| |
 |
Psychological thinking on classroom decoration
|
华茂实验学校 丁今晖
WHENEVER I enter Lisa's classroom, I'm always fascinated by the ingenuity she shows in her classroom decoration. The beauty of it not only strikes me but also inspires me with new thoughts.
Jean Piaget, a Swiss educational psychologist says in the 'theory of structure' that knowledge is obtained by the children's own practice as well as by environmental aids. So we see how much of an important role the environment plays in education.
Lisa's decoration stresses the effect that the environment has on the students' study.
The first thing that strikes me, is the layout of the chairs and desks. They are not in the traditional rows but are in groups. This set-up is good for the kids' communication, and co-operation. It also helps foster their participation in class/ group activities. As a result, it accelerates the study process, and provides a democratic environment in which the teachers and the students work together as equals.
Hundreds of children's books are placed in the classroom by genre, most of which are all-inclusive, colourful, and in a variety of shapes and sizes. Also, there are all kinds of cards that are tagged with English words for year, month, date, weather etc, which are hung on the walls. This rich learning environment quickly engages the student's interest in their studies. It is this decoration that helps the teacher utilize the students' subconscious. Thus, their burden of learning is greatly reduced and performance is effectively raised. This favorable environment that the teacher carefully creates will naturally attract their attention to what the teacher is teaching, and provide a much nicer learning environment for the students.
Consequently, this makes teaching and learning a more enjoyable experience for both the teacher and student respectively.
Wilhelm Wundt , the founder of modern experimental psychology says, "It is not the thought but the feeling that mainly works in linguistic psychology ," Lisa's classroom decoration provides the students with that feeling , the feeling that English is attractive, to the student. With this feeling the students immerse themselves in the fun of learning, exercising their feeling, developing their language skill, and gaining knowledge.
|
|
|
|
