THE CLASSROOM ENVIRONMENT AND ITS EFFECTS ON THE PRACTICE OF TEACHERS

This study concerns the design of classroom environments and the impact of these environments on the practice of teachers. It involves data gathered from primary and secondary schools, using lesson observations and teacher interviews. Behavioural mapping instruments were developed for the school-based data collection, and subsequent analysis is both qualitative and quantitative. A number of constructs have been developed, defined and used to evaluate what happens within classrooms. Some of these constructs are physical (modes of layout), some are pedagogic (child-centred), and some involve combinations of data. The findings from the analysis of teachers’ classroom behaviour have been related to the issues emerging from their interviews. This enabled examination of behaviour alongside statements of attitudes and beliefs about the role of the classroom environment. These data inform questions about teachers’ awareness of their surroundings; the extent to which this awareness impacts on their teaching, and the extent to which teachers feel they have control over the features of their classrooms. The article concludes by making the case for the importance of environmental awareness in the training and retraining of teachers. Environmental competence is an important constituent of the skilled teacher.     

Noise annoyance responses of middle school pupils and teachers

The present survey study had three aims: (1) to compare pupils’ and teachers’ annoyance responses to classroom noise, (2) to compare females and males responses and (3) to test annoyance models that fitted both pupils and teachers. The study included 207 pupils, aged 13–14 years, and 166 teachers, aged 21–65 years. Both pupils and teachers rated chatter as the most disturbing noise source in the classroom. In line with predictions, the teachers experienced themselves as more sensitive to noise, had poorer hearing status, and reported more intense stress symptoms than the pupils. Contrary to expectations, the teachers were more annoyed and they perceived the noise to be more unpredictable than the pupils did. The control items showed a mixed pattern. There were no overall differences between females and males annoyance responses, but females reported having more stress symptoms than males. A conceptual model was tested with structural equation models, where noise sensitivity mediated the relationship between hearing status and annoyance, which in turn affected stress symptoms. Control and predictability were tested as moderators of the relations between stress symptoms and annoyance. The data fit the conceptual model reasonable well when both samples were included in the same test.     

高职《给水工程》教学新设想

通过介绍《给水工程》课程的性质和作用,分析目前《给水工程》课程教学中存在的主要问题,对课程今后的教学思路提出了新设想,主要包括：依托学科建设优势,引入科学研究新成果,构架全新课程内容体系;尝试采取＂课堂＋网络辅助＂教学模式;采用多媒体教学和传统讲授相结合的理论教学手段和课堂演示与工程现场结合、教师演示与学生动手结合、经典演示与现代高科技结合、传统演示与多媒体结合的实践教学手段;采用变一考为多考和加重平时成绩的课程考核方式等。     

大学英语教学改革—突出情景教学

传统的大学英语教学模式以教师课堂分析和语言讲解为重点，学生进行的实践太少。教学内容难以靠近语意和语境，学生很难做到学以致用。相反，情景教学能极大地激发学生的学习兴趣，积极引导学生参与语言练习。在情景教学中，教师通过创设情景、带入情境、运用情境、情景反思四步骤带领学生完成课堂任务，达到语言学习的目的。     

Privacy-seeking behavior in an elementary classroom

This study observed privacy-seeking behavior in an elementary classroom, investigated individual differences in privacy seeking, and compared preferences for private spaces varying in degree of enclosure. Four privacy booths were placed in a fourth-grade classroom. A ticket system was used to assess booth use. Information on personality and background variables was obtained with self-report, peer, teacher, and parent questionnaires. After an initial period of enthusiasm, overall booth use declined sharply. However, analysis revealed substantial individual variation in booth use that remained consistent throughout the study. For boys, booth use was significantly correlated with teachers' ratings of sociability, aggressiveness, and distractibility. For girls, a significant positive relationship was found between privacy seeking at home and in school. Self-reported desire for privacy was uncorrelated with actual privacy-seeking behavior in the classroom. No significant differences in the use of the various booths were found, although self-reported preferences clearly favored the booth that allowed visual access to the rest of the classroom when desired.     

