Session 4: What makes up an effective learning environment or school?

A) Case study on school B

Our day started off with a group discussion on the case study of 3 schools. My group discussed on the school B. We were asked to reflect on whether school B is effective or not and whether we would send our child there by looking at all the details given about the school. Instrument SLEQ was used to assess the school. After looking at all the results of the assessment, it made me ponder on what is an effective school or an effective class environment per say.

My reflections

After five sessions on classroom learning environments and reading a couple of literature reviews, i personally feel that a classroom learning environment must be virtual, safe, personal, interactive and conductive for it to be effective.

A virtual environment is a set of teaching and learning tools designed to enhance a student's learning experience by including computers and the internet in the learning process. Curriculum can be broken into sections which can be assigned and assessed, student’s performance can be tracked, online support given for both teacher and student, inclusion of e-mail, threaded discussions, chat, Web publishing and Internet links added to outside curriculum resources. The teacher can see what a students’ sees, but the teacher has additional user rights to create or modify curriculum content and track student performance. There are a number ways this can be done like the Blackboard system used in NIE.

Violence is pervasive on television, in sports, music, video games, and even in our schools and workplaces. Schools are no longer safe havens for children. Students cannot learn in an unsafe environment. A welcoming environment is particularly important for students who are struggling in school and need extra support. It is difficult to create a balance between a safe school and a welcoming, caring environment. It is important to create a school climate that does not tolerate bullying, intimidation, and terrorism. Students who are afraid often stay away from school. A safe learning environment is focused on academic achievement, maintaining high standards, fostering positive relationships between staff and students, and encouraging parental and community involvement.

A personal environment helps learners take control of and manage their own learning. This includes providing support for learners to set their own learning goals, manage their learning, manage both content and process, and communicate with others in the process of learning. In contrast, a virtual or a Learning Management System such as Blackboard or Moodle, it is a software system designed to help teachers by facilitating the management of educational courses for their students, especially by helping teachers and learners with course administration. The system can often track the learners' progress, which can be monitored by both teachers and learners. It comprises of all the different tools we use in our everyday life for learning like the Blogs, Wiki, Myspace, Wetpaint etc.

For schools to be effective, the environment needs to be conducive to learning, allowing the pupils space and time to interact within the learning and teaching process. Creating and maintaining stimulating learning environments can be achieved through effective classroom organisation, interactive and whole school displays and a climate of innovation.

Thank you