Classroom factors that affect Learning of Students
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Many classroom factors will affect the learning of students. These may include characteristics of the classroom such as location of the classroom, physical features of the classroom setting, as well as availability of technology and equipment. In addition, a number of community factors influence learning. Factors such as geography, location, district demographics, as well as socioeconomic profile fall under this category. The way each of the factors affect learning is unique in a number of ways.
The most important physical feature of a classroom is its structure. Structure comprises the kind of learning environment the room creates. The physical appearance of the room as well as the nature of the walls, blackboard, furniture, as well as decorations all affect how a student learns. The environment of learning is a crucial factor. A quiet room with an efficient no talk rule provides an extremely suitable environment for learning, which in turn facilitate learning and academic performance. Equally significant are materials and facilities for both the learners and teachers. Students especially learn most if they feel the learning environment is supportive. When the classroom is well organized, there are positive interactions among students of varying abilities and their teachers. This in turn decreases the incidence of disruptive behaviors. This shows that students pay attention and are influenced by the atmosphere in which they are learning. Studies have shown modification of a classroom may increase academic engagement, though minimally intrusive.
The location of the classroom is another critical factor that affects learning. Classrooms located in the middle of a busy town such as the St. Christopher Group of Schools are not likely to be conducive for the learners. The noise might hinder the audibility of the teacher to the backbenchers. In addition, the noise may be a nuisance that affects the general psychological well being of the students in turn affecting their learning negatively. In other instances, classrooms may be located in quiet places, but with surrounding distractions such as people passing by. Such classrooms are not likely to be suitable for learning, especially if the windows are low-set. Consequently, educators ought to be more actively engaged in designing classrooms while familiarizing themselves with designs that emphasize quietness. A variety of sources may provide excellent overviews of appropriate acoustical designs and their importance. It is paramount to note that classrooms may be either noisy or quiet by design. With most schools situated near noisy railroads, airports, and highways, school heads need to advocate for reduction of the noises from those external sources. For instance, they ought to find out whether schools near highways have any state federal funds to abate noise. Apart from the constant distraction, students attending schools located in noisy places will suffer from hearing problems. Overall, this will affect their general health and then on the learning (MacKeracher, 2004).
When classrooms have technological equipment installed, the students learn actively rather than play a passive information recipient role. The learner actively makes decisions on how to obtain, manipulate, display, or generate information. Use of technology in the classrooms of St. Christopher Group of Schools may also allow many learners to think actively about information, execute skills, and make choices. Furthermore, when a classroom has sufficient technological equipment a tool for supporting the learners doing authentic tasks is provided. This may put them in the right position to make decisions, define their goals, as well as evaluate their progress (Phurutse, 2005).
Where there is good technology, the tutor’s role changes. He or she stops being the center of attention because the dispensation of information is no longer his or hers. Instead, his or her role becomes facilitatory; he or she will set project objectives and provide the resources and guidelines. He or she will then move from group-to-group or student-to-student, making suggestions for learner-centered activity. The tutor rotates through the groups in the classroom as students do their work using technology, the teacher looks over their shoulders, asking them why a particular design was chosen, and what resources may be required. This has an overall impact on boosting of students morale and motivating them to learn more. Community factors that can affect the learning of a student include the socio-economic profile. If the background of a given student is humble, he or she may not perform as would be expected due to socio-economic constraints (Hanrahan, 2008).
Student characteristics are the most important factor that affects learning. Obviously, students do not have the same abilities in academic work. The ones that are naturally gifted generally learn faster and perform well because they have more ability to grasp concepts than the average student does. The slow learners always lag behind, and their performances are usually dismal. Other important student characteristics are age, gender, ethnicity, exceptionalities, developmental levels, culture, language, interests, as well as learning styles (Barge, 2013). A very young student will not have undergone full mental development; consequently, abstract thinking is not possible and learning abstract concepts will be affected negatively. As for gender, men are known to be generally more intelligent than women are. The former are, therefore, able to learn easily. Concerning the learning styles, students who form groups learn better than those who prefer individual work. In groups, learners are also likely to exchange learning styles, thereby improving the learning.