The Soft Classroom

Sommer, Robert; Olsen, Helge

doi:10.1177/0013916580121001

Cited by 46 publications

(20 citation statements)

References 3 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…Special studies are concerned with special topics, for example large and small schools (Barker & Gump, 1964), open versus traditional schools (Gump, 1974), "soft classroom" (Sommer & Olsen, 1980), the school and classroom climate (Anderson, 1982;Arbinger & von Saldern, 1982;von Saldern, 1992), and the lab school Bielefeld (Schmittmann, 1985).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Several studies agree that seats in the middle of the classroom, facing the front, seem to be associated with better performance and participation (Becker, Sommer, Bee, & Oxley, 1973;Sommer, 1972;cf. Bell, Greene, Fisher, & Baum, 2001, p. 263 et sqq.).…”

Section: 83mentioning

confidence: 97%

“…Soft classrooms have semicircular benches with cushions, adjustable lighting, a small rug and a few movable chairs. Such soft classrooms lead to distinctly improved student participation (Sommer & Olsen, 1980).…”

Section: 83mentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

The School of the Future: Conditions and Processes – Contributions of Architectural Psychology

Walden

2015

Schools for the Future

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: 83mentioning

confidence: 97%

See 1 more Smart Citation

The School of the Future: Conditions and Processes – Contributions of Architectural Psychology

Walden

2015

Schools for the Future

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

“…Studies have been undertaken that examine particular experiences, such as the increased student participation noted when a classroom was changed from straight rows of desks facing the teacher to one furnished with soft furnishings in a circular arrangement (Sommer & Olsen, 1988). Evidence of larger scale outcomes of educational facility design, however, remains difficult to gather (Lee & Tan, 2011;Woolner, Hall, Higgins, McCaughey, & Wall, 2007).…”

Section: Evidence In Educational Contextsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evaluating learning environments for interprofessional care

Kvan¹

2013

Journal of Interprofessional Care

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Many institutions have invested considerably in the provision of student facilities--lecture halls, tutorial rooms and classrooms--spaces we call collectively learning environments. In expending resources on such facilities, we have assumed that we have needed to create this range of spaces for such activities. However, how do we know we have invested wisely in support of learning for interprofessional care? In this article I review the literature to identify evidence in a range of fields, including health care, to consider the issues and difficulties of employing established approaches from practices of evidence-based design. Central in this article is the role of evidence in the assessment of learning environments. In particular, I argue that the evidence must include qualitative dimensions of the learning experience. To address the qualitative outcomes from education, with particular attention to the concerns of interprofessional education, a model is proposed to examine different levels of outcomes. By developing an interpretation of Kirkpatrick's model, four levels are described for the effective evaluation of interprofessional learning environments.

show abstract

“…In addition, there are some limited suggestions that some individuals might be more sensitive to noise than others (Zimmer & Ellermeier, 1999;Belojevic et al, 2001). Maslow and Mintz (1956) found that participants in an 'ugly' room made significantly less positive judgements about photographs than did the participants doing the same task in a 'beautiful' room and it is clear that the provision of new buildings or the renovation of old ones can have marked effects (Sommer & Olsen, 1980;Berry, 2002) on motivation and engagement. However, it is likely that these effects tend to be short term, based on the initial 'wow factor' and if each cohort of users does not have the opportunity to personalise or 'own' the space, a decline in engagement would be expected.…”

Section: Colourmentioning

confidence: 99%

A sound foundation? What we know about the impact of environments on learning and the implications for Building Schools for the Future

Woolner

Hall

Higgins

et al. 2007

Oxford Review of Education

139

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

A sound foundation? What we know about the impact of environments on learning and the implications for Building Schools for the Future, Oxford Review of Education, 33:1, 47-70, This paper reports on a literature review conducted in the UK for the Design Council and CfBT which looked at the evidence of the impact of environments on learning in schools. We have reviewed the available evidence regarding different facets of the physical environment and provided an analysis based on different areas of effect, including the extent to which different facets interact (positively and negatively) with one another. Our conclusions suggest that, although the research often indicates the parameters of an effective environment, there is an overall lack of empirical evidence about the impact of individual elements of the physical environment which might inform school design at a practical level to support student achievement. However, at a secondary level of analysis, there are indications that environmental change can be part of a catalytic process of school development and improvement. The implications of these findings for Building Schools for the Future will be discussed.

show abstract

The Soft Classroom

Cited by 46 publications

References 3 publications

The School of the Future: Conditions and Processes – Contributions of Architectural Psychology

The School of the Future: Conditions and Processes – Contributions of Architectural Psychology

Evaluating learning environments for interprofessional care

A sound foundation? What we know about the impact of environments on learning and the implications for Building Schools for the Future

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About