Reflections on articles From Session 1 – ‘Learning Environment For 21st Century’ & ‘Aspects of Effective Learning Environments’

The article, Learning Environment For 21st Century argues that the physical environment of the school plays an important role in pupils’ academic achievement and well-being in school. This does not only refer to the aesthetic sense of the surroundings but it also refers to whether the school is equipped with good facilities (which usually refer to up-to-date IT resources).

No doubt, I feel that there must be good facilities (eg: enough computers, a drama studio, an auditorium, enough resource rooms etc) in place in order to let pupils use them for different purposes. But, while the idea of a well-equipped school is inviting, I do not feel that this can be applied to all schools. For instance, there was once, when I was in another school for exam duties, I saw that there were computers in all the classrooms, and they were all very well-maintained and the classes were very clean. I was rather impressed, but then, when I thought about whether my own school should provide such facilities, I certainly had reservations that some classes might not treasure the facilities given to them.

Moreover, to me, the physical aspect of the learning environment makes up only the ‘hardware’ of the school. This is not enough, because for an effective learning environment to take place, we need to have other important qualities in place, which make up the ‘heart ware’, such as establishing good rapport between teachers and pupils, the infectious and gratifying camaraderie among pupils themselves, a supportive staff culture and an overall good school tone (eg: good discipline and pupils’ sense of belonging to the school).

In my current school, a lot of feedback has been made by the pupils that the façade of the school is very old and is in need of a makeover. The pupils, especially, have expressed certain dismal comments on the physical aspect of the school via formal channels such as using the ‘Pupils’ Suggestions Form’ and the ‘Pupils’ Needs Analysis Survey’, which is administered yearly by form teachers.

However, I feel that the physical environment is not the main determining factor in influencing a pupil’s educational outcome or sense of well-being. For instance, in my school, despite pupils’ grouses and seemingly incessant complaints about the physical plight of the school, pupils are nonetheless appreciative of the school teachers, the programmes planned for them and that they have demonstrated a positive attitude towards the school in many aspects in the surveys. Also, pupils’ performances at national exams have improved in general during the last few years, with some top pupils being featured in the local papers in just the past two years. Of course, it is important to have good facilities, because in this ever changing, dynamic educational landscape, there will always be an emphasis to embark on new methods of teaching and student-centered activities; up-to-date facilities and a pleasant surrounding will certainly cater to the demanding needs of pupils. But then, the learning environment has to take on a broader meaning, not just limiting it to the physical aspects of the environment.

Roger Hiemstra, in his article, ‘Aspects of Learning Environment’, points out that the learning environment comprises many different aspects. It is a very diversified notion, comprising the psychological or emotional conditions, and social or cultural influences in an educational setting. Amidst the complex and dynamic design that make up the learning environment, the teacher plays the most important role because she sets the direction, tone and expectations in the class. The role played by the teacher is certainly not easy, in the face of an ever challenging world, where teachers are always contesting for the attention of their pupils from many negative distractions, such as the media and the Internet. Not only that, teachers always have to come to terms with meeting demands brought about by sweeping educational changes (think about how fairly quickly TLLM was introduced, after the inception of TSLN) and the profiles of our pupils today are certainly very different from the past. Against this backdrop of complexities, very often, I feel that teachers always have this need to constantly reflect on many aspects of the learning environment. Perhaps, Hiemstra advises very aptly, that educators should be actively engaged in ‘perspective transformation’ – a reflective process by which we question certain values and assumptions during our learning process as educators, so that we can fine-tune our strategies in order to be more effective teachers. Self-reflection, of course is an effective process, because we are constantly making ourselves aware of our own strengths and weaknesses, through which we find ways to improve ourselves, and this certainly contributes to creating a more effective learning environment.