Stu, Stu, Studio

A successful classroom is one that produces a student who is able to not only regurgitate information, but also analyze it in order to turn it into useful knowledge that can be implemented in problem solving. This student must be able to analyze the information they receive and use it with their own reason. The measure for a successful classroom can not solely rely on test scores, it must be the classroom which produces the most well-rounded student that is prepared for the next stage of his or her life. How to find this student is another question. So what does this student’s classroom look like? First of all, it is imperative that all technology be available to the teacher. Internet access, projection monitors, presentations screens, television, audio, etc. should be implemented into every classroom. Information must come alive through every medium possible. The classroom setting must allow for hands on learning. Studies show that people learn best through experience. So how does a classroom do this? Flexibility. Classrooms with moveable furniture allow for different teachers’ individual experiments, group collaboration, and the addition and subtraction of elements such as presentation screens as needs change. In addition to allowing flexibility, when a classroom’s aesthetics change, it can raise enthusiasm, comfort, or relaxation, and if nothing else, it will break the monotony of the everyday.
Even the most trivial change can affect the learning that happens in a classroom. Take the color of the walls. Certain colors promote relaxation, others stimulation. A study was conducted in an elementary classroom by painting a white colored wall to blue. After this was done there was a 22% decrease in distracted mannerisms in the students as well as a 9% decrease in blood pressure. So it is to be assumed that a relaxed student will be better focused. The colors of a classroom need to be conducive to relaxation. The lighting of a room also contributes to a student’s relaxation and comfort levels. So what goes on top of the color? What should be on the walls? Presentation aids can act as billboards that sell the information being taught in the same way that an actual billboard sells a product. When information comes alive through media presentation, it is inherently more important, interesting, and pertinent to a student. The arrangement of furniture can also affect the focus and comfort of a student. Innovative furniture placement, the empty space between the furniture, and the amount of distance separating the students from the teacher and each other are all aspects that should be considered in an ideal classroom. A comfortable level of acoustics must also be attained. Every aspect of a student’s surroundings effects the way they learn and how they will use the information they are receiving so each aspect must be considered in an ideal classroom.