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Creating Environments for Learning Third Edition Julie Bullard

Book Cover will be inserted here.

Chapter 6

Design Considerations

Creating Environments for Learning: Birth to Age Eight, 3e Bullard

Desired design outcomes

Homelike

Aesthetically pleasing

Creating Environments for Learning: Birth to Age Eight, 3e Bullard

Homelike, personalized environments:

help to establish a sense of belonging
ease the transition between home and school
leads to place identity

Did you know?

Place identity leads to a greater sense of belonging and ownership over the environment which in turn leads to increased self-esteem and happiness (Fisher, 2006).

Creating Environments for Learning: Birth to Age Eight, 3e Bullard

A homelike environment includes the following characteristics:

welcoming

divided into useable space for different functions

includes private places to escape and places for people to gather together

provides comfortable furniture and different types of seating

Creating Environments for Learning: Birth to Age Eight, 3e Bullard

A homelike environment includes the following characteristics:

contains different types of lighting

filled with real, functional items

filled with images of the inhabitants

includes living things

contains objects that have personal meaning

Creating Environments for Learning: Birth to Age Eight, 3e Bullard

A homelike environment includes the following characteristics:

provides richness of texture and color without being overwhelming

includes softness

contains beauty and provides attention to detail

reflects the values of the inhabitants

reflects the surrounding geographic, social, and cultural community

Creating Environments for Learning: Birth to Age Eight, 3e Bullard

The environment should also be an aesthetically pleasing, harmonious environment

The environment is clutter-free
There is attention to detail
Elements of design (softness, texture, color, and lighting) are thoughtfully used
The floor, ceiling, walls are:

considered a design palette

considered in unison to develop a harmonious design

designed to create beauty

Creating Environments for Learning: Birth to Age Eight, 3e Bullard

Elements of design-natural items

Natural items provide

beauty

sensory rich experiences

sense of calmness

Natural materials are often alluring and have the extra bonus of being inexpensive

Creating Environments for Learning: Birth to Age Eight, 3e Bullard

Element of design-softness:

helps distinguish an institutional environment from a home environment

can assist to create a comfortable, cozy environment

assists in reducing noise levels and reverberation

softness can be added through furniture, throw rugs, wall hangings, and window coverings

Creating Environments for Learning: Birth to Age Eight, 3e Bullard

Element of design-texture:

contributes to a more homelike environment

decreases noise levels and reverberation

creates a more complex environment

allows children to compare, contrast, and experiment

Did you know?

Our skin is the largest body organ, yet touch is often ignored when planning early childhood environments (Olds, 1989b).

Creating Environments for Learning: Birth to Age Eight, 3e Bullard

Element of design-color:

can differentiate space

can emphasize physical features of a room

creates an illusion of more or less space

makes a room more attractive

evokes moods (however, this is often culturally based)

Did you know:

Experts generally recommend that neutral colors be used for shelving and walls allowing the inhabitants to exercise their own creativity in applying a second skin (Olds, 2001).

Creating Environments for Learning: Birth to Age Eight, 3e Bullard

Element of design-lighting

Whenever possible, natural lighting should be used
Lighting should come from at least two directions to reduce glare (GSA, 2003)
Windows allow light and access to the world outdoors

Did you know?

Research indicates that natural lighting can improve achievement and reduce energy (Earthman, 2004; Al-Mohaisen &Khattab, 2006)

Creating Environments for Learning: Birth to Age Eight, 3e Bullard

Lighting

Experts recommend using full spectrum lights if there is not enough natural light (GSA, 2003).

Classrooms should have a variety of different types of lighting to:

allows for different needs

create distinctive atmospheres in different parts of the room

Creating Environments for Learning: Birth to Age Eight, 3e Bullard

Element of design-focal points

Focal points create an emphasis that draws your interest to an object or area, making the space feel less disorganized.
A focal point may be

an architectural feature such as a window,

a special piece of furniture

a piece of artwork or photo

an interesting rug or piece of colorful fabric

an interactive component

a display (Deviney et al., 2010)

Creating Environments for Learning: Birth to Age Eight, 3e Bullard

Design palette-ceilings:

Varied ceiling heights help to reduce noise reverberation

Lower ceilings:

suggest quieter types of play (Olds, 2001)

can create greater intimacy (Olds, 2001)

leads to more cooperative behavior (Read, Sugawara, & Brandt, 1999)

Creating Environments for Learning: Birth to Age Eight, 3e Bullard

Canopies lower the ceiling height

and add softness at this Waldorf

School.

