The optimal learning environment takes this experience into account. My students enjoy, as do other staff in the building, my library/reading area. Appreciation is the … A supportive environment facilitates and enhances the social, academic, physical and emotional development of students. Learning Environment Learning environment refers to the diverse physical locations, contexts, and cultures in which students learn. Learning habits are constantly modeled Cognitive, meta-cognitive, and behavioral ‘good stuff’ is constantly modeled. There are some really good points about using the classroom door as the initial space of sense and wonder as the kids come in every day. Chances are, none are incredible enough to suit every bit of content, curriculum, and learner diversity in your classroom. I have always been a big believer in making a place where we spend so much of our time as cozy and inviting as possible. When instructing, being expressive and infusing sincere emotion into your voice, promotes student enthusiasm and passion. Curiosity, persistence, flexibility, priority, creativity, collaboration, revision, and even the classic Habits of Mind are all great places to start. Old thinking is revisited. In a highly-effective learning environment, learning doesn’t need to be radically repackaged to make sense in the ‘real world,’ but starts and ends there. Push the comfort zone. Optimal definition is - most desirable or satisfactory : optimum. I wanted to see what was behind the door and what activities could be found. It’s crucial to make personal connections with your … Invest in education and training. The first of these is purely cognitive, but can be thought of as “internal processes of the mind. I really like the idea of having the door reflect that mindset. Learning environments can be student- … In a societal sense, learning environment may refer to the culture of the population it serves and of their location. Old errors are reflected on. So often what students learn from those around them is less directly didactic, and more indirect and observational. In 2015, we introduced MOLTE, Modular Optimal Learning Testing Environment, which is a Matlab-based environment for testing a wide range of learning algorithms for problems with discrete alternatives, on a wide range of problems. One response is to personalize learning—to whatever extent you plan for—by a variety of criteria—not just assessment results or reading level, but interest, readiness-for-content, and others as well. Was it colorful posters, clear and consistent rules, and fun and interesting teaching methods? Students can move quickly through the space and easily access resources needed for various learning purposes. When all students in a classroom can access networked tools simultaneously, many collaborative learning and just-in-time teaching opportunities emerge. Criteria for success is balanced and transparent. The brain is a physiological organ which is specialized for making sense, making meaning or 'learning'. If they all come from narrow slivers of resources, you’re at risk of being pulled way off in one direction (that may or may not be good). Former teacher and now educational leader, Eric Jensen says, “A teacher’s climate must be rich in affirmation, rich in relevancy, rich in engagement and rich in relationships”. This computes to about 30 percent of students’ waking time spent under the roof of our schools and behind the doors of our classrooms. Curiosity, persistence, flexibility, priority, creativity, collaboration, revision, and even the classic Habits of Mind are all great places to start. Optimal Learning Environments are based on the belief that every student can achieve high expectations. I have adapted my learning to the times. Learning our letter sounds is more of a hip rap. Optimal learning criteria can be defined by the following key categories: Learning habits are constantly modeled. 9. 1. Crazy about the doors! Progressive learning (like our 21st Century Model, for example) environments. Assessment is just an (often ham-fisted) attempt to get at what a learner understands. The role of curiosity has been studied (and perhaps under-studied and under-appreciated), but suffice to say that if a learner enters any learning activity with little to no natural curiosity, prospects for meaningful interaction with texts, media, and specific tasks are bleak. Inspire November 23, 2016 INSPIRE 11 Comments. No question is too small t… What’s in it for them, and their future opportunities to improve? Positive, productive learning environments are key to students' academic, emotional and social success in school. So we put together one take on the characteristics of a highly effective classroom. When encouraging and praising students, genuine expression within the delivery is important. Rather than rows of computers facing a wall, schools can use cheap piping to conceal wires and face computers in different configurations. There are many benefits to children and youth playing outside. How to use optimal in a sentence. Great ideas. But the fact remains—if students can’t ask great questions—even as young as elementary school—something, somewhere is unplugged. Research has helped us identify many other benefits to playing outdoors (Children and Nature Network, 2012), such as: 1. These five classroom doors give insight to each teacher’s vision while concurrently focusing on the students. This definition recognises that students learn in many different ways in very different contexts. And that means adding currency whenever possible—grades (questions as assessment! It can be represented in a variety of ways. They can act as a kind of criteria to measure your own against–see if you notice a pattern. 6. Students should not have to guess what ‘success’ in a highly-effective classroom looks like. The second door for me speaks to student ownership and acquiring of knowledge by hooking them through curiosity and wonder. I want to do door #2 right now. Utilizing volume-control when instructing is also a powerful and effective t… 5. In addition, children can experience the plants and animals in their local ecosystem (Greenman, 2007). Do they like to work by themselves or are they more comfortable breaking down into teams? OPTIMUM LEARNING ENVIRONMENT. A de-cluttered learning environment is free from distractions and allows the focus to be on learning. As any trainer or facilitator knows, there’s a surprising amount of thought that goes in to the room set up of any workshop. They show five ways to create an optimal learning environment. Instruction is strengths-based, culturally responsive, and personalized to ensure students meet the demands of grade-appropriate standards. Design for different learning needs. I also love the idea of making it a community. 