Cheryl Ferreira vigorously pursues the Montessori principles that are implicit for preparing a classroom where "children find all that is needed to work at self-formation and to maximize their inner potential." The Montessori philosophy is precisely conveyed as Cheryl Ferreira details the specific elements and principles, both physical…

As part of a symposium on the provision of architectural privacy within the classroom, this paper reviews the limited research that is available and discusses the importance of viewing classroom settings as ecological units with both physical and behavioral components. Whether children prefer to use private facilities, and whether they benefit…

The purpose of this study was to describe the relationship between spatial division of the early childhood classroom and teachers' perceptions of changes in this division. Eighty-four teachers were given photographs of a classroom which was presented in low, moderate, and high levels of spatial division. As they viewed each photograph, subjects…

This study examined the effects of color and light on the learning of eleven 6-year-old elementary school students. The students were videotaped to identify off-task behaviors and had their blood pressure measured while in a standard classroom with white walls and cool-white fluorescent lights, as well as in a classroom with light blue walls and…

Noting that the design of the classroom used for early childhood and kindergarten classes can contribute in powerful ways to the education of young children, this paper applies principles of architecture to the organization and shaping of the interior classroom space. The paper maintains that five principles, when applied, create a climate of…

This study examined the influence of literacy-enriched play centers on preschoolers' conceptions of print. Subjects, 25 boys and 12 girls aged 4 and 5 years from 2 urban preschool classes, were systematically observed before and after 5 basic design changes were made in the classrooms. Four distinct play centers (post office, library, office, and…

A study was conducted to examine the impact of classroom arrangement (open versus traditional) and tidiness (messy versus neat) on observers' expectations about a teacher. A heterogeneous sample of college students was shown color slides of vacant elementary classrooms varying in terms of these two dimensions and asked to indicate their…

This study observed the spatial distribution of activity in a second-third grade informal classroom and tested the general hypothesis that changes in the physical setting could produce changes in students' behavior. The experimenter observed for two weeks, using a time-sampling-by-child instrument. The activities and locations of the subjects were…

Designing a distance learning classroom requires integration of educational goals and philosophy with technology and ergonomics. The technological challenge and key to designing effective distance learning and multimedia classrooms is creating an environment in which the participants--students, and teacher--may easily interact with instructional…

A study observing children's participation in designing their own classroom space was based on the following framework: (1) creation of the environment and conditions necessary to enable children to express themselves constructively in a climate of acceptance; (2) support of children's need to prove and confirm their own abilities; (3)…

This study was a joint undertaking of interior environmental designers and a child developmentalist. The goal of the study was to increase peer interation between children in two classes held in one classroom. Children were observed for 7 weeks, in three periods: weeks 2 and 3 (time 1); weeks 4 and 5 (time 2); and weeks 6 and 7 (time 3). Observers…

All 100 general assignment classrooms at a major university were evaluated by faculty and students, using faculty and student questionnaires. Respondents rated the classrooms they were currently occupying on a number of specific features and indicated what they liked the most and the least about the classroom. Thirty percent of the faculty found…

This research examined the extent to which 2.5- to 5-year-old children in three Kindergarten classrooms in Thessaloniki, Greece could be taught about the use of classroom space and equipment. The study combined the theoretical perspectives of Piaget, Vygotsky, Bruner, and Frangos with the views of theater director Peter Brook. Mixed-age groups of…

This paper describes the activities of a University of California, Davis, advisory group that was charged with monitoring campus classroom environments and proposing corrective action to remedy deficiencies and establish design criteria for consideration in the construction of future instructional facilities. A survey of faculty and students was…

The use of computers in the writing classroom changes the actual activities used in class, adapting some present activities and creating new paradigm activities, and also changes the arrangement of the classroom, forcing a radical rethinking of spatial design. The computer classroom is not a passive room, one where information goes out from the…