The Learning Environment

Chapter 4
 This chapter focuses on the learning environment which
includes classroom, home, and community, where the social,
affect, physical, psychological, and pedagogical contexts in
learning occur and which affect student achievement and
attributes.
 Learning environment is a venue for social interaction that
includes ways of doing things, solving problems, and acquiring
information.
 It is where learners engage in a set of behavior to be
acquired. The classroom, the home, and the community are
considered as the learning environment.

Classroom as Learning Environment

 Classroom is a place where the teacher interacts with the
learners with the teachers. Formal interaction is usually done
in a classroom. Formal interaction is usually done in a
classroom.
 It provides for classroom learning activities and affords the
transfer of learning from classroom to practice
 A good classroom has a stimulating climate, one that results
not only from desirable physical surroundings and healthful
conditions, but also from social relationships and emotional
attitudes according to Aquino (1988)

It encompasses the following:

 Physical environment. This is the totality of the outside
elements or the physical make-up that influences the
learner.
 Intellectual climate. This refers to a learning atmosphere
characterized by activities designed to challenge the
intellect of the leaners.
  Emotional climate. This refers to the mental health and
emotional adjustment of all learners. Learners have varied
needs and interest, the reason why the teacher has to
acknowledge the differences in personality of the learners.
 Social climate. There are three types of social climate
existing in the classroom: the autocratic, laissez faire, and
democratic

Three types of social climate:

 Autocratic climate - in here the teacher directs and decides
as to what activities are to be done.
 Laissez faire climate, there is little emphasis on group
participation. The individual acts on his own working for the
recognition of his accomplishments.
In the democratic climate, there is high regard for group
participation and cooperative work. The teacher becomes a
facilitator and guides the learners in the accomplishment of a
common set of objectives.

The Role of the Teacher in the Classroom

Environment
 The teacher's behavior, including his development, is part of
classroom environment, along with school culture. In order to
maintain an effective classroom, there is a need for
professional development of teachers particularly the less
experienced. This includes intense monitoring, advance
studies, and teaching partnership with colleagues
 Classroom rules and procedures should be introduced and
consequences should be enforced consistently among students
throughout the school year.
 Routine and fairness have a positive impact on behavior, as
well as academic quality. It has been acknowledged that
teachers who run respectful classrooms are in turn more
respected by their students.
 Teachers are encouraged to focus more on the learning task
than on the outcome or grade assigned at the end of the task

Measuring Classroom Environment

The widely used Classroom Environment Scale (Moos 1979) is
based on three essential areas of classroom environment:
1. Relationship dimension that focuses on the interpersonal
relationships between students and students, and the
teacher in a classroom
2. Personal development dimension which centers on
individual characteristics of the classroom member
3. System maintenance and change dimension that include
attributes, such as classroom control and order, as well as
responsiveness to change
Characteristics of the Learning Environment
It has the following:
 Welcoming to children
 Provides sufficient materials for all the learners
 Allows children to find, use, and return materials
independently
 Encourages different types of play
 Allows learners to see and move easily through all the areas
of the classroom
 Flexible so that learners are free to continue their play and
being materials from one area to another
 Provides materials that reflect the diversity of the learner’s
family and their living environment

Dividing the Classroom into Interest Areas

 Space available can be divided into interest area or learning
centers equipped and ready for distinct kinds of play, thus
chosen area are to reflect the learner's natural interests and
developmental levels.
 Teachers can choose many open-ended materials various
materials, such as blocks in all sizes, art materials, and fabric
pieces can be used in a number of wars.
 Teachers are also aware of the significance of having access
to real items that reflect the environment where learners live
in (i.e. cooking utensils, small appliances that no longer work
or toy appliances, dress-up clothes, & other objects). These
are usually seen around home and gardens.

Storage and Labeling

 Learning materials need to be within learners’ reach thus
they can be stored in conspicuous places in the classroom.
They can also be arranged and labeled properly on low
shelves or on the floor or in see-through containers.
 Shelves and containers have labels that make sense to
learners (i.e. labels might contain words drawings, tracings of
the object, photos, or an example of the actual object.

