Biophilic Classroom Design Leads to Improved Learning for Children
"[For students]...elements we can control should be non-negotiable . …[such as] providing an environment that provides the best opportunity to learn.”
Heath Boot - Primary School Teacher
PLN Group recently ran a study with a local Auckland primary school to measure the effects of biophilic design on the children's wellbeing and ability to learn.
FREE Whitepaper: Biophilic Design for the Classroom
Biophilic design is the introduction of natural elements to our built spaces. It is prediacted on the fact that the human brain hasn't really evolved since we were cavemen and so the natural world is ostensibly still our home. Read more about biophilic design on our site
Despite there being many studies on biophilic design in the workplace, that have thrown up some spectacular results, there have been relatively few studies aimed at children in school.
In the workplace, the introduction of biophilic design has delivered significant reuslts in various studies: 15% more creativity, 15% more productivity, reductions in absenteeism of 10% and reductions in stress of up to 60%
So, Why This Study?
We felt this was potentially important. Apart from the lack of evidence in the classroom that the workplace has enjoyed, the advent of ILE or open-space learning in schools has thrown up debate for and against without proper consideration of how those bigger spaces are designed. The Covid pandemic has also got many children out of the habit of learning, so we wanted to discover how we could help children get back to learning habits.
We also wanted to challenge the perceived wisdom that the first two hours in the day were the 'golden hours' for learning. we asked the question: what if the whole day could be golden?
It would be wrong to suggest there has been no study into classroom design and its impacts on leanrning. In 2015 a paper published on 'Science Direct' concluded there were three Basics of Classroom Design - one of which was named "Naturalness", which was believed to exact a 50% influence on learning. In 2017 a UK work identified seven characteristics of classroom design that, combined, exerted a 16% variation on students' progress. These charteristics included light, colour, temperature and air quality: all biophilic elements.
“Friday is the day children are least ready to learn and by 2pm on any day most kids’ readiness to learn has fallen markedly away”.
- Rhian Storey - Primary teacher
The Study
领英推荐
The classroom we studied was a fairly typical primary school space, full of bright colours and with a lot of 'stuff' cluttering the walls. Experts label this sort of clutter 'extraenous cognitive load', that can distract from the prime task at hand.
The redesign wasn't extensive, but introduced elements that brought the natural world inside and removed much of that extraneous cognitive load. The biggest element was a full-height wall graphic of local bush. Acoustic light and pendant elements such as the Hush light brought biophilic form, but also helped bring the muted sounds often found in the bush. Plenty of pot plants delivered living nature and a biophilically design seating unit added a focus study space. As a control, another similar classroom was left as it was and both sets of kids were measured over the course of several weeks.
The Measure
Children measured their own mood four times each day without intervention from teachers. An international standard scale, Kuyper's Zones of Regulation, was used which scales from 'Out of Control and Angry' at one end to 'lethargic and sad' at the other. The sweet spot - scoring from 6 to 8.5 was when children were happy, calm, focused and ready to learn.
The Results
“Irrespective of the data we collected as part of this study, there was a noticeable change in mood amongst the children in the biophilic space. There was more focus and engagement in the room. They took ownership of their space, the plants especially, which they became protective of and cared for.?It was a lovely thing to see.”
-Heath Boot - Teacher
We believe this is a significant study and hope you are interested in what it could mean for our tamariki if its results were to be taken up throughout Aotearoa.
If you want to know more, see how this study was conducted and discover a surprise result from the work we did, download our FREE Whitepaper
Director at PLN Group
2 年A special congratulations to the team involved in this. Seeking to learn from a primary perspective requires extraordinary effort and willingness to try and make a difference. The results speak for themselves.