5 Abbreviation: IP-CLE, interprofessional clinical learning environment. This means that every square foot of it needs to be used for activities that support learning. Definition of the Environment To understand play, we first must understand the importance of the environment in the eyes of children and adults. Your goal is to create an optimal learning experience. Are they disengaged from one particular topic? I look forward to reading the next blog posts in the series. Required fields are marked *. A blank door does not invoke excitement or learning. These theories flow from the psychological theories of learning, which include cognitive theories, social cognitive theories, and instructional system design theories (Bertrand, 2003). Consider sources like professional and cultural mentors, the community, content experts outside of education, and even the students themselves. Each problem, and each algorithm, is coded in its own .m file, making it easy for users to add new problems, and new algorithms. Cognitive theori… Ideas for lessons, reading, tests, and projects—the fiber of formal learning—should come from a variety of sources. . And when these sources disagree with one another, use that as an endlessly ‘teachable moment,’ because that’s what the real world is like. When the instruction is geared in the kiddos favor it makes the day that more enjoyable and understandable. Why are students being tested? 10 Characteristics Of A Highly Effective Learning Environment. Optimal Learning Environments to Promote Student Engagement analyzes the psychological, social, and academic phenomena comprising engagement, framing it as critical to learning and development. (Interested in how to kill learner curiosity in 12 easy steps?). Assessment is persistent, authentic, transparent, and never punitive. In your quest to foster safe learning environments, your biggest ally along the way will be your learners themselves. Questions are more important than answers. Highly-effective and conducive to student-centered learning. In total, they contain the formula for a healthy, productive environment. Huge shift in credibility. By “safe” I don’t simply mean physical safety, but I am really referring to creating a safe environment so that this age group does not feel judged or a risk of failure. Office Fax 503-399-3469. Learning is personalized by a variety of criteria. https://www.imagineschools.org/our-resources/, Celebrating Imagine Schools 2020 Promising Practices, Imagine Schools Wins National Award for Character Education, Imagine Scholars Emphasize Resilience in 2020 National Character Essay Contest, Imagine Schools COVID-19 (Coronavirus) News. This five part series on “Optimal Learning Environment”, begins with these five classroom doors. I especially think Morning Meetings are important and set the tone for the day ahead. 2. This makes personalization—and even consistent differentiation—a challenge. An alternative? Divergent concepts are contrasted. After teaching for thirty years, I would define optimal learning as the aquiring of skills and or knowledge in an environment that supports the student's needs as completely as possible. Are your students feeling uneasy about the environment that you've already created? Too slowly? Optimal Learning The good news is that students can get better and better provided that we design instruction to improve their skills-and we can do so right from the start, in kindergarten and first grade.” (Joyce B., Weil M., & Calhoun E. (2009) Models of teaching and learning, Pearson, 13) Check out this great TED Talk… https://www.imagineschools.org/our-resources/. As great as it sounds for learners to reflect on Shakespeare to better understand their Uncle Eddie—and they might—depending on that kind of radical transfer to happen entirely in the minds of the learners by design may not be the best idea. Num… Office Phone 503-399-5548. This is not a feel-good implication, but really crucial for the whole learning process to work. Laptops and other mobile devices have great potential to enhance and transform instruction and are being used effectively in many college classrooms.5 Today's students use their devices in class to take notes, access materials and applications, and find relevant information. 8 | NCICLE. I speak to students all the time about how their classmates are like family and that they need to treat each other as such. 0 0 1 Your email address will not be published. Cliché questions that reflect little understanding of the content can discourage teachers from ‘allowing’ them. For in-person professional development from TeachThought on how to create an effective learning environment in your classroom or school, contact us today. The more infrequent, clinical, murky, or threatening it is, the more you’re going to separate the ‘good students’ from the ‘good thinkers.’ And the ‘clinical’ idea has less to do with the format of the test, and more to do with the tone and emotion of the classroom in general. 8. Let’s open these doors and discover how to create an optimal learning environment. Learners respond far better to praise than punitive measures. Complex ideas are re-approached from new angles. Since learners must do the learning, the aim is to create a total environment for learning that optimises the ability of students to learn. The learning environment theoriesfocus on different constructs within the educational system that include the student, society, and the content being taught. Many teachers force students to ask questions at the outset of units or lessons, often to no avail. Your email address will not be published. I really like Door #5! Bloom’s taxonomy is constantly traveled up and down, from the simple to the complex in an effort to maximize a student’s opportunities to learn—and demonstrate understanding—of content. On each of about 180 days, for around 13 years, our students spend around six hours in school, ten hours at home and in their communities, and about eight hours asleep. An effective learning environment encourages learning through play with a rich set of materials and learning opportunities. There are constant opportunities for practice. The reality is, there is no single answer because teaching and learning are awkward to consider as single events or individual ‘things.’ This is all a bunch of rhetoric until we put on our white coats and study it under a microscope, at which point abstractions like curiosity, authenticity, self-knowledge, and affection will be hard to pin down. Books for students to read after finishing work, pencils, pens, computers are just to name a There is an infinite number of possible learning environments, which is what makes teaching so interesting.