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Children develop their skills best when they feel safe, nurtured, and appreciated. A positive learning environment sets the stage for children to enhance their emotional skills by learning to regulate their emotions, their social skills by cultivating positive behavioral habits, and their cognitive skills by actively engaging in the learning process.
What can you do to help create an environment in which children flourish? In this article, we explore different strategies to build a strong community among staff, children, and families, to ensure children feel safe and acknowledged in the classroom, and to effectively handle challenging emotions and situations as they occur.
Table of contents
- What is a positive learning environment?
- Benefits of a positive learning environment
- How to create a positive learning environment
- See children thrive in a positive learning environment
What is a positive learning environment?
The surroundings in which children learn can greatly influence their emotional, social and learning development. A positive learning environment in early childhood education focuses on creating a classroom and school community that is positive and safe.
There are many ways to create a positive learning environment, and later in this article we will look at different strategies you can adopt in your daycare program and classroom. Positive learning environments share some key characteristics:
Positive reinforcement and acknowledgment
A positive learning environment approaches education through positive reinforcement and acknowledgment. It values the effort made by children to develop their skills and follow the rules of the classroom. It connects learning with the interests of the children, so they feel motivated to learn. A positive learning environment also focuses on the wellbeing and appreciation of educators, as their positive outlook regarding their work will impact on the attitudes adopted by the children in their care.
Strong sense of community
Creating a strong sense of community for children, families, and educators is important to ensure you build a positive learning environment. Children and staff are likely to feel more engaged with the learning process and more supportive of each other when they feel a connection to the classroom community. Similarly, families who feel included in the community of your childcare program are more likely to participate in the process with positivity and excitement, rather than having tensions with the educators and administrators. In a positive learning environment, all key stakeholders feel like they are part of the same team, and working together towards success.
Feeling safe
In order to create and sustain a positive learning environment, it is very important for children to feel safe. When children feel safe, they are more willing to form relationships, engage in positive interactions, and take risks with their learning without the fear of failing. In a positive learning environment, clear classroom rules help to create a stable and structured environment, where children can feel safe and looked after. In such an environment, children feel comfortable exploring and learning, confident that their needs will be met.
A positive learning environment is not a one-off policy. It is a continuous approach both for administration and educators to build and sustain a positive, supportive and safe environment for children and staff.
Benefits of a positive learning environment
A safe, nurturing and encouraging environment is beneficial for children’s development. Let’s break down the key ways in which fostering a positive learning environment can benefit the children in your care and help them thrive:
Increased skills development
Children who learn and grow in positive learning environments enjoy significant benefits in their skills development, both in the short and long term. According to research published in Early Child Development and Care, children who are in a positive learning environment demonstrate better attention span, memory retention, problem-solving abilities, and language development.
In a positive learning environment, children can feel safe to take greater ownership of their learning experience, leading to them feeling more empowered and positive towards the process. This overall positive approach also creates conditions in which children can develop a love for learning, setting them up to become strong life-long learners.
Inclusion and support
By creating a positive learning environment, you are ensuring children, families and staff feel supported and cared for in your childcare program. A positive learning environment requires a holistic approach to early childhood education that focuses on emotional, social and cognitive development.
Addressing all aspects of the children’s growth, not just their cognitive development, means that children’s mental health is prioritized just as well as student achievement. This increased focus on mental health and wellbeing helps create the conditions for children and staff to thrive.
A positive learning environment also helps create a more inclusive environment, where all children feel part of the community. Focusing on mutual support and collaboration, and building strong bonds with their peers, can lead to better integration and more support for children with disabilities or learning difficulties.
How to create a positive learning environment
A positive learning environment is the outcome of the combination of different policies and practices both inside and outside the classroom. In this section, we explore five strategies to tailor this environment to your specific needs.
Build positive relationships
A positive learning environment is rooted in a strong sense of community. Establishing good communication with the children and their families can yield immense benefits.
Knowing each child and their family allows you to learn the child’s unique personality, their temperament, and likes and dislikes. This will enable you to tailor your approach to their needs, and to make the child feel seen and supported.
This sense of community takes time to build. You can start with simple steps:
Welcome each child as they enter the class
Even a simple hello and their name each morning can help start the day on a positive note and build an individual rapport with each child in your care.
Pay attention to their interactions and play
Keeping an eye out for the games children choose to play with their classmates or the things they talk about can tell you a lot about their likes and dislikes. This information can be very useful when creating activities that they are interested in, making them feel included and excited about learning.
