In looking at many of these responses, almost all that I've read seem to be about the physical or technological environment. But the single most important component of the classroom environment is mostly conspicuous by its absence. The most important aspect of any learning environment are the students themselves. Never, ever forget that otherwise intelligent & resourceful minds can be easily shut down by the social atmosphere & you might not even be aware of it. Many students are eager to learn & to ask questions, but are so afraid of how they appear to their classmates that they'll never raise an issue. Sometimes one narcissistic student can completely sabotage a session with an attitude that you weren't prepared to deal with. Here's an idea to try opening the floor for questions. Find a couple students in each class who are out-going. They don't have to be especially smart or natural leaders. In fact, this may often work better if they're not especially gifted. Give each one or two questions to ask during the lecture (or their own should they have any), just to get the proverbial "ball rolling." The reason it's good if they're not always gifted is that one needs to see that any student can ask a question. Of course, make sure that you have an answer prepared for any question that you've planted, or at the least, one that you can easily field. Handling a hostile or self-centered alpha-male (or -female) on the fly is not something that I'm really good at. (If it's not too egregious, I like to wait until I can get him or her in private.) So, I'm going to try carrying a set of yellow & red penalty cards (like in soccer) next term, just in case. Any other ideas about solving this problem? Any other problems in the classroom social setting that you've encountered?