Hi Tiffany, Thanks for your post to the forum. Good ideas for creating a comfortable and welcoming learning environment! Best wishes for continued success in your teaching career.
Susan Polick
If the student learns through a tell-show-do atmospehere and the physcial setting limits that it can stiffle their learning experience.
It's important for the physical setting to have a postive, and energize vibe once the students arrive. Maybe within the first 5 - 10 minutes of class have an open discussion towards what was learned from the previous class session in where one can identify how to incorporate what was learn in their daily living, or work enviorment. A lot of times just having the postive air can cause a great stir to get students motivated. Sometimes the physical setting of the class room can become very dull so envolving everyone to moving their seating into some sort of circle group could help.
Hi Janice, Thanks for your post to the forum. Congratulations on great classroom management! Best wishes for continued success in your teaching career.
Susan Polick
Because I teach content-heavy courses, I need a comfortable learning environment for my students. I do not assign seats, they are free to sit where they like. I encourage all to participate and try to keep the power point sessions to 20-30 minute blocks. Having breaks on the hour .
Hi Ticha, Thanks for your post to the forum. Yes, it is so essential to have room temperatures at least be acceptable. I recall roasting in a classroom for 6 wks. one summer. Awful! Best wishes for continued success in your teaching career.
Susan Polick
I'm glad you mentioned the room temperature. Our Lab/Lecture rooms can get very cold and it takes time to adjust to a more comfortable temperature. If it affects me (and I am moving around) I know it affects the students. I always try to get to class early so I can adjust the temperature if needed. I teach Culinary Arts, so we do a pretty good combination of teaching styles just by the nature of the class.
Hi Jessica, Thanks for your post to the forum. When students understand that we recognize how they learn best, it does contribute to a caring atmosphere! Best wishes for continued success in your teaching career.
Susan Polick
For students who enjoy group work, the classroom can be a very friendly place. But for the student who prefers flying solo, the full classroom can be a very distracting place. This is why it is vitally important to recognize the learning styles of our students so that we can be sure to vary our assignments in a way that is complementary to their differing learning styles. Our awareness as instructors is the first step in providing an atmosphere that is more hospitable to all learning styles.
Hi Terie, Thanks for your post to the forum. As a former evening student I still recall those long classes after a day at work. You are certainly an empathetic instructor! Best wishes for continued success in your teaching career.
Susan Polick
I teach Speech and English. While my English classes are generally set up for lecture and comfortable writing, I have to be more attuned to the comfort of my Speech students. Their nerves are already on edge when it's time to give a speech, so allowing them time to stand up, stretch, breathe deeply, and even meditate on those days is helpful for those with high anxiety. Also, the room temperature and lighting must be moderate. I always allow food and drinks, because our classes are 4.5 hours long and I can't risk low blood sugar or sleeping through my lectures and/or speeches!
it draws out there inner most ability to be creative, and can make motivation possible.
If an environment has many distractions either visual or audio it can be difficult for all students to learn or process information.
If a classroom affords the ability to move around a bit it can help with certain learning styles.
Hi Angela, Thanks for your post to the forum. Being able to set up classrooms as you suggest, is excellent! Best wishes for continued success in your teaching career.
Susan Polick
I think a physical set up of a classroom can have a great effect on learning styles. If you have many students who learn well thru class discussion and debate it would be great tomhave the physical set up chairs in a circle, or desks in a cirlce to encourage discussion. If lecture is the preferred style of many of your students you want to take advantage of being in front of the class. Ifmusing power points with lots of visualsmor facilitating hands on demonstrations you wanr a physical layout that takes advantage of those situations. The students will get more out of it if the physical layout and the delivery dtyle work well together.
Hi Sandra, Thanks for your post to the forum. You are certainly running an active learning classroom! Best wishes for continued success in your teaching career.
Susan Polick
I agree with your comments. I teach Math and Accounting and I find that even the shape of tables impacts the learning. In square tables they always face the front of the class and tend to do little interaction with each other. In round tables they face each other and therefore, interact.
I prefer round tables because I sit 4 to 5 students around a table facing each other to encourage "group" learning. This enhances their learning because they learn from me, and from each other. I love to watch them become "teams" and help each other. And, by the end of the term they are actually laughing and having fun.
I ask them to read before the class. Then in class, I lecture, demonstrate the problems and then let them work in groups. This approach hits all the learning styles.
Hi Thomas, That's a great observation! Thanks for sharing and best wishes for continued success in your teaching career.
Susan Polick
In Culinary school we switch every other day between a class room setting and a kitchen setting. I find that when I need to have a heart to heart with the students that it's much easier to do so in the kitchen. The classroom setting makese it seem like I'm just lecturing where as in the kitchen it comes across as the Chef has something important to say. It's interesting for sure.
Hi Christopher, Thanks for your post to the forum. You put it very well! So many teachers are now using multiple delivery styles and achieving great results. Best wishes for continued success in your teaching career.
Susan Polick
