to meet the goals and objectives of the course.
I like to take feedback and suggestions from students and adapt the learning environment based on that. In an online environment if I get several questions about the same topic I will usually add something to cover that material in the next course offering. right now I am looking at adding FAQ to my online course as a place students can go to get immediate answers to those questions that are asked often.