Keep families in the loop
To help build a strong, positive relationship with families, ensure regular and frequent communication. Sharing the amazing things you are doing in the classroom can increase their positivity and support for the process. Communication does not always have to be about good things. Sometimes, to build trust and a positive relationship, you also need to bring up your concerns. This will help build a collaborative relationship with the family, based on trust.
Set clear classroom rules
To create a positive, nurturing environment, you need to make sure children know and understand the rules of your classroom. Good behavior can help foster positive relationships between the children and help them feel safe and included.
Explain your expectations
Sometimes, we assume that children know how to behave appropriately, but they may not. Start by identifying a small number of important behavioral expectations (ex. kind, respectful, safe) and illustrate what these expectations look like in different scenarios (ex. During playtime or meals). This will help children understand how to put in practice the behavior that is appropriate for the classroom.
Set rules from day one
To create clear behavior expectations and respect for the rules, establish them from day one. Constantly changing or adding rules will lead to confusion and insecurity. Communicate the behavioral expectations to children and families early on.
Frame rules positively
We often tell children how not to behave, instead of focusing on positive rules that guide their behavior. Instead of saying “don’t disrespect other children”, try saying “all children should be respected”. You can also add a splash of color to the room with posters that encourage positive behavior. By reframing the rules into positive behaviours, you encourage good behavior as the norm, rather than focusing on misbehavior.
Help children navigate their emotions
How you respond to a child’s intense emotions can have a very big impact on what happens next. Children often amplify their emotions if they feel misunderstood.
Respond calmly
A calm and supportive response can help them de-escalate and learn to regulate their emotions. This, in turn, will help children bring their best selves to the classroom and help you build a positive learning environment.
Use co-regulation
Children often need the active support of an adult in managing their emotions when they become too intense for them to handle on their own. Co-regulation changes with the age of the children and involves actively helping them manage their emotions. For an infant, it could be rocking the baby and speaking in a soothing voice if they are startled by loud noises. For toddlers fighting in the playground, it can look like validating their emotions and suggesting ways to deescalate the situation.
Helping children navigate their emotions will help you develop a strong bond with them, and it will help you manage potentially disruptive behavior before it gets out of hand.
Create a safe and stable environment
Establishing predictable routines and an orderly learning environment in your childcare program and in the classroom can help children feel safer.
Organize the room
A well-organized classroom can help children feel more comfortable in a familiar space. Avoid unnecessary rearrangements and keep materials where children know to find them. Simple organization creates an orderly environment in which children can focus on learning.
Establish predictable routines
Following a clear schedule of activities and establishing certain desirable behaviors as habits will help children feel more secure in the classroom. For example, make hand washing before meals a consistent routine for the whole group.
Facilitate smooth transitions
Help children navigate change and anticipate change by making transitions in the classroom clear and easy to adapt to. You can help children learn how to adapt to change by alerting them before a transition occurs. For example, notify them 5 minutes before the end of an activity that it is coming to an end and what they will be doing next. Make the transition point clear to them by announcing it to the group, such as alerting them when the time to wrap up an activity has come. This can make children better prepared to face changes, and therefore more likely to use appropriate behavior when they happen.
Building a Safe Learning Environment in the Classroom will give you more ideas on how to create this positive learning environment.
Use positive reinforcement
Giving praise to children can be very effective in building their self-esteem and fostering a supportive environment in the classroom where students feel valued.
Praise effort, not only results
It is important to praise children when they do well in an activity. Often children put in a lot of effort into an activity but they do not complete it successfully. In a positive learning environment, it is important to recognize both results and effort. Children can learn a lot from trying, even when they don’t fully succeed. Praising them for their effort will give them the confidence to persevere in their efforts.
Personalize their feedback
Taking the time to highlight something great a child has done, including making a great effort, can go a long way in motivating students and establishing a positive connection with you. Consider praising children individually in front of the rest of the group, but also speaking to them one-on-one to show them you appreciate their work and where they can improve further.
You can explore more Strategies for Giving Effective Praise in the Classroom in this article.
See children thrive in a positive learning environment
Creating a positive learning environment is an on-going process. It takes time to build strong, trusting relationships with the children and families you work with. Even small adjustments can make a big difference. Having clear rules, changing how you approach discipline and praise, getting to know each child and family can all contribute greatly to establishing a learning environment where children feel safe and excited to learn.
