This is the first blog post in a two-part series exploring why learners might still show lack of interest or concentration in the classroom, even when the lesson is highly interesting and well-delivered.
The very first challenge of Neurolearning is to create a brain-compatible environment. It is even more urgent than the essential task of motivating students. In order to do so, there are two main aspects to bear in mind: the physical environment and the teaching-learning process. In this blog post, we will cover the former.
Setting the right atmosphere in the classroom
Below, you will find key aspects in the design of an appealing classroom. It is important to consider that, although they are commonsensical suggestions, they all have scientific foundations that back them up.
See in a new light
Lighting influences our well-being in many facets of life, including our learning mechanism. Make sure that the classroom gets natural daylight or warm lighting. This will boost their concentration levels and prevent numbness, which occurs because, in the absence of light, the brain produces more *melatonin thus slowing down cognitive processes.
The right climate of opinion
Body temperature is controlled by a brain thermoregulator: the *hypothalamus – the area that makes us sweat when we are hot and tremble under freezing conditions so as to reach a balance. If your students are too hot or too cold, the hypothalamus will struggle to achieve *homeostasis, during which period concentration losses may occur.
Come on in, the water’s fine!
When our organism starts feeling that there is absence of water and dehydration occurs, our memory is affected. Always make sure there is a jug of water in the classroom. If your students can have some water whenever they need it, this will definitely help them achieve better results while working in class.
Think positive: ‘I can’ is more important than ‘IQ’!
We are all aware of the importance of being inspirational leaders, and we can help our students be more self-confident by encouraging them to write ‘affirmative messages’ to be placed on the classroom walls. Apart from being in the affirmative form, they should be in the first person singular or plural, present tense.
Help them to think about their weak areas and turn them into an ‘I-can-do-it’ attitude – the brain believes everything we make it believe. For example, if you are going to work on writing, an affirmative message would be ‘I am improving my spelling’. It is important to do this at the beginning of the lesson so that these messages become realistic goals to attain.
Don’t fail the smell test
Smells are probably more powerful than you can imagine. They allow the brain to produce anchoring, which occurs when an external stimulus triggers an internal response related to a past experience.
If you use smells while students work on an activity they are keen on and then use the same smells during an exam. The learners will feel more at ease and the results will be better. Lemon, lavender and mint are particularly good for our memory performance.
Jazz it up!
Music is also a very important factor in learning. It has been proved that music improves performance levels when played at the beginning of a new topic or to either relax or cheer up students if they are feeling down.
When the right – rather than the left hemisphere of the brain is activated – that is, when learners are creating something such as a story or drawing, it is also a good idea to play background music.
Nevertheless, this is not advisable when the left hemisphere takes over – e.g. while doing grammar exercises – as this can lead to lapses in concentration. This is especially vital to consider in the case of very auditory students who might just pay attention to the music and not to their work.
Keep it in order
Most students are visual, so they might be put off or even distracted by disorganisation. Make sure the classroom is in order and that they know where to find material easily.
Flying colours
When thinking about the classroom design, you should take into account the colours you will choose for posters, drawings, pictures and any other material that will determine the classroom colour scheme. Try to avoid very intense colours such as red, violet or black. Brain-compatible colours tend to be pastel shades like light green, soft yellow, pale pink or light blue.
Glossary
- Homeostasis: the ability or tendency of a living organism, cell, or group to keep the conditions inside it the same despite any changes in the conditions around it, or this state of internal balance.
- Hypothalamus: a small part in the brain that controls things such as body temperature and the release of hormones, that is below the thalamus.
- Melatonin: a hormone in the body that produces changes in skin colour and is involved in controlling biorhythms such as our sleep pattern.
Source: Cambridge Online Dictionary
To learn more about developing the classroom environment, why not take a look at our other posts on this subject, by clicking here.