Teaching Approaches in Geography and Students’ Environmental Attitudes

In a study which examines the pattern of geography teaching at the Advanced Level in Hong Kong and assesses the relative effectiveness of didactic and enquiry teaching approaches that are used by the teachers concerned for the development of positive values towards the environment, the question was asked as to whether or not enquiry is more effective than didactic approaches for the development of environmental values, in both the short and long terms, for students as a whole and for students from different ability ranges. Questionnaire surveys and interviews were conducted to obtain data from students after they were taught a topic on people and the environment in the curriculum, with the approach chosen by their teachers. Results show that the enquiry approach was effective with the lower to medium ability classes in the short term but students who were taught didactically performed better in more areas in the longer term. The possible causes for this pattern are discussed and suggestions for improving the effectiveness of enquiry approaches in a high-pressure, examination-oriented classroom environment are offered.     

英语分级教学中大班授课的问题与思考

英语大班授课存在诸如认识学生困难,纪律难以维持,因材施教原则难以实施,课堂互动困难等问题.通过教学实践发现,抓好课堂常规尤为重要;尽快认识学生,了解学生个性特点有利于教师与学生的情感交流、课堂的互动和因材施教原则的实施;利用信息时代的网络教学平台建立适合个性化发展的课程体系和新教学模式来实现学生自主学习,引进网络系统下的视听说课的“五步式“教学法来强化学生学习英语效果,从而英语分级教学中大班授课问题会迎刃而解,教学质量得到不断提升.     

Educational issues, school settings, and environmental psychology

This paper reviews selected research on classroom and school environments, using a framework that views schools from three perspectives—as places for learning, as places for socialization and as places for psychological development. Studies are included that deal with the impact of noise and classroom design on learning; the relationship between seating position, achievement and status; spatial cognition; the classroom environment and sex role stereotyping; privacy; and density. The need for classrooms to enhance children's feelings of competence, security and self-esteem is also stressed. The goal of the paper is to point out ways in which environmental psychologists can contribute to the improvement of the educational system and to the quality of life in schools.     

Determinants of noise annoyance in teachers from schools with different classroom reverberation times

A high proportion of school teachers report that they are disturbed by noise during teaching. The aim of the study was therefore to identify determinants of self-reported noise exposure and disturbance attributed to noise among secondary school teachers (n = 419) in 10 schools in Copenhagen, Denmark. The schools were selected to show contrasts in classroom reverberation times (RT), and were classified as “Short RT” (3 schools, mean RT 0.41–0.45 s), “Medium RT” (3 schools, mean RT 0.51–0.55 s) and “Long RT” (4 schools, mean RT 0.62–0.73 s). Significant determinants of self-reported noise exposure were a high number of children in the class, young age of the children, and low teacher seniority. “Long RT” classification was of borderline significance. Significant determinants of disturbance attributed to noise from children in the class were teacher seniority and “Long RT” acoustic classification of the school. The associations between work characteristics and noise disturbance measures were attenuated by low self-rated work capacity, suggesting that the consequences of noise and poor acoustics may not be limited to disturbance attributed to noise, but may have a wide negative impact on the perceived working environment.     

“点滴渗透法”在政治理论课教学中的应用

改革开放以来,经济社会发展迅速,人们的思想意识和道德观念也在发生着巨大的变化。如何让社会主义核心价值体系深入到大学生的心灵深处,内化为他们的人格力量和人生动力,是开展思想道德教育需要认真研究的重大课题。而将政治理论课的教学过程与师生的行为实践结合起来,丰富课堂教学的内容和形式,延伸拓展课堂教学的空间,是在政治理论课教学中尝试实践"点滴渗透法"的主要内容。     

