Inquiry Project

Guiding question: How does the physical classroom design (e.g., seat plan and room decoration) enhance students in learning?

Annotated bibliography:

Martin, S. H. (2002). The classroom environment and its effect on the practice of teachers. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 22, 139-156.

The paper describes the impact of the classroom design on the practice of teachers.

Barrett, P., Davies, F., Zhang, Y., & Barrett, L., (2015). The impact of classroom on pupils' learning: Final results of a holistic, multi-level analysis. Building and Environment, 89, 118-133.
It is about how the physical classroom features influence the learning of pupils.

Ramli, N.H., Ahmad, S., & Masri, M. H. (2013). Improving the classroom physical environment: Classroom users' perception. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 101, 221-229.
The paper examines the perception of classroom users on their conventional classrooms and their preferred version of classroom environment.

Castellucci, H. I., Arezes, P. M., Molenbroek, F. M., Bruin, R., & Viviani, C. (2017). The influence of school furniture on students' performance and physical responses: results of a systematic review. Ergonomics, 60(1), 93-110.
The paper uses a systematic review to determine how the design and dimensions of school furniture affect students' responses and their performance.

Tondeur, J., Herman, F., Buck, M., & Triquet, K. (2017). Classroom biographies: Teaching and learning in evolving material landscapes (c. 1960-2015). European Journal of Education, 52, 280-294.

The paper explores the impacts of physical learning environment on teaching practices.

Romina, A. (2014). Students' perception of the condition of their classroom physical learning and its impact on their learning and motivation. College Student Journal, 48(4), 716-726.
The paper investigates how secondary school students perceive the condition of their physical learning environment and its impact on their learning and motivation.

Lei, S. A. (2012). Classroom physical design influencing student learning and evaluations of college instructors: A review of literature. Education (Chula Vista), 131(1), 128-134.
The paper reviews how specific classroom physical attributes can influence student learning and subsequent student evaluations of college instructors.

Hill, M. C., Epps, K. K. (2010). The impact of of physical classroom environment on student satisfaction and student evaluation of teaching in the university environment. Academy of Educational leadership Journal, 14(4), 65-79.
The paper analyzes the influence of classroom environment features on student satisfaction and student evaluation of teaching in the university environment.

Yang, Z., Becerik-Gerber, B. & Mino, L. (2013). A study of student perceptions of higher education classrooms: Impact of classroom attributes on student satisfaction and performance. Building and Environment, 70, 171-188.
The paper explores how classroom attributes affect student satisfaction and performance in higher education classrooms.

Marx, A., Fuhrer, U. & Hartig, T. (1999). Effects of classroom seating arrangement on children's question-asking. Learning Environments Research, 2(3), 249-263.
The paper is about the investigation of the relationship between the classroom seating arrangements and the question-asking of grade 4 children.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5kOh1VYCsRs

The video talks about difference kinds of classroom setting (i.e., traditional. U-shape, and cluster) and their pros and cons.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oNN-LqngvIE

The video talks about different types of standing desks and effects of sitting vs standing at work.

Role models and equity in the classroom

Most people think males are better than females in mathematics but actually research shows there is no difference between the two genders, no matter where they are in the world. Actually, there are a few famous mathematicians who are females, like Mary Cartwright, Maryam Mirzakhani and Shafi Goldwasser. Thus, in classrooms, teachers should not stereotype that scientists and mathematicians are males only. Also, one of the classmates mentioned that when she was in high school, her teacher always asked boys to lead a project or an activity and girls to help boys as assistants. This was very unfair to girls and so as a future teacher, I would treat all students the same and assign tasks based on the students' competencies.

Welcomed or less than welcomed

I think there are several ways that can make me feel welcomed :
- people are friendly and smiling at me (body language)
- people are willing to answer my questions
- people remember my name
- people treat me like an old friend (interactions between people)
- appreciate what I have done
- willing to accept my mistakes
- not being the target of others

Since my teachable subjects are science and mathematics, I hope I can make these subjects interesting to students. There are some ways that I can do:
- make the subjects related to their daily lives and the things they like to do
- honest and open to critiques
- understand the needs and backgrounds (culture) of students so that I can make them comfortable   without embarrassing them

Embodied learning

I think bodily experiences might be helpful in learning aspects of chemistry because students can do experiments to learn and understand more about the concepts or theories of chemistry. Many experiments involve color or temperature changes (exothermic and endothermic reactions) that students can see or feel respectively. These sensory experiences can impress students, making them remember the chemical ideas related to the experiments. Also, this sensory information can act as a "flag" to remind students's prior knowledge. All these sensory experiences can be easily provided in laboratories.
In addition, bodily experiences can be applied in learning mathematics.  Based on the TED talk given by Erik Stern and Karl Schaefer, dancing related to mathematics can happen in the classroom. They taught students to use dance to count combinations by shaking hands. This activity was interactive and fun for students to learn. Therefore, it is possible to use sensory experiences and movement as resources in the classes.

Inquiry Topic

I think I would choose to investigate the way of how to design the classroom arrangement or interactive activities to promote student engagement in learning . I always want to find a way to get students more engaged in classroom learning.

What do marks do in school?

As a student, I think that assigning letter grades is not a good way to motivate learning. However, some students may think the percentages or letter grades can show the level of their performance in classes and this may remind them whether they should spend more time to study the subjects. If I were a teacher, I would need to find a way to assess my students' performance and assigning percentages is one of the possible ways to achieve my goal. The percentages are based on the students' performance on homework, tests and group projects. Also, teachers can discuss with students about how a certain percentage of the performance will be graded so that students would feel they are fairly assessed. Although tests or examinations produce certain pressure on students, I think this may be an opportunity for them to experience so that they will not be so frustrated by the pressure when they are working in society.

Since many people view grades as an indicator of whether a student is smart or not, grading would certainly create pressure on both students and their parents as they think bad grades would hinder the students' future. Also, grading would make people focus on the academic performance, neglecting the importance of other skills and qualities like interpersonal skills and morality. In addition, the grading system would create a competition environment in a classroom or a school and I'm not sure whether is is good or bad to students because competition can be a motivator to students but at the same time, it can put pressure on them too.

I think it is possible to teach mathematics/science without giving grades if people do not view the student's future success in society is determined by grades. Teachers can focus on connecting the students' interests with mathematics/science in daily applications to encourage learning among students.

Exit slip about media for teaching

Media like YouTube or other video channels can be used for teaching in classrooms. I remember I read a paper and it says that the impact of images/pictures is more powerful than that of words. Watching video clips or listening to the interviews related to the subjects can help students learn more easily. They can remember the content more easily or even be inspired to set their educational goals. Also, if the video clips are related to their interests, students can be more engaged in learning. There are some online software (e.g., Kahoot! and Meetoo) or simulation platforms (e.g., Phet) providing useful and interesting activities for students to learn. These interactive tools can help students learn in a fun and relaxing way so that they can enjoy learning in classrooms. Students can also understand technology is not only for fun but can be used for teaching and learning.