Affect & Learning Environment

Affect & Learning Environment is the climate or tone of the classroom.

Affect is how students' emotions and feelings impact their learning. Emotions and feeling originate in the brain based on past experiences and reactions to current experiences. They impact our motivation to learn, ability to work with others, and self-concept as a learner. In that way, affect is integral to, rather than apart from, curriculum. When a student has a positive affect regarding learning and himself or herself as a learner, it opens the door to academic growth. Conversely, a student's negative affect regarding learning or his or her own abilities as a learner shuts the door. Expert teachers don't just observe student behavior; they work to understand the affect that drives the behavior so they can guide students in a positive direction. 

Learning Environment is the physical and emotional context in which learning occurs. The appearance, organization, and structure of a classroom can invite learning with appealing colors, effective displays of student work, spaces for both solitary and collaborative work, easy access to materials and supplies, furniture arrangements that focus attention on peer input rather than largely or sole;y on the teacher, and visible cues to support quality work. Conversely, a classroom's physical environment can diminish learning by being barren, drab, cramped, teacher-focused, distracting, or limiting (with seating arrangements that isolate students from one another). More significant than this physical climate, however, is the classroom's more intangible emotional climate. Students learn best when they feel safe, respected, involved, challenged, and supported. Thus, a learning environment that invites each student to be a full participant in the classroom- with full support for the journey- is a necessity for robust differentiated instruction. 

Effective differentiation requires a learning environment in which:

• The teacher is attuned and responsive to affective, cognitive, and physical needs of learners.
• Students feel safe, both physically and affectively.
• The teacher respects and supports possibilities inherent in each student.
• Individual differences are accepted as natural and positive.
• Students learn to respect and support one another as learners.
• The teacher and students share in the decision-making process about daily routines and classroom operation.
• Hard work is an expectation.
• Physical arrangements are flexible and support student access to a variety of learning options.
• A range of resources are available and support student access to content.
• Flexible student grouping capitalizes on student strengths and allows effective attention to student weaknesses.