Smart strategies to make the most out of your classroom...

Over my time as a volunteer in various classroom settings I have seen bipolar opposites in the different styles of classroom displays, so here are my musings about the current debate between the use of 'calm' or 'eye catching, bright coloured' displays to aide children's learning.

Whilst on placement I attended a meeting with the teaching staff and Elizabeth Jarman. From my understanding Jarman believes that the classroom and a teachers use of space has serious affects on the learning of a child. Here are some examples-

The Effects of Lights-

Light levels stimulate brain activity in different ways and often generate physical reactions. When light levels are wrong for students, they will switch off and lose concentration. Children with lots of daylight in their classrooms progressed 20% faster in maths and 26% faster in reading in one year than those with the least.

Targeted use of colour-

Deep, 'warm' colours give learning spaces an intimate, cosy feeling. Light, 'cool' colours make a room seem more spacious and have a calming effect. Jarman advises that it would be a mistake to 'go overboard' with lots of bright primary colours.

**The facts above have been taken out of the Jarman booklet.**

When I first came across Jarman's ideology I have to be honest and say I wasn't too keen, displays looked plain and there was a constant theme or 'colour' that was evident throughout the school. However after a few weeks the idea began more appealing. Displays took a lot less time to make as they were to be kept simple and straight to the point and this saved a lot of wasted teacher time, effectively reducing the workload. So I decided to embrace the idea. Along with this, the school implemented the use of working walls and the children were frequently directed to these throughout the lessons.

I would use both strategies within my classroom as it made the displays that children were looking at frequently, relevant, informative, hands on and inclusive.

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