Social and Emotional Aspects
Creating an appropriate learning environment also has social and emotional aspects. Scan the information at the following links to discover how learning environments can affect social, emotional, and academic needs in a positive way.
This brief article visits at a third-grade classroom and discusses how its teacher addresses "the emotional experience of learning."
http://www.edutopia.org/blog/classroom-environment-demonstrates-caring-learning-elena-aguilar
Click the following link for 20 tips on creating a safe learning environment, from building community all year long to understanding how art and music "feed the soul."
http://www.edutopia.org/blog/20-tips-create-safe-learning-environment-rebecca-alber
Classroom and School Makeovers
The prospect of a classroom (or school) makeover puts elements of appropriate learning environments in the spotlight. Scan the following links to see what individual teachers and schools focused on to create their own appropriate learning environments.
In the video at the following link, kindergarten teacher Jessica Smith walks viewers through her classroom after a makeover by education design consultant Debbie Diller, author of Spaces and Places. Smith relates how a room in "shambles" became an organized, student-centered space.
This three-part video series at the link below shows the problems in one middle school teacher's classroom (too many students in too small a space; inefficient layout hindering collaboration and leading to classroom management issues and "traffic jams"), the redesign process and transformation, and the solution: "a space that fosters collaboration, creativity, and active student learning." While not all schools are lucky enough to get a redesign by experts, the series provides an exceptionally clear picture of the collaborative thinking and steps that go into a successful classroom makeover.
http://www.edutopia.org/remake-your-class-collaborative-learning-video
In the link below, design consultant Melanie Kahl of TheThirdTeacher+ offers six steps for getting started with a classroom remake.
http://www.edutopia.org/blog/steps-to-redesign-your-classroom-melanie-kahl
