The study employed a qualitative multiple case study approach to investigate second-grade students’ perceptions of their classrooms’ physical learning environment. Data were collected through interviews, participant-generated photographs, and observations. Participants in the study were 16 students in four classrooms in three school districts. A physical learning environment tool, Assessing the Pillars of the Physical Environment for Academic Learning (APPEAL), developed by Evanshen and Faulk and published in 2019, was used to select classrooms to participate in the study. According to the scale, the top-scoring classrooms were more learner-centered (more constructivist) than the lowest-scoring (more traditional) classrooms. Generally, participants believed that classroom physical learning environments that were best for them were meaningful, offered easy access to resources and materials, and provided active learning and social engagement opportunities. Both physical and emotional comfort were important to participants. There were more similarities than differences between the participants’ perceptions in the classrooms that scored highest on the APPEAL and the classes that scored lowest. The findings suggested that young children’s perceptions of the environment can be influenced by their experiences or contexts and their differences. The results encourage teachers of young children to think about their students as actively affected by their environment and challenge them to design classroom physical learning environments that support the diverse needs of students within these spaces.

Learning environment research has typically focused on factors other than the physical environment (e.g., student/teacher relationships, organizational structure). This study investigated the relationship between the physical classroom environment and entry-level undergraduate statistics students’ (N = 844) academic beliefs and performance. Students were taught in either a technology-enhanced active learning classroom or a traditional lecture hall. This study investigated how undergraduate students in an entry level statistics course a) perceived the importance of the physical learning environment, b) conveyed expectations for and experiences of active engagement within that environment, and c) self-reported their personal capability judgments. Data were analyzed by examining mean differences, correlations, and regression. The nested data structure was accounted for using hierarchical linear modeling. Results indicated that, at the end of the semester, students rated the physical learning space as less important to their learning than they did at the beginning, although perceived importance was not influenced by classroom setting. The relationship between classroom type and active engagement expectation/experience offered mix results. Students learning in traditional classrooms reported higher statistics self-efficacy than did those in technology-enhanced statistics classrooms. End-of-course statistics self-efficacy was significantly related to grades earned.

This research involved an in-depth and holistic investigation into the use of Internet technologies in high school classrooms. Specifically, it combined studies of the physical and psychosocial learning environments operating within these 'technological settings' and investigated interactions among the selected physical and psychosocial factors in influencing students' satisfaction with their learning. Further, the study described how both the physical and psychosocial domains may effectively enable, or alternatively, constrain the teaching methodologies used in these classrooms. The study involved two phases of investigation. The first phase involved a broad examination of the learning environment as measured with a questionnaire containing items measuring aspects of the psychosocial learning environment and with ergonomic site evaluations using a specially designed worksheet and inventory for computerised classrooms. In the second phase of the study, interactions among the physical and psychosocial variables in these measures were explored through the use of selected and detailed case studies from the original sample. Case studies included a more detailed assessment of the physical classroom environment in tandem with classroom observations and student/teacher interviews. The study was conducted in Australian and Canadian secondary schools and so, offers additional insights in the different approaches to technology implementation and teaching practice. The results of the study reveal a number of statistically significant and independent associations between physical and psychosocial factors and further, between psychosocial factors and students' satisfaction with learning. These findings were complemented by similar qualitative findings from the case studies. These quantitative and qualitative results were used to inform a model for educational productivity for ++ / computerised classrooms. The model includes a number of important physical and psychosocial factors which when considered together, may influence student attitudes (and potentially other outcomes) in emerging networked and computerised learning environments.

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Guided by the constructivist framework, the focus of the investigation was on second-grade students and their perceptions of their classrooms’ physical learning environment. A qualitative multiple case study approach was employed, and data were collected through interviews, participant-generated photographs, and observations. Participants in the study were 16 second-grade students in four classrooms in three school districts in Northeast Tennessee. A physical learning environment tool, Assessing the Pillars of the Physical Environment for Academic Learning (APPEAL), developed by Evanshen and Faulk (2019) was used to select classrooms to take part in the study. The tool focuses on dimensions that help observers evaluate the quality of the primary classroom physical learning environment on a continuum of traditional to constructivist elements. Findings revealed that second-grade students are aware of, and are affected by, their classrooms’ physical learning environment. Generally, participants believed that classroom physical learning environments that were best for them were meaningful, offered easy access to resources and materials, and provided opportunities for active learning and social engagement. Both physical and emotional comfort were important to participants. There were more similarities than differences between the perceptions shared by participants in the classrooms that scored highest on the APPEAL (more constructivist or student-centered) and the classrooms that scored lowest (more traditional or teacher-centered) on the scale. Some of the differences that emerged were that all the students who were in the teacher-centered classrooms identified features connected to computers as something they liked whereas most of the students in the learner-centered classrooms did not. Students in the learner-centered classrooms were more articulate in talking about how displays helped them to learn, and students in the teacher- centered classroom communicated the need to change displays. Additionally, the findings suggested that young children’s perceptions about the environment can be influenced by their experiences or contexts and their individual differences. The findings encourage teachers of young children to think about their students as actively affected by their environment and challenge them to design classroom physical learning environments that support the diverse needs of students within these spaces.

No description available.

No description available.

