What effect does the classroom environment have on learners? In the triangle of relationship between the teacher, the child and the learning environment what works best? What do we know about the effective use of spaces to ensure children have a rich learning experience? In looking back on my fifteen years of teaching in a Foundation Stage and Key Stage One classroom, I feel I developed an intuitive understanding of my classroom environment at work. It seemed to operate well for all its inhabitants, both the aging and eternally young, but I was aware that the reasons why it worked were often implicit and undefined.
I knew, for instance, that the crates and planks in the outdoor classroom would prove to be a favourite resource again this year, that the drawer full of oats would end up all over the floor at some point and that placing paper on the wall below the small world table would entice wriggly people on their bellies to invent new worlds. What I didn’t investigate in any real depth, was how the learning environment, cited as the ‘third teacher’, (Valentine 2006) was doing such a good job each year for its ever evolving and somewhat demanding clientele.
The child’s view
In 2010, just in post as a local authority education adviser for the Primary Capital Programme which was focused on developing schools for the future, I devised a research tool that investigated the question of ‘How do children use their environment in a Foundation Stage setting through child initiated play?’
The aim of the research was to illicit a form of pupil voice from very young children, via observation, on the use of their environment and the impact this had on their personalised learning.
The findings would consequently inform both teaching and support staff on how best to organise and equip the space available, as well as give valuable insight into how a particular cohort is accessing and using their environment to develop their learning and exploration. As a result, the findings would support staff in the analysis and development of their own roles whilst engaging with children during child initiated play.
The investigation
The enquiry investigated how first term Foundation Stage children used both the indoor and outdoor environment of their setting through child initiated play.