Article Link: http://exchangepress.com/article/environments-that-speak-to-children/5021928/
When considering the way an environment ‘speaks’ to children, teachers must ask themselves, “What can children do?” “How and where can they do it?” and “How they can work together?” Kritchevsky and Prescott, with Walling (1977) state:“What is in a space, a room, or a yard, and how it is arranged can affect the behaviour of people; it can make it easier to act in certain kinds of ways, harder to act in others. We don’t ordinarily think to take out a deck of cards at a dinner table set for six, even though the number and arrangement suggest a poker game. The whole setting gives us cues about expected behaviour, and generally we do what we have been invited to do . . . in a similar way, particular settings invite children to involve themselves in particular activities, and the extent of children’s constructive participation in the activity will depend in large part on how well certain concrete, measurable aspects of the surrounding physical space meet their ‘hunger, attitudes and interests’. . . .”
Assessing the Physical Environment
There are three key areas to consider when assessing an environment for children:
• The physical environment (how this is designed and ...