Five Key Elements of the Learning Environment
The Environment as Curriculum
Learning is integrated, multiple factors make up a high quality preschool classroom, i.e. a well-paid, well-trained workforce, positive adult-child/child-child interactions, class size/ratios, licensing, high standards of safety/child protection, etc. However, the focus of this project is mainly to consider a classroom’s indoor physical aspects such as aesthetics, set-up, interest areas, and materials while integrating other important elements that make it difficult to separate from a High Quality Learning Environment such as routines and documentation.
Five Key Elements of the Learning Environment
The five key elements of the learning environment are:
- Routines
- Furnishings
- Spaces
- Materials
- Documentation
Let’s analyze each of them.
Routines
A familiar sequence to the day that allows the child to predict events, anticipate transitions and develop a sense of trust.
A consistent schedule of daily routines offers the child a sense of security through the ability to predict, which, in turn, establishes trust, the fundamental building block of relationships. Together, relationships and routines provide an essential basis for the design of the environment, parent/teacher partnerships, curriculum development and assessment of learning outcomes. Transitions should be minimized and consistent warning provided in order to insure children can anticipate what happens next and prepare accordingly. Likewise, there should be ample time throughout the day devoted to investigations, explorations, projects and interactions with both peers and adults.
Furnishings
Durable wooden shelves, tables, chairs and dividers to define space and invite engagement across the content of our curriculum.
The furnishings in a classroom should reflect the whole image of the child as well as the core values and beliefs educators bring to the teaching/learning process. The tables, chairs, shelves and related durable fixtures in the early childhood classroom “set the stage” for learning and provide a framework and road map for all that occurs within this context. Clearly defined activity areas help create a sense of order, support children’s interests and give direction to children’s efforts and activities. Utilizing durably constructed natural wood products conveys a high regard for children’s capabilities and offer an appreciation of the importance of the aesthetic aspects of the physical environment.
- Furnishings Overview – Examples of using durable furnishings within a classroom to invite engagement across curriculum content.
The furnishings in a classroom should reflect the whole image of the child as well as the core values and beliefs educators bring to the teaching/learning process. The tables, chairs, shelves and related durable fixtures in the early childhood classroom “set the stage” for learning and provide a framework and road map for all that occurs within this context. Clearly defined activity areas help create a sense of order, support children’s interests and give direction to children’s efforts and activities. Utilizing durably constructed natural wood products conveys a high regard for children’s capabilities and offer an appreciation of the importance of the aesthetic aspects of the physical environment.
Spaces Interest Centers that include places for individual and group activities that incorporate variety and complexity, both indoors and outdoors.
Classrooms must be designed with a variety of interest centers that provide children with opportunities to make decisions, explore materials, engage in investigations and activities and offer a clear range of choices in support of the development of the whole child. These centers provide for a range of curriculum content (including language and literacy, science and math, blocks and dramatic play, art and creative expression, music and movement, and water and sensory experiences). Interest areas help “channel” and focus children’s attention and decision-making while supporting individual interests and collective efforts. Choice is intentionally built within classroom daily routines, allowing children the requisite time to work within and across a variety of interest areas in the classroom. Teachers use well-defined spaces within their classroom to intentionally provoke interest and extend learning.
Materials
Real-life instruments and tools, genuine artifacts and natural materials that can be used in a variety of ways (including wood, stone, glass, fabric and wire).
The choice of what materials to include in the early childhood classroom reflects the beliefs that teachers hold about children’s capabilities as learners and their own role in provoking and supporting children’s interests. These materials ought to go beyond the traditional items associated with preschool programming (crayons, markers, puzzles, books, dress-up clothes, etc.) and also include collections of interesting objects (scraps of paper and cardboard, bits of plastic and fabric, twine and ribbon, buttons, bottle caps, and natural materials such as twigs, leaves, bark, shells and rocks). Children themselves and their families can be invited to offer their own valued materials to the classroom. In turn, teachers can provide the spaces and means of organizing, sorting, classifying and distributing these materials within their classroom in support of a wide range of projects and investigations.
Documentation
A variety of means and methods to make learning visible to all involved; to display and interpret the processes and products of both child and adult learning.
Documentation is the process of making learning visible to all involved. As such, it is integrally connected within a circle of inquiry that includes observation, documentation, reflection, preparation and implementation. Teachers use this process to develop what might be termed “planned possibilities,” a combination of activities and investigations that reflect children’s interests, teachers intentions and desired learning outcomes. Project work starts with observations of children’s play and associated insights gained by the teacher. These are collectively discussed and “anticipatory webs” are designed to organize and expand our thinking about children’s learning and identify possible learning outcomes. Activities and investigations are then orchestrated within the classroom, and, as children engage in the process, pictures, narratives and artifacts are captured, preserved, discussed and displayed. The more thoroughly this is done, the deeper the understanding of children’s play on the part of all involved.
Resources
Five Key Elements of the Learning Environment. Website:http://www.seedsofpartnership.org/hqele/routines.html. (Links to an external site.)Retrieved on 10/6/2018
Indicators of an Early Learning Environment. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fm7hIwLXuTU Standard YouTube License.
What Does ‘High-Quality’ Preschool Look Like? | NPR Ed. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wbWRWeVe1XE. Standard YouTube License.
