Tweak Your Student's Environment

Image from HackCollege

I was listening to the Freakonomics podcast a few days ago as they were discussing how human behavior is influenced by outside forces. Tweaking a person's environment (clothing, scenery, rules, etc) can have a very profound effect on that person's behavior. This may sound obvious but it doesn't take as much of a tweak as you might think. Here is something you can try that can show you the power of this. Next time you are at a nice restaurant politely inform the waiter(ess) that you will be eating dessert first, then your meal. You might be surprised at the reactions you get.

There have been several very popular studies done showing that a person's environment has a direct effect on their personality. A classroom is a student's environment for learning. Studies show that you can have a very powerful effect on learning by tweaking the environment. From desk arrangement to lighting and color there are many things that into affecting how a student acts in a classroom. Are you not getting the reaction you want out of your students? Tweak the environment. You can even have fun with it. Turn all of your student desks 90 degrees and watch what the students do when they come in to find this small change to their normal environment.

Don't be afraid to experiment with your students. Keep them on their toes so that they never know what to expect next. Doing this will make sure that your classroom does not become stale and that you always get the reaction you need from your students.