Literacy 4-6

Uncluttered Environment

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Overview

Spaces that are structured, organized, and clean provide increased room for collaboration and active learning. Decreasing visual stimuli and disorder also supports learners who have difficulty regulating sensory input and allows all learners to concentrate on classwork.

Use It in the Classroom

Watch a teacher giving a tour of her uncluttered classroom, sharing the impact the space has on her students.

  • By being intentional about the amount of visuals and the classroom instruction they support, teachers can help learners focus on their reading skills to improve their Attention and Sensory Integration. Teachers can also, through small modifications like clustering tables as small group learning centers, restructure their classrooms with ample space to support student engagement, collaboration, and development of Social Awareness & Relationships Skills.

    • Design It into Your Product

    Videos are chosen as examples of strategies in action. These choices are not endorsements of the products or evidence of use of research to develop the feature.

    See how Kahoot!, a mobile polling product, has a very simple interface that allows learners to focus on consistent shapes and colors with few distracting visual stimuli.

  • For developers, an uncluttered classroom can translate to the online learning environment. For student interfaces, the dashboard can have simple and self-explanatory buttons with a clean overall design, helping students with Inhibition & Self-regulation.
    • View References

    Resources

    Below are additional examples, research, and professional development. These resources are possible representations of this strategy, not endorsements.
    Examples

    10 Calming Strategies

    Sensory methods for teachers to help calm students

    Examples

    20 Things to Know about Learning Spaces

    Considerations for what learning spaces should look like

    Examples

    FloorPlanner

    Free classroom design tool to see how space can be rearranged

    Examples

    Tips on Decreasing Clutter

    Four tips on how to declutter a classroom

    Professional Development

    Physical Environment of Your Classroom

    Module by Sanford Inspire

    Research

    Dos and Donts of Classroom Decorations

    Decorating classrooms to be engaging not distracting

    Research

    