Learning Environment
 Traditionally, the learning environment provided has been
thought about in two dominant forms: the physical and the
socio-cultural.
 The physical environment includes things like chairs
arranged in a circle or around a square table, provision of
residential college, access to library and other information
resources, access to laboratory or other discipline-specialist
environments, and so forth
 Nowadays, learning environment takes two different
dominant forms: the physical and the virtual. Both allow
space to explore the socio-cultural.
 The physical environment is similar to that of traditional
learning environment.
 The virtual environment which supplements the physical
environment offers the opportunity to work outside the
restrictions of time and place.
 The socio-cultural environment is less straightforward, at
least at first glance.
 The essence of much good teaching practice and its role in
shaping an appropriate learning environment are summed up
or represented using only a handful of key words. These key
words relate both to actions taken by the teacher:
modeling, coaching, scaffolding, (and fading); and the
actions requested of the learner: articulating, reflecting,
and exploring.
 Good teachers sequence tasks and move the goal posts in such
a fashion that students not only become increasingly able, but
also increasingly independent learners.
 In addition to actions expected of teach is the word
"blending.” Blending learning is a new art that focuses on
good teaching by using both physical and virtual learning
environments.
 Finding an appropriate blend or design is often a process of
iterative trial and error informed by reflective practice
(Highton 2011)

Home as Learning Environment

 Home provides an instructional process that includes
acquisition of behavioral patterns, acceptance of standard
norms, and development of necessary traits.
 It is where the learners first cultivate trust, attitude, and
skills that will aid and guide them as they embrace the world
enthusiastically.
 A home conducive to learning is where there is love and
encouragement from family. It also has an atmosphere of
security, stimulation, and opportunity that children need to
feel consistently for them to flourish as learners.
 At home, good parenting has been defined as providing a
secure and stable environment, intellectual stimulation,
parent-child discussion, and high aspirations (Desforges 2003).
 It is during babyhood when the vital foundation for later
learning is established, and a secure attachment is formed
through sensitive, responsive care- giving.
 A positive home learning environment provides social
interaction, attention, and activities which promote the
development of a positive attitude to learning, as well as the
acquisition of physical, intellectual, language, social and
emotional skills.
 Parents can provide the building blocks for literacy and
cognitive development by: chatting as much as possible
during normal life, using a wide vocabulary, and praising
rather than criticizing; talking to children about things, using
language with a high information content; giving children
choices rather than simply directing them; and listening and
responding to what children say.

Community as Learning Environment

 Community brings about a learning environment that allows
opportunities for interaction among its members. In this kind
of environment, community provides the interacts, while
participation provides the meaning of the experience.
 A Community is a group of people that interacts, who is part
of a shared environment, and who may also share common
goals, values, beliefs, among others. Community refer to the
social context of learners and their surroundings.
 “A community sets the standards of expectation for the
individual and provides the atmosphere and environment
wherein remarkable things happen. Kuh & colleagues refer
these as "conditions that matter for student success in
college.
 A real community exists only when its members interact in a
meaningful way that strengthens their understanding of each
other and leads to solid learning experiences. It is here where
the learners—including faculty—are enriched by collective
meaning-making, mentorship, encouragement, and an
understanding of their perspectives and unique qualities that
are also increasingly diverse.
 Learning institutions use community meetings to address
critical school issues to teach values and to share information,
among other things. Meetings can also be about simple fun
and pleasures, such as contests featuring advisers and
students or other activities that foster wholesome
entertainment or even edutainment.
 As with most aspects of high-quality schools, community
building begins with a vision and takes shape because school
leaders and teachers intentionally design structures and
activities to reach their vision. Upon graduation the new
professional’s challenge is for them is to lead the formation of
communities wherever they go for the rest of their lives and
be productive and competent members of communities.