When learners are willing to get the wrong answers, they will be more likely to take a chance when developing new ideas

Visualise your ideal classroom – and what it feels like. Is it a happy place? Are the learners having so much fun, they don’t even know they are learning? Or perhaps it’s a place where:

• children are sitting quietly and labouring over worksheets,
• children are sitting quietly and behaving – some of them possibly struggling to sit and concentrate,
• children are battling to sit still and bursting with excitement because they think they know the answer.

According to Emily Rubin  there is no fine line between children being fully involved and having fun while they are learning, and passivity. The only way to solve the problem of being stuck in a boring classroom with boring teachers and, even more importantly, bored teachers, is to have an active classroom. This is especially true for children with autism and learning difficulties.

Dr Lindee Morgan highlights various characteristics of active involvement, which mean being available to learn. The following are some ideas to help you create a more engaging and fun-filled environment for your learners – the ideal classroom.

Well-regulated children

Changing the energy in a classroom provides interest and excitement and will help regulate children. This can be done by getting the children to change the furniture, put up new posters or even paint a wall with a new colour. This will significantly decrease anxiety in the classroom and make it a ‘cool’ place in which to learn. An ideal classroom setting will also reach the visual-, auditory- and sensory-seeking child. ‘Fidget toys’, soothing music, or an area where there is a calming space are recommended. There are so many interesting ways to make the classroom a highly conducive space for learning and, in a short time, no one will want to leave this exhilarating space. You could do the same at home during homework time – make it a special occasion of learning and enjoyment between your child and you. What self-regulation tools do you use to help you, as a parent, maintain focus?

Productive

It’s a fact that if we work with children on something new, and we do it together, they are more excited to get involved. Encourage children to start becoming more creative. They can play outside – make tree houses, racetracks, and ride bikes. That way, when children come to school, they will be more willing to work on creative learning and not get tied into endless work sheets. When they are at school, they can work outside and make use of experiential learning.  Teachers can work with their learners, introduce stimulating task that they really want to do – and suddenly there will be highly productive and creative learning taking place. On the other side of this coin – teachers will be energised and become more creative when they see the innovative results.

Socially Connected

When learners are enjoying themselves there is learning that happens, incidentally. There will always be time for independent work tasks for the learners. When these tasks are being created, think about keeping the learning socially connected – and when they are in a classroom, teachers need to consider, and foster, a culture of inclusion. Talk to the children and find out about their interests or even their opinions about what they are learning. When they make friends in the classroom, real learning starts.

Communicating with others – looking at faces

For autistic children – or other children who struggle to look another in the eyes – it needs to be remembered that by simply turning to face the teacher, they become more engaged in what is being said. An engaged student is turned toward the teacher and even if they are not looking directly into the eyes of the teacher (or speaker), they are receiving information and feedback from them. This is a sign that the activity or experience is pleasurable and that they want it to continue. When you are fully engaged in an activity, are you turned toward it or away from it? Do you look at others’ faces as you are enjoying the experience?

Responding to Others

When children are working together and having fun, they are responding to what their classmates are doing and saying. Very soon it becomes obvious that they are engaging and learning with – and from – each other. This is what an ideal classroom or learning space looks and feels like. An engaged learning space will sometimes be noisy, and that is okay. Learners are learning. Learners are now learning to respond to others and hold meaningful conversations. This avoids behavioural problems.

Being Flexible

This is a skill that everyone can work on – even teachers. When you develop new and engaging activities, ensure there is space for going in a different direction. Be open to take activities to a place that you never expected because of a learner’s sudden interest which, in turn, may take everyone there. This can work for children who have diverse needs as well. The more everyone gets involved and excited to be involved in the project, the more likely all the children will remember the experience. Have you ever gone down the proverbial ‘rabbit-hole’ during a lesson? Did it increase engagement or did the experience fall flat?

Generating New Ideas

When classrooms foster a culture of communication, friendship and inclusivity, at all levels, new ideas will start to grow. It becomes a safe and happy environment, where children can develop and, ultimately, feel proud of their achievements. Sometimes they will succeed and sometimes they won’t succeed as well as they would like, but that is all part of the learning process and must be nurtured in a caring environment. When learners are willing to get the wrong answers, they will be more likely to take a chance when developing new ideas. The most important task is to make sure that they are rewarded for their risk taking so they feel confident to take a risk again.

Reference: Timothy Villegas is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Think Inclusive.