Jacob Gretencord - Theory Review: Connecting Student Success and the Learning Environment in the Classroom and Workplace

 

Jacob Gretencord

 Theory Review: Connecting Student Success and the Learning Environment in the Classroom and Workplace

 Ball State University

Name	Commented On
Jacob Gretencord	Mark Balzarette

 Main Theoretical Points

The environment and context in which students, employees, and learners of any type encounter during their educational journey is paramount to the outcome of the program and the success of the participant. Many factors assist in the quality of the environment. Likewise, the lack or overabundance of certain contextual elements can have a negative effect on learning. Past research and theories focused heavily on the individual and their attributes, skills, limitations, and person situations. If learning does indeed happen internally, Caffarella & Merriam, 1999 argue that the environment and context can aid or hinder the learner regardless of their personal attributes (Mackeracher, 2004). Lawson, 2016 states that the main goal of an educator and trainer is to “create and maintain an environment conducive to learning and to create opportunities for participants to experience personal growth, sense of achievement, and accomplishment (Lawson, 2016, p.143).

This theory review will discuss two major theoretical points and themes as it relates to the environment and context in learning: learning should be student-centered and learning spaces should be replaced with learning environments.

Student-Centered Learning

          Strides have been taken in recent years to gradually shift from educator-centric teaching to student-centered learning. Changes are being made in the classroom, training courses, and human resource development in the way learning is facilitated in order to utilize self-regulated learning - promoting self-directed learning and continuing education. Allowing students to be the center of education sets them up to view themselves on a humanistic level and how they see themselves progressing on both a professional and personal level. The student-centered approach also encourages research, strategies for knowledge, and self-reflection (Matsuyama, Y., Nakaya, M., Okazaki, H. et al., 2019).

          Lawson, 2004 explains in depth the concept of active training. She stresses the importance of students being active in and the center of their learning to better understand, comprehend, and retain information. Active learning and cooperative learning assumes that “learning by nature is an active endeavor, and different people learn in different ways” (Lawson, 2004, p. 118), thus cementing the case for student-centered learning. One approach certainly does not fill all. (Lawson, 2004). 

          The need for student-centered learning transcends the formal classroom setting finding relevance in the workplace for employee retention efforts through non-formal education. Training and education in the workplace should extend past production goals and cost saving measures. “When the educational philosophy is learner-centered, improved efficiency and innovation will be achieved by default” (Pohl, 2014, p. 10). Those attributes come with time and are a response to learner-centered organizational training philosophies. Training and educational pursuits should not be viewed as a burden and something that fills an employee’s afternoon one day a week. They are also not intended to be used as leverage for raises, promotions, or bargaining tactics. Creating training sessions that put the employee first, every step of the way, increases that person’s self-worth, attitude towards their role, and transferable skills. When this type of philosophy is enacted, it fuels employee desire and loyalty while creating best versions of the people carrying your organization to the next level (pohl, 2014).

Learning Space vs. Learning Environment

The idea of a classroom or “learning space” traditionally consists of a room that is designed to hold classes in a formal setting. A chalk board is attached to the wall at the front with desks lined like soldiers facing it - a podium divides the two giving the teacher a stationary location to begin their instruction. Classrooms often take on the form of production, as if the room came right off a factory floor. This type of learning space presents the challenge and notion that learning is defined by a formal setting, that learning must take place here because society has defined this particular space as a classroom. Much of the shortfall in this situation is the inability to understand that learning takes place everywhere, in many contexts, and in many environments. Whether learning is engaged in formally, informally, or non-formally the environment must be situational, adaptable, and present of qualities conducive to an equal and equitable learning environment for all (Thomas, 2010).

          Brick and mortar buildings have set the precedent for education and have been defined as the learning place. The learning environment becomes an emotional and cognitive attachment even after the learning has taken place. Because of this, the classroom setting (formal and informal), should be less of a production process and adhere to design principles that encourage active and engaged learning (Thomas, 2010). Learning environments should consider several variables - physical, sound, visual, and air quality (Mackeracher, 2004). This review will address the physical environment and sound quality.

          The physical environment of a learning space examines any element that affects a learning participant’s comfort level (Mackeracher, 2004). Adversities in the physical environment can lower student performance by 10-25% while selecting the correct paint colors and adding gardens to classrooms create a calming atmosphere that encourages participation and increases retention. Choosing ergonomically correct furniture reduces discomfort while increasing attention rates on the subject matter (Smith, 2012). A study on ergonomics in the workplace showed that 85% of the participants were unaware of the effects of ergonomics. Within that group, 44% stated they were experiencing pain or discomfort during the workday. Of those who completed the training course on ergonomics, many of them not only improved their knowledge and attitude towards the subject, they reported less pain then they had been experiencing before (Harrington & Walker, 2003).

          Sound quality combines with the physical environment to create opportunities for learning. The sound quality of a learning environment encompasses issues such as acoustics, the sounds from technology and outdated lighting; the vocal projection of students and facilitators; and those who are hearing impaired (Mackeracher, 2004).

 Applications

          The above theoretical points are not applicable without proper implementation in the learning environment. The type of learning that a student finds themselves engaged in, combined with the physical environment provided to them affects their success, knowledge, and future educational endeavors.

          Considerations for student-centered learning environments start with how training programs in the workplace are created and delivered. Steps should be taken to involve the learner/employee before the training session even occurs including pre-training questionnaires and pre-training assignments. A pre-training questionnaire should be sent to all participants welcoming them to the program, providing them with an overview of the course, assisting them in logistics, and allowing them to respond back to the facilitator with questions or concerns. This questionnaire should also allow participants to respond back with their own learning outcomes, expectations, and needs. Pre-training assessments not only save time during instruction, they allow the facilitator to provide the students with an overview of the course and to perform a self-evaluation. If too much information is provided during the secession, learners can become overwhelmed and shut themselves off from the program (Lawson, 2016).

