Internal Factors: The Physical Aspects of a Classroom

One of the many obstacles that prohibit a child from learning are the internal factors of the classroom: part of what makes up the internal factors of a classroom are the physical aspects. These factors can have a negative or positive impact on a child’s ability to learn.

            The physical aspects of a classroom are made up of the temperature, lighting and acoustics of a classroom. If these factors are not satisfactory they can prevent every child from learning. For example, if a classroom is too warm or too cold students will find it difficult to concentrate. Or if the lighting is not satisfactory kids can have a harder time concentrating. The background noise of the classroom and it’s surrounding environment also have an impact on the students ability to learn and their mood.

            The physical aspects of the classroom all have an impact on the mood of a child and when these factors have a negative impact on the moods of the students the learning environment is no longer favorable to the students.

            These factors can sometimes be adjusted to help reduce their effects on students, but at times they are out of the teachers control. The temperature can be regulated by the purchase of additional fans or heaters but this would require additional resources that the teacher / school may not have access too. Some of the solutions may be too expensive to fix, but the solution to the problem is to adjust the lesson plan so that the lesson is doable when the environmental factors are unbearable for students. For example: when the room is too warm for students to pay attention a teacher can show an educational video or if a classroom is too noisy allowing students access to noise cancelling headphones or allowing them to listen to their own music can help them regain focus.

            By making small adjustments to the lesson plan and taking into consideration the physical classroom conditions a large difference can be made in the learning environment. Adjusting these conditions will make it easier for the children to learn.

Sources

Marchand , Gwen C, et al. "The Impact of the Classroom Built Environment on Student Perceptions and LEarning ." Journal of Environmental Psychology (2014): 187-197.