Study Finds that Classroom Design Can Affect Academic Progress by as Much as 25%.
This year-long pilot was carried out looking at 750 elementary students in 34 classrooms over a full year. The study looked at two sets of data. The first was student data such as age, gender and performance levels in reading, math and writing. Then there were ten different design features evaluating the holistic classroom environment, such as classroom orientation, natural light, noise, temperature and air quality. Other parameters such as flexibility of space, storage facilities, organization and use of color were also evaluated. The study looked at both the design features and use factors, such as adjustments made to accommodate student or learning activity needs.
The results were very surprising.
The paper found that classroom design could be attributed to a 25% impact, positive or negative, on a student’s progress over the course of an academic year. The difference between the best- and worst-designed classrooms covered in the study was a full year’s worth of academic progress! In fact, 73% of the variation in pupil performance driven at the class level could be explained by the building environment factors measured in this study.
What about teacher influence? According to the study, the multilevel statistical model used to crunch the data, which looked at the correlation between the variables and student progress across classrooms, factored out individual teacher influence to a large extent.
Professor Peter Barrett, School of the Built Environment, University of Salford said: “It has long been known that various aspects of the built environment impact on people in buildings, but this is the first time a holistic assessment has been made that successfully links the overall impact directly to learning rates in schools. The impact identified is in fact greater than we imagined and the Salford team is looking forward to building on these clear results.”
After collecting data on the students’ performance levels going into the school year, the researchers, comprising faculty from the University of Salford School of the Built Environment, in Manchester, England, as well as collaborators from the architecture firm Nightingale Associates, ranked each classroom on a 1 to 5 scale for 10 different design parameters: light, sound, temperature, air quality, choice, flexibility, connection, complexity, color, and texture. Each parameter was broken down into multiple variables. Considering light, for example, they looked at how much natural light came into the classroom and how much control the teacher had to adjust the light.
Six of the design features –color, choice, complexity, flexibility, connection, and light–had a significant effect on learning. Light included the amount of natural light in the classroom and the quality of the electrical lights it contains. Choice had to do with the quality of the furniture in the classroom, as well as providing “interesting” and ergonomic tables and chairs for pupils. Complexity and color both have to do with providing an ample amount of visual stimulation for students in the classroom.”
The study will continue for another 18 months looking at 20 more classrooms. It will be very interesting to see if these results are consistent with the initial study. While the degree of the impact is surprisingly large, the study certainly indicates these factors that are worthy of consideration. Many of the resulting design decisions or changes in the classroom environment could be relatively easy to implement and make for low-cost improvements that, according to these results, could have a positive impact on the learning of many students.
What this says about other studies that have looked at what has significant impact on learning progress (and vice versa) is hard to say. I don’t recall other studies have attempted to keep variables like these constant as they looked at such factors, but this study suggests that would be an interesting experiment.
You can read a summary of the study here: http://www.salford.ac.uk/home-page/news/2012/study-proves-classroom-design-really-does-matter
The study itself can be accessed here: here:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0360132312002582