A major factor for student-centered learning that concerns the practitioner is seating arrangements. It is the facilitator’s job to choose how furniture will be arranged in a classroom setting. This difficult choice can affect a student's learning outcome and social interaction with peers. “It has been shown that seating arrangements in small groups can facilitate interaction between students due to proximity and close positions between peers” (Gremmen, M.C., van den Berg, Y.H.M., Segers, E. et al. ,2016). Other seating arrangements that educators should consider implementing are:

●      Horseshoe - Trainer is seen as facilitator, small group work, allows for high participation and movement, and room for learning aids.

●      Conference - Allows for high participation and movement, informal, trainer is not seen as controller, and allows for activities.

●      Chevron - More formal but still allows participant interactions and group work, and trainer shows control, but still has attention of the class from visual aids (Lawson, 2016).

Educators and speech pathologists have agreed that microphones systems in the learning environment assist in attention and retention in those who find it hard to concentrate. Using a microphone allows each learner to feel as if they are front and center, no matter where the facilitator is. This also reduces strain on the presenter’s voice (Galley, 2002).

Reflection

          An important aspect of theory review is personal reflection on not only the researched information but also how one has experienced (or not experienced) the subject of the review in their personal education and employment. While writing this paper I continually thought about my education in my younger years. My elementary school exemplified teacher-centric learning and “production” classrooms. It is not that my teachers were wrong, they just were not completely right in the way they presented materials and subjects. I also cannot discount the fact that the school was underfunded and had trouble attracting top educators. The dedicated teachers had been there for a while (some still are) and you could tell that they did their best with the resources they had.

          Fast forward well over a decade to my undergraduate years at Ball State and I was met with both student-centered and teacher-centric styles of learning. I can only imagine the difficulty in putting each student first in their learning when you are presenting a lecture to hundreds of students - anyone who attended BSU in their undergrad will remember the required Communications lecture in Pruis Hall. On the other end of the spectrum, I had one professor that went above and beyond to ensure that his students came first in their learning. He took the time to know you as a person, to understand your strengths and weaknesses, and to be there for you during rough times. Through his thoughtful actions, my projects and skills improved as a result of his positive personal impact on my life.

 

Highlights

This paper highlights several important and unique insights about the environment and context in learning.  I believe the most important highlight is the overarching and connective themes of learner-central principles and creating a learning environment vs learning space. Meaning, a student-centered approach will provide a learning environment, while creating a learning environment versus a learning space will promote student-centered learning. Although this topic is supported by theoretical points and years of scholarly published research, I find it unique how practical the application is for practitioners.

Process

          This theory review was completed using scholarly article research from the Ball State library online database. A lesson that was learned during this process is to gather more articles to review prior to beginning the assignment than might be used to gain an overall perspective of the information available about your topic. This helps in defining themes and the theoretical ideas. Managing your time while working and taking online classes is paramount to student success. I personally set a schedule at the beginning of each semester that coincides with the continual due dates of assignments and I stick to it. If I know a larger assignment is due, I will get everything else done so I can focus my attention to it. Working with a group online can be challenging. I would recommend setting up communication early in the semester to work out any complications. I have also become more familiar with blogger. At first, I was not comfortable with it, but now feel that I am getting the hang of it.   

Table. 1 Summary of Theoretical Ideas

	Main Theoretical Ideas	Summary of Practical Application
Idea 1	Student-Centered Learning	●      Seating arrangements ●      Facilitation of training:    Pre-training questionnaire               Pre-training assessments Recognition of informal learning
Idea 2	Learning Space vs. Learning Environment	●      Seating arrangements ●      Moveable furniture ●      Microphones in the classroom ●      Removal of “production” environments

 

Galley, M. (2002). Classroom Microphones Make Voices Louder, Clearer. Education Week, 21(36), 8.

Gremmen, M.C., van den Berg, Y.H.M., Segers, E. et al. (2016).Considerations for classroom seating        arrangements and the role of teacher characteristics and beliefs. Soc Psychol Educ 19, 749–774.

Harrington, S. S., and Walker, B. L., 2003. The effects of ergonomics training on the knowledge,                attitudes, and practices of teleworkers. Journal of Safety Research, 3(1), 13-22.

Lawson, K. (2016). The Trainer’s Handbook. (4th ed.) Wiley.  

Mackeracher, D. (2004). Making Sense of Adult Learning (2nd ed.). University of Toronto Press.

Matsuyama, Y., Nakaya, M., Okazaki, H. et al., 2019. Does changing from a teacher-centered to a                learner-centered context promote self-regulated learning: a qualitative study in a Japanese                      undergraduate setting. BMC Med Educ 19, 152.

 Pohl, R. (2014). Finding, Training & Retaining Employees. Moldmaking Technology Magazine, 17(6),     10.

Smith, T. J. (2012). Integrating community ergonomics with educational ergonomics - designing                  community systems to support classroom learning. Work, 41, 3676–3684. https://doi-org.proxy.bsu.edu/10.3233/wor-2012-0009-3676

Thomas, H. (2010). Learning spaces, learning environments and the dis‘placement’ of learning. British        Journal of Educational Technology, 41(3), 502–511. https://doi-org.proxy.bsu.edu/10.1111/j.1467-8535.2009.00974.x