Overview of Environmental Factors That Affect Teaching and Learning
The environment affects teaching and learning, especially in the area of behavior. A behavior, i.e., something that a student is doing, happens within the context of what is happening around the student. The environment gives the student signals about when to act and how to act. Knowing the ways the environment can affect behavior will help you when trying to teach students new behaviors or modify the ways they use their current behaviors.
Environmental conditions include factors associated with one's location, activities, people in the surrounding area, schedules, and/or events. With regard to location, some people are more likely to act one way in certain areas. Working with students, you may notice that their behaviors are more likely to happen in the resource room or the playground. You will want to ask yourself what happens in these areas to make the behavior more likely. Is it the lighting? Perhaps an allergy to the furniture or the plants in the area?
In considering the people and activities, you may notice that students engage in a behavior only when certain people are present or the lesson involves a particular activity, such as reading or drawing. Again, ask yourself: "Who is present during the activity? Is there a predictable reaction from those involved? Does the behavior always happen when we do this activity?"
Schedules, times of day, and seasons can also affect behavior. For example, if a student needs to visit the nurse during the time usually scheduled for recess, that student may exhibit "protesting" behavior. Additionally, students have different levels of energy during different times of the day and react differently to changing seasons. Again, it is important to consider these effects when observing behavior or working on specific skills.
Four major components contribute to the educational process:
The learner
The teacher
The subject matter
The instruction method
These four components interact to create the teaching and learning environment. Each component is an equally important contributor to the learning environment. Educational staff will create a more successful environment when each component is considered adequately.