Creating Environments for Learning: Birth to Age Eight, 3e Bullard

Design palette-walls can be used:

to provide a backdrop for displays

for vertical learning surfaces

to display children’s work

for displaying images of children, families, and staff

Creating Environments for Learning: Birth to Age Eight, 3e Bullard

Did you know?

It is important to avoid visual bombardment caused by placing too much on the walls.

One program developed the following guiding principles for wall use. Materials needed to:

be authentic
have a defendable function
provide a balance of form and function
be current

Creating Environments for Learning: Birth to Age Eight, 3e Bullard

Design palette-floors

Use a variety of flooring materials to differentiate space and allow children to learn through comparing and contrasting.
Avoid wall-to-wall carpeting
difficult to clean
can harbor allergens
toxic glues and adhesives are typically used in installation
Use neutral flooring colors (avoid brightly colored teaching rugs such as ABC rugs as they add to the visual clutter of the room) (Torelli, 2002).

Creating Environments for Learning: Birth to Age Eight, 3e Bullard

Lofts:

increase the useable space in a classroom

reduce noise levels

allow a new view

create intimate areas

provide gross motor activity

can help children to feel powerful

Creating Environments for Learning: Birth to Age Eight, 3e Bullard

Special design considerations: Air quality

Poor indoor air quality (IAQ) results in:

increased absenteeism

poorer school performance

short and long-term health problems including asthma (ALA, 2007; EPA, 2009; Mendell & Heath, 2005; Schneider, 2002)

Creating Environments for Learning: Birth to Age Eight, 3e Bullard

Did you know?

One in five school children is affected by poor indoor air quality. Children from racial minorities and children from low income families are disproportionately affected (General Accounting Office, 1995; Schneider, 2002).

Creating Environments for Learning: Birth to Age Eight, 3e Bullard

To improve air quality:

reduce contaminants
use green materials, cleaning supplies, and grooming products
eliminate carpet
control humidity (should be at 40%-70%) (Schneider, 2002)
adequately ventilate the classroom

Creating Environments for Learning: Birth to Age Eight, 3e Bullard

Did you know?

Levels of indoor air pollutants are often up to 100 times higher than those found outside. Open windows to ventilate the classroom (EPA, 2009).

Creating Environments for Learning: Birth to Age Eight, 3e Bullard

Special design considerations: Pesticides

Pesticides can cause short-term health problems

cough

shortness of breath

nausea

vomiting

headaches

eye irritation (The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, 2007)

Creating Environments for Learning: Birth to Age Eight, 3e Bullard

Special design considerations: Pesticides

Pesticides can cause long-term health problems

negatively affecting brain development (National Scientific Council on the Developing Child, 2006)
making children more prone to cancer, neurodevelopmental impairment, immune dysfunction, and reproductive problems as adults (National Research Council, 1993; The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, 2007)

Creating Environments for Learning: Birth to Age Eight, 3e Bullard

You can reduce exposure through IPM (integrated pest management)

Identify pests and eliminate them through prevention (block access to the building)

If this does not work, use non-chemical solutions (traps, power washing)

If chemicals must be used, use the least toxic chemical available and only apply the chemical where it is needed

Creating Environments for Learning: Birth to Age Eight, 3e Bullard

having children and staff remove shoes as a way of preventing exposure. This is especially important in infant and toddler programs where children are often playing on the floor and engage in frequent hand to mouth behavior.

eating organic fruits and vegetables particularly those high in pesticides

Other ways to reduce pesticide exposure include:

Creating Environments for Learning: Birth to Age Eight, 3e Bullard

Special design considerations: Density

High density can cause:

increased stress

increased aggression

increased destructive behavior

decreased attention span

decreased achievement (Kantrowitz & Evans, 2004; Legendre, 2003; Maxwell, 2003)

Low density can cause: