The Third Teacher

Classroom environment matters. Yes, the space where teachers spend their days with twenty-five or more small humans needs to be a reasonably ‘nice’ place to dwell, perhaps even inspiring, organised and homely. But educators should also be challenged to consider purpose carefully when constructing their classroom environment so that they can identify how the environment directly impacts student learning.

Classroom environments can be 'powered-up' quickly when traditional classroom set ups and displays are reconsidered. Traditional visible elements like alphabet displays around the ceiling, themes and coordinated teacher-constructed static displays might look wonderful but these decorations don't impact students and their learning. What is placed on walls must be of value to learning.

Reggio Emilia philosophy consciously names the classroom environment as 'the third teacher' of students, with parents being the first and educators being the second teacher. Students use their environment to support them as they inquire, practice and master new skills and understandings. Spaces have the potential to powerfully influence learning - if educators let them.

When teachers get more intentional about what’s physically in the classroom space, the environment becomes the 'third teacher' of students. Teachers can involve learners in the co-construction of the physical and visible classroom environment. The artefacts that are placed on the walls should make the learning that is taking place visible and include tools that learners can access to support them as they learn. The walls are dynamic, unfolding and changing as the learning does.

Kath Murdoch's work can be a useful consideration when pondering the many elements working together to form a powerful classroom environment. Murdoch describes four components of the classroom environment in her book, ‘The Art of Inquiry’ – The Physical Classroom Environment, The Emotional Classroom Environment, The Visible Classroom Environment and The Intellectual Classroom Environment. Intentionally curating these four components are what matters most for learning in classrooms.

Teachers can consciously curate the classroom environment to pique interest by decorating less and documenting more. The walls should be 'less pretty' and more 'pretty useful'. The classroom environment should support students to learn.