Providing purposeful variety within a learning environment can boost brain development and lead to more meaningful learning experiences.
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A sensory-rich environment is essential in educational spaces, especially to support the foundational brain development that occurs in early childhood. When a child is exposed to a variety of external stimuli, like textures, shapes, spaces, and colors, a number of areas in the brain that contribute to enhanced brain plasticity are activated.
The parietal lobe, which processes sensory information and spatial awareness, and the occipital lobe, which processes visual information, are both engaged when we interact with external stimuli. In the book, Your Brain on Art02, authors Susan Magsamen and Ivy Ross explain the benefit of enriched environments on brain development. They focus much of their discussion on brain plasticity, which can be triggered through salient experiences - external inputs that your brain places a high value on.
Continued exposure to these experiences will help the brain develop stronger connections that lead to better memory and comprehension.
A variety of sensory input in an educational space can have a notable impact on student engagement and help create meaningful learning experiences. By implementing variety into the classroom, student's memory and retention will improve as they begin associating words or feelings with different sensory experiences.
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04Loris Malaguzzi, the educational theorist who established the Reggio Emilia approach, believed that children learn through their senses and argued that the classroom environment should encourage exploration and discovery, spark curiosity, and facilitate interaction with a variety of sensory materials. A well-known poem of his, 100 Languages05, explains his belief that children have 100 ways of knowing, learning and working with their hands, and the classroom environment should support all of these.
When asked about the impact of classroom decoration (pictures on walls, plants, rugs, lighting, etc.), participants of the teachers survey had mixed responses. Some shared their experience that too much decoration can cause distraction, while others explained that creating a stimulating environment helped students engage.
In the book, Color, Environment, and Human Response, author Frank Mahnke describes the physiological and psychological effects of different sensory input like light, color, material, and texture. He explains the importance of understanding the difference between unity and complexity in a sensory-rich environment.
Unity refers to the balance and cohesion of external stimuli - like a set of blocks that gradually change from light blue to dark blue or can fit and collapse into one another. Complexity refers to the difference and contradiction between a set of sensory inputs, like a soft, smooth cushion versus a hard, textured wooden chair. While Mahnke expresses the value in experiencing this variety in our built environment, he also warns that too much unity can lead to sensory deprivation and too much complexity can lead to overstimulation. To support this, he includes a quote by color theorist, Faber Birren,
“In response to environment, people expect all of their senses to be moderately stimulated at all times. This is what happens in nature, and it relates not only to color and changing degrees of brightness, but to variations in temperature and sound. Variety is indeed the spice - and needed substance - of life.”06
The Aurora International School of the Arts07 in Vietnam is modeled to reflect the Reggio Emilia approach and incorporates variety into the classroom spaces through the use of natural, repurposed materials, maximizing views of nature, and a balance of colors and textures. Most of the “decoration” in the space is either made by students or is able to be used while teaching.
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existing classroomdream classroomA thoughtful and strategic use of learning materials with a variety of shapes, colors, textures, and sizes that relate in a logical way can help teach classification and comparison and improve vocabulary and memory.
When asked to draw their existing classroom versus their dream classroom, one first grade student filled their dream space with color, plants, different seating options, views outside, and artwork.08
Consider your classroom. Do the elements within the space support your learning objectives and engage the senses without being over-stimulating?
The use of variety in the classroom has the ability to form stronger connections in the brain to enhance learning and support memory formation. Children are
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sensitive to the sensory input in their environments and an appropriate amount of variety in the classroom can make a notable difference in a child’s development. As Loris Malaguzzi says,
“The world passes through them as they pass through the world.”09
Mahnke, Frank H. Color, Environment, and Human Response: an Interdisciplinary Understanding of Color and Its Use As a Beneficial Element In the Design of the Architectural Environment. New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1996