Classroom Décor and Learning
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A recent study, published in Psychological Science (2014), found that children in highly decorated classrooms are more distracted and make smaller learning gains compared to a minimally decorated classroom. The results are not surprising, as it aligns to what we now understand about the functioning of the brain, attention and sensory input.
What do you have on your classroom walls? Is everything there needed? I’m not suggesting that you leave your walls blank, but am encouraging you to think about what you want to put there. Use your classroom walls in a way that’s neat, organized and purposeful. Arrange things in categories so that student artwork is not hanging all over the classroom. Think about what you are teaching at the moment, and how you can effectively use your wall space for learning.
What are some essentials that need to be there on every classroom wall?
If I had to choose one thing to post on the classroom wall it would be the Workshop Way (TM) affirmation statements: (1) Everyone has a right to time to THINK; (2) It’s intelligent to ask for help.; (3) We don’t have to know everything today. (4) Be willing to take a risk — your courage will grow. and (5) It’s okay to make mistakes. That’s the way we learn.
These affirmations are designed to be used both as a chant (flipping through the poster cards quickly as the children say them “with power”) and to be posted on the wall. The idea is to instill these statements in the students’ minds so that they will have them ingrained for life. Students respond well to these messages and as a teacher you can see their courage grow.
Sr. Grace Pilon authored these statements as well as a wealth of other teaching strategies coming from her fount of wisdom about how children learn and grow. For more information about Workshop Way: http://workshopway.org