The environment in the context of learning can be defined as the surrounding of the learner in terms of both physical and emotional dimensions. This therefore implies that both physical and emotional aspects of the environment influence the learning process. The environment plays a very significant role in the learning process and especially fro children.It is the environment that important materials that are crucial for the cognitive process can be found. The environment here can be taken to be the space, people with which interactions occur so as to effect learning. The right physical environment for effective learning is where safety and other essentials are well catered for especially in the context of child learning. This includes the teachers as the facilitators of learning and the other adults who are in charge of the child who is supposed to be learning. The appropriate physical environment for learning is the one which gives an opportunity for both indoor and outdoor activities for the child to explore alongside a knowledgeable adult who is supposed to give direction to the learner. An environment where the learners are not comfortable for instance high temperature or congestion is not conducive for learning. The environment should also be safe and make the students feel that there safety needs are well catered. Learners who are in war prone areas have problems since they stay worried about whether they will be harmed or not. (AMES AND ARCHER, 1988)
The materials in the environment should be familiar to the learner to enable learning from the known to the unknown. New materials also should be available in the environment.
The best learning materials to be supplied in the environment for learning should have a variety of uses. This is very crucial for the development of cognitive cues in the mind of the learner. An environment that is quiet and free from noise is important for learning. This is because such an environment is free from things like noise which would attract the attention of the learners.
The environment is very crucial in the sense that it offers challenges to the learner and therefore aids in memory enhancement and thus effective learning. For instance in the case of a child who is in the environment fro learning challenges will help the child learn about taking risks and how to stay safe in the environment. The environment is also essential for learning in the sense that it helps to build confidence in the learner. As the learner explores the physical environment confidence is build especially with the handling of various materials available in the learning environment. An environment that is full of destructors will hinder the involvement of the learner in important activities that facilitate the learning process. This follows then that if the environment is free from such materials / resources that are likely to divert the attention of the student then they should be removed so as to improve learning processes. In humanistic schools focus is on emotional environment which should be highly supportive and respectful to the learner. This is quite essential for the purpose of helping the learner to validate his/her goals and even express them (BAIRD, 1986).
The emotional environment should also be designed in such a way that it can empower the learner and improve his participation in important learning activities. This is based on an increased awareness at both levels. Factors such as self worth and autonomy determine the deep involvement of the learner in the learning activities. This therefore means that if consideration is not made on these factors the involvement of the learner in essential activities can be compromised and consequently hinder learning. A factor like autonomy is quite essential when learning scientific concepts whereby the learners are supposed to be given freedom to choose partners and handle the materials on their on so as to develop the required analytical skills. If the learners are not given the chance to handle experiments on their own they would always depend on their teacher and learning would be minimal
A good environment for learning is the one which is supportive to the learner in the sense that it helps to stick knowledge into the cognitive structures of the learner. The type of activities that the teacher uses also matter. If the materials are not suited for the particular environment then this would impede on learning. Motivation of the learner should be the main target of any environment which is conducive for learning. This is so because motivation remains a very important aspect of learning and without it learning becomes very minimal. Extrinsic motivation has been stressed by most theorists as to be very supportive to learning. This extrinsic motivation can originate from the environment of the students. When leaner are provided with people who have achieved much in life, they become role models to them and can be a good source of extrinsic motivation. In conclusion it is vital to underscore the fact that the environment is critical for the learning process. A good environment facilitates attention of the learners and makes them stick to the important activities for learning. A bad environment on the other hand would impede learning because it affects attention and the cognitive processes in the mind of the learner.
References
- AMES, C. AND ARCHER, J. (1988) Achievement goals in the classroom: Students’ learning strategies and motivation processes. Journal of Educational Psychology, 80, 260-267.
- BAIRD, J. R. (1986) Improving learning through enhanced metacognition: A classroom study. European Journal of Science Education, 8, 263-282.
- Future.
- Life.