RESEARCH SUMMARIE ONE

Title

The Design and Evaluation of the Physical Environment of Young Children’s Learning Settings

PUBLICATION TYPE

Peer Reviewed Journal Article

Design Issue

The purpose of this article is to help others learn how to best adapt their physical spaces within an education setting to support children’s development and social skills. Through this journal article, Elizabeth Matthews communicates that the social and curricular factors of a child’s education are often the main focuses. However, the physical environment has been found to have a major impact on a child’s development. In many instances, built environments of children’s learning facilities are often neglected and an afterthought, but research shows that physical design of educational spaces has substantial and lasting academic benefits. Therefore, it is important that it is addressed in the early stages of design because it is a defining factor in a high-quality learning experience.

Methods

This literature review collected studies with a variety of methods. Within each source, the individual or group of individuals either conducted an observation, produced a survey, or developed a social experiment. Within these studies, they collected both qualitative and quantitative data that further confirmed that different factors of a built environment can affect a child’s learning outcomes in numerous areas. These findings and data were then utilized by the author of this article, to verify her information and own personal knowledge.

Findings

Through this article, Elizabeth Matthews confirms that factors such as classroom noise level, crowding, presence of stimulus shelters, spatial arrangement, amounts of available natural light, environmental complexity, access to nature, and classroom-cue legibility all have significant effects on a child’s ability to learn and retain information. In relation to these factors, physical disorganization within the learning environment can hinder a young child’s capability to focus and engage in what is being taught. Additionally, the ability to comprehend how a space will be utilized is a major factor due to a child’s ability to pick up on non-verbal cues. When a space is easy to comprehend, children are more willing to cooperate because they associate certain spaces with specific activities and actions. Unfortunately, most learning environments for children are generalized, however, with the incorporation of ownership and flexibility, children have the ability to choose the place and setup that works best for them.