Rather Than "Fixing Kids" - Transform the Environment

Another interesting read. My directed study one-on-one advisor, Ryan Henderson, an instructor in the Interior Architecture & Design department at the Academy of Art University, informed me about this website, TRIBESTLC.COM. Their goal is to create a positive school/classroom environment through improving student behavior and learning. They contend that changing the environment of the school system itself, such as establishing caring and supportive relationships, setting positive and high expectations, and offering opportunities for meaningful participation, will the key to improvement, rather than the traditional approach of "fixing" the children through funding more programs for individual treatment, behavioral control, remedial programs, etc. They say that all these attempts to fix the children are just overwhelming our schools and doing not much else.

Very similar thinking to my thesis project, though I've ventured to hypothesize that even the child's physical environment makes a huge difference the way students will learn.

We'll have to see how my thesis plays out as I do more research and future on-site interviews at public middle schools. In the meantime, check out the article:

Rather than "Fixing Kids" - Transform the Environment

Executive Function Lacking in Children Today

Heard an interesting story on NPR this morning. Somewhat relates to my topic as it pertains to student behavior in classrooms. Kids just can't sit still and concentrate these days. What's the cause? The Mickey Mouse Club. Peaks your interest? It peaked mine.

Here's an excerpt:

It turns out that all that time spent playing make-believe actually helped children develop a critical cognitive skill called executive function. Executive function has a number of different elements, but a central one is the ability to self-regulate. Kids with good self-regulation are able to control their emotions and behavior, resist impulses, and exert self-control and discipline.

We know that children's capacity for self-regulation has diminished. A recent study replicated a study of self-regulation first done in the late 1940s, in which psychological researchers asked kids ages 3, 5 and 7 to do a number of exercises. One of those exercises included standing perfectly still without moving. The 3-year-olds couldn't stand still at all, the 5-year-olds could do it for about three minutes, and the 7-year-olds could stand pretty much as long as the researchers asked. In 2001, researchers repeated this experiment. But, psychologist Elena Bodrova at the National Institute for Early Education Research says, the results were very different.

"Today's 5-year-olds were acting at the level of 3-year-olds 60 years ago, and today's 7-year-olds were barely approaching the level of a 5-year-old 60 years ago," Bodrova explains. "So the results were very sad."

Sad because self-regulation is incredibly important. Poor executive function is associated with high dropout rates, drug use and crime. In fact, good executive function is a better predictor of success in school than a child's IQ. Children who are able to manage their feelings and pay attention are better able to learn. As executive function researcher Laura Berk explains, "Self-regulation predicts effective development in virtually every domain."

Check out the full story:

Old-Fashioned Play Builds Serious Skills

Revolution.Ed – MFA Thesis Project

THE DESIRE
The purpose of this thesis project is to redesign the public middle school classroom environment that would create a more conducive learning environment for the students. Working with already existing structures and space, reorganizing and reinterpreting the space, will hopefully aid teachers lead a more engaging class, and help students learn better.

THE FOCUS
The primary focus will be on the California middle schools (6-8 grades). I will study the way students behave on a cognitive level as well as social level, and observe and interview teachers on teaching styles and their specific needs in a classroom.

With the aid of my Cognitive Science background from UC Berkeley, I will do a comprehensive research on the psychology behind 6-8 grade student learning. In addition to scientific research, I will observe classroom behavior on-site in multiple classrooms. Teachers will also be interviewed to get a sense of what they feel are lacking in classrooms, and to discover their specific needs in order to provide a more productive learning environment for the students. I will also seek out their suggestions and advice as to how they have produced a successful environment for learning — furniture arrangement, organizational structure, and overall interior design structure of the classroom.

Through all of the research, I hope to gather all the findings and put it into a comprehensve guide that can be easily accessible and read. It will come in book form and website form, which allows for new material, research, suggestions, and tips for teachers to implement in their classrooms. The website form will also be a location where teachers can share with one another tried-and-true tips that others can benefit from in their own classrooms. Case studies will also appear to show first-hand the classroom setting, how the suggested tips can be applied, and resulting outcomes.

THE DELIVERABLES
- Book with research findings, infographics and in-class images, geared towards teachers
- Website detailing information in book, and online community/discussion forum where teachers can discuss and share ideas, opinions, and tips
- Printed collateral to advertise book and updated news in the form of postcard mailing and newsletters
- Example posters and wall art for one school subject (i.e. math, science, history, etc.) as a case study

MFA Graphic Design Thesis Project
Academy of Art University
San Francisco, CA