Lighting and discomfort in the classroom

Aspects of classroom lighting and décor that can promote discomfort and impair task performance through glare, and imperceptible 100 Hz flicker from fluorescent lighting, were examined in a sample of UK schools. In 90 classrooms, across eleven secondary schools and six local education authorities variables measured included flicker, illuminance at desks, and luminance of whiteboards. Results showed that 80% of classrooms are lit with 100 Hz fluorescent lighting that can cause headaches and impair visual performance. Mean illuminance (from excessive day- and artificial lighting) was in excess of recommended design illuminance in 88% of classrooms, and in 84% exceeded levels beyond which visual comfort decreases. Lighting could not be adequately controlled due to classroom design and infrastructure. Ceiling-mounted data-projectors directed at whiteboards mounted vertically on the wall resulted in specular reflection from the whiteboard, visible as a glare spot with luminance high enough to cause discomfort and disability glare. The intensity of the glare spot varied between different brands of whiteboard. Ambient lighting, needed for close work at pupils' desks, reduced image contrast. Venetian blinds in 23% of classrooms had spatial characteristics appropriate for inducing pattern glare. There was significant variation between schools and local authorities. These findings may provide insights into small-scale reports linking pupils' attainment, behaviour and learning to classroom lighting, and may also help explain some of the benefits of coloured overlays for pupils' reading.     

对高职英语课堂“互动式“教学模式的初探

高职院校以就业为导向,以培养生产、建设、管理、服务第一线需要的高技能人才为目标,因此要求高职课堂要有自己的特色,教学模式要符合培养"实用型"人才的要求."互动式"英语教学模式比传统教学模式有着明显的优势:(1)发挥须生的主观能动性;(2)督促学生课下认真预习;(3)鞭策和督促教师精心备课;(4)有利于拉近师生距离.针对高职英语实用性、实践性、专业性的特点,对如何将"互动式"教学应用到高职英语课堂做了初步的探索.     

西南地区高校冬季室内二氧化碳浓度的测试研究

以西南科技大学为研究对象,用便携式红外线二氧化碳分析仪对其冬季室内CO2浓度进行测试分析,测试大学教室课前课后及寝室有人状态下CO2的浓度,包括普查检测以及连续监测。普查检测结果显示20％的样本CO2超过国家规定的上限值（0．10％）,且超标的样本在检测时都处于通风状态不佳时;连续监测则反映出室内CO2的增长与室内人数、房间体积以及通风情况的关系,建议尽量减小室内人员密度,增强通风,以此来确保高校师生身体健康。     

Health and behavior of children in classrooms with and without windows

The aims of the study were to assess the effects of light on the production of stress hormones, classroom performance, body growth, and sick leave, of school children. About 90 children were investigated in their school environment for a duration of one school year. The children were situated in four classrooms differing in respect to the access to natural daylight and artificial fluorescent light. The results indicated the existence of a systematic seasonal variation with more stress hormones in summer than in winter. The children situated in the one classroom lacking both natural daylight and fluorescent daylight tubes demonstrated a marked deviation from this pattern. High levels of morning cortisol were associated with sociability, while moderate or low levels seemed to promote individual concentration. Annual body growth was smallest for the children with the highest levels of morning cortisol. Possibly, the production of cortisol had some influence on sick leave. It may be concluded, that windowless classrooms should be avoided for permanent use.     

Fifth-, sixth-, and seventh- grade students’ use of non-classroom spaces during recess: The case of three private schools in Izmir, Turkey

This study investigates fifth, sixth, and seventh grade students’ place preferences between indoor and outdoor non-classroom spaces during recess and their activity patterns in these spaces in three private elementary schools. The study explores whether differences in the variety and organization of the spaces of school facilities have an impact on the place preferences of students and whether students are aware of the reasons for their preferences. Students’ place preferences and their activities were determined with field observations and a 30-item questionnaire with Yes/No and open-ended questions. A total of 173 students (n = 51 School 1; n = 70 School 2; and n = 52 School 3) participated in the questionnaire. The Chi-Square test, a non-parametric statistical analysis test, was used to analyze the students’ answers to the questionnaire. The results indicate that students prefer places which offer variety and which are large enough to avoid congestion and that, in general, students are aware of the spatial features of their environments and make choices accordingly. When students are given a choice of outdoors or indoors, they tend to choose according to which is more conducive to their activities. If both outdoor and indoor spaces are conducive, students tend to use both. If neither is conducive to their activities, students either alter their behavior patterns, for example, developing a preference for stationary activities or staying inside the classroom, or they convert available spaces to accommodate their activities. It is concluded that students are good sources of information in the design and planning of the environments they occupy.     

Indoor air quality investigation according to age of the school buildings in Korea

Since the majority of schools are housed in buildings dating from the 1960s and 1970s, a comprehensive construction and renovation program of school buildings has been carried out to improve the educational conditions in Korea. However, classrooms and computer rooms, with pressed wood desks, chairs and furnishings, as well as construction materials, might have negative effects on the indoor air quality. Furthermore, most schools have naturally ventilated classrooms. The purpose of this study was to characterize the concentrations of different indoor air pollutants within Korean schools and to compare their indoor levels within schools according to the age of school buildings. Indoor and outdoor air samples of carbon monoxide (CO), carbon dioxide (CO(2)), particulate matter (PM(10)), total microbial count (TBC), total volatile organic compounds (TVOCs) and formaldehyde (HCHO) were obtained during summer, autumn and winter from three sites; a classroom, a laboratory and a computer classroom at 55 different schools. The selection of the schools was based on the number of years since the schools had been constructed. The problems causing indoor air pollution at the schools were chemicals emitted by building materials or furnishings, and insufficient ventilation rates. The I/O ratio for HCHO was 6.32 during the autumn, and the indoor HCHO concentrations (mean = 0.16 ppm) in schools constructed within 1 year were significantly higher than the Korean Indoor Air Standard, indicating that schools have indoor sources of HCHO. Therefore, increasing the ventilation rate by means of a mechanical system and the use of low-emission furnishings can play key roles in improving the indoor air quality within schools.     

Functional wildlife parks: The views of Kenyan children who live with them

This study reports on Kenyan school children's ideas about wildlife parks in their country. A comparison is made between the responses of school children in primary school, before they receive any science education, and those of secondary school pupils at the end of the secondary cycle. The findings show little difference between the two groups of students in terms of their ideas about wildlife parks. This has serious implications for science and environmental education in Kenya. Parks are understood by these pupils in terms of real life issues, as derived from social consequences. The children's ideas are all based on the role that parks play in society, but the function of parks to support biodiversity conservation does not seem to be important to the students. While it is satisfying to note that the school children have a good understanding of parks in their social context, it is essential to address fully the scientific and ecological role of parks in order that biodiversity becomes more valued in our society.     

以多媒体课件开发促进高职人才培养模式建设

多媒体教学在现代教学中非常普遍,以教师为主导、学生为制作主体,利用Flash、Photoshop、AutoCAD、3Dsmax等软件,按照布置任务、学生分组、制定课件框架、收集资料、筛选资料、课件制作的过程来完成多媒体课件,通过融汇多门课程的教学内容进行多媒体课件开发,既丰富了实践课教学,增强了学生对知识的理解和运用,促进了课程考试改革和课程间的融合,而且成为学生之间的交流平台,对高职人才培养模式的建设起到了积极的促进作用。     

Environmental personalization and elementary school children's self-esteem

Prior research indicates that the physical classroom environment has the potential to affect children's behaviors, academic performance, and cognitive development. However, less is understood about the effect on the socio-emotional development of children. This study investigates the potential role of one aspect of the classroom's physical environment, personalization displays, on children's self-esteem. The study employed a classroom intervention in a quasi-experiment to examine the effects of increasing environmental personalization on children's self-esteem. Thirty-eight kindergarteners and first graders in six classrooms of two elementary schools in a rural community of a north-eastern state were assessed on pretests and post-tests of the Self-Esteem Index (SEI) scale and the Children's Inventory of Self-Esteem (CISE) scale. The findings were mixed but encouraging. On both measures of self-esteem, there was a significant positive effect of classroom personalization for first graders. However, for kindergarteners there was a significant positive effect for only one measure, the CISE. Although there are limitations with the study design, the findings suggest that young children's self-esteem may be influenced and enhanced by specific aspects of the classroom's physical environment.