Classroom Cool

Appearances do make a difference, according to a host of experts who study the connection between classroom aesthetics and academics.

By Mary Ellen Flannery

Environment shapes experience, and that's no less true in the classroom. For years, educational researchers have known that thoughtful architecture and aesthetics can improve academics. Students in a windowed classroom will likely do better than peers laboring under fluorescent lights, and students in well-insulated rooms will outscore the ones near the railroad tracks.

If only you could swing a crowbar or magically get those tracks moved. Relax. You can make plenty of easy, inexpensive changes (without the help of a licensed architect) to create a better place for learning. Take a few tips from the experts.

Color

Wetting your paintbrush can be the most effective way to change the learning environment. Want to calm down your teens? Try a cool blue or pink—it's a great color for guidance counselors, says Kenneth Tanner, professor at the School Design and Planning Laboratory of the University of Georgia.

Prefer to activate their brains? Go for earth tones or warmer colors—say, a soft yellow—shown to increase respiration rate, heart action and, most important, brain activity. (But don't go crazy, Tanner warns. Consider McDonald's, where bright red and yellow tell you to "eat fast and run along.") If you can't manage the whole room, reserve your efforts for around the marker board where a slightly darker hue will demand attention.

Lighting

"You don't have to do anything but raise the blind," Tanner says.

Or, if you're boxed in, make the most of existing light with a few mirrors, but make sure students aren't blinded by glare. Try to avoid cool-white fluorescent lamps; reports say they increase hyperactivity. Look to full-spectrum fluorescents, which have been linked to fewer dental cavities, as well as better student attendance and achievement.

Walls

Chan recommends one section for student work—when kids can see each other's efforts, they put a little more oomph into their own—and another for class rules and daily activities. Posting rules helps students share responsibility for them, and a visible schedule makes things run efficiently even in classrooms with older kids. A third space may be designated for "promotions"—such as the school newspaper and mascot—that remind students they're part of a learning community.

Letting students help with classroom displays can boost their self-esteem, says Lorraine Maxwell, an associate professor in Cornell University's College of Human Ecology.

When she studied groups of kindergartners at the same school—some in classrooms where everybody's work was displayed, plus their photographs, birthdays, and height—the ones who participated in the "personalization" of the room had better self-esteem, which can lead to better academic performance, she says.

But avoid clutter, which can be distracting, and make sure you're using current materials, stresses Maxwell. In interviews with students, kids told her they don't want to see old stuff—if the Earth's layers were explored a month ago, take down the old poster. One boy reported his classroom was an "inviting place" because it was neat and clean and "up-to-date…it's as if [my teacher] cares."

Also, get down on your knees before tacking up. "See what eye-level is to your students," Tanner suggests.

Floors

Noise distracts your students and makes it difficult for them to concentrate on you and their lessons. To dampen the din, try these items: area rugs, bulletin boards, soft wall-hangings, felt pads or tennis balls under chair and desk legs, and a corner sofa. Also consider limiting use of the pencil sharpener.

Temperature

Desks

If you lecture all day, then rows of desks are fine. But if you prefer cooperative learning, you need flexibility. Many teachers find groups of four desks will suit their needs—just make sure there's plenty of room to walk around.

In addition to each desk, teachers should try to create personal space for their students. Maxwell saw a New York City school where every fifth-grader had a private reading spot, sometimes just their own carpet square, and the kids told her it was their favorite location in the school.

A comfy couch and corner lamp for reading also can create a homey atmosphere that makes kids comfortable, Tanner says. Try including "home artifacts" like teddy bears and soft blankets, he suggests.

Visit NEA Today Extra for more resources and research on classroom aesthetics.