I samband med decentraliseringen tog fritidshemmen steget in i skolan och många fritidshem delar sedan dess lokaler med skolans verksamhet. Detta gäller dock inte alla fritidshem. Det är i dag vetenskapligt belagt att den fysiska miljön har en påverkan på lärande och utveckling. Utifrån tidigare forskning framkommer det att dagens klassrum är skapta för att främja det ämnesinriktade lärandet under skoltiden. Samtidigt finns det en brist på forskning som lyfter fritidshemmets lärandemiljöer, i parallell till deras specifika uppdrag gentemot läroplanen. Det finns en avsaknad av elevernas röst i frågan. Intentionen med denna studie är att lyfta elevers perspektiv på olika typer av fritidshemsmiljöer. Detta för att bidra till en ökad förståelse för elevers uppfattning av hur miljön i fritidshem med egna/delade lokaler påverkar deras vistelse. Studiens fokus ligger på elevernas agerande i lärmiljön, deras upplevelse av fritidshemmens lärmiljö och huruvida olika typer av lärmiljöer överensstämmer med fritidshemmets styrdokument. Studien har utgått från tre forskningsfrågor: Hur påverkar olika lärmiljöer elevers agerande under fria aktiviteter? Vilka egenskaper beskriver eleverna skapar en meningsfull miljö i deras fritidshem? Vid jämförelse, framträder det några skillnader/likheter i hur de olika fritidshemmen överensstämmer med styrdokumenten utifrån den fysiska lärmiljöns förutsättningar? Utifrån studiens syfte har det genomförts observationer och elevintervjuer på två fritidshem med olika typer av lokaler. Teorierna som används för att belysa problemområdet är affordance och pragmatismen. Resultatet i denna studie visar inte på någon större skillnad mellan de olika fritidshemmen när det kommer till elevernas känsla av meningsfullhet och hur de ser fram emot sin vistelse. De skillnader som setts går att knyta till den fysiska miljöns utformning. I de fritidshem som delar lokal med skolan bidrar klassrumsmiljön till en typ av segregation mellan årskurserna som står i kontrast till den verksamhet som har egna lokaler. De möjligheter miljön bidrar till påverkas starkt av pedagogernas aktiva arbete.

The purpose of this study was to research what needs students feel that they have, linked to the physical learning environment in the classroom, and how this affects their conditions for learning. These needs can then hopefully give an indication of how the physical learning environment can be designed and adapted to increase its accessibility and thus reduce the need for exclusionary measures. The theories of the study concern thoughts about inclusion and theories about how the physical learning environment can be changed based on students' needs. The theoretical framework is based on a socio-cultural perspective, the ecological system theory and from the special educational perspective. Both a quantitative and a qualitative approach have been used in the form of questionnaires and semi-structured interviews with students in one high school. The interview questions were worked out on the basis of the results of the survey. A comparison of the results from the respective survey method has been made and analyzed on the basis of the theoretical framework. The pupils experienced a need to reduce both auditory and visual distractions. A high proportion of students felt that the order and study area in the classrooms were not so good. The furniture's adaptation to the students physical conditions deteriorated with the students’ ages. Posters and other information on the walls seemed distracting to some students, while the majority were not disturbed by it or even gave a positive effect. The availability of tactile aids facilitated the conditions for concentrating for certain students. The development of the school's learning environments can, on the basis of the study, be beneficial to all school students and not isolated to students in difficulty to increase the scope of inclusion with all its advantages. Hopefully, the study can provide indications of what needs in the physical learning environment that can be found in students.

Betoningen i fritidshemmets och dess pedagogers uppdrag ligger på det som många gånger är oförutsägbart – lek, utforskande och kreativa arbetssätt samt att främja elevers fantasi och kreativitet. Fritidshemmet är även en fysisk plats – en komplex miljö där förväntningar om informellt lärande och omsorg ska iscensättas och ta plats. Den fysiska inomhusmiljön i fritidshemmet och pedagogernas roll i att använda den som en del av det pedagogiska uppdraget finns inte i detalj specificerat i styrdokumenten och är ett område som inte tidigare prioriterats högt i akademisk forskning, men kan ses vara på tydlig uppgång. Studien, som genomförts i form av samtalspromenader tillsammans med pedagoger på fyra fritidshem i Skåne syftar till att – genom ett designteoretiskt och sociokulturellt perspektiv – belysa pedagogers intentioner och praktiker kring att främja elevers kreativitet och fantasi i och genom den fysiska inomhusmiljön på fritidshemmet. Den ställer även frågan kring vilka artefakter som används för detta syfte och på vilket sätt de presenteras för eleverna. Studiens resultat visar en samstämmig bild av både det utbud av artefakter som presenteras för elever i syfte att främja kreativitet och fantasi, och ett ospecificerat uppdrag som i högsta grad är levande för pedagogerna men många gånger är marginaliserat. / The emphasis of Swedish leisure-time teachers assignment lies in the unpredictable characteristics of play, explorative and creative ways of working and encouraging child fantasy and creativity. The leisure time centre is also a physical space where a complex mix of expectations of informal learning and care takes place.   The physical learning environment of Swedish leisure-time centres, and the teacher’s assignment concerning it, is neither in detail regulated in steering documents nor well documented in academic research but seems to be an upcoming subject of attention.   This study, which has been executed as walking interviews with teachers in four Swedish leisure-time centres, aims to – through a sociocultural and multimodal theoretical perspective – illustrate the intention and applied practices concerning the encouraging of child fantasy and creativity in and through physical learning environment. It also aims to explore the use and range of artifacts and how they are presented to children.   The results of this study present a unanimous picture of the range of artifacts used and an assignment highly vivid to the teachers but still unspecified as well as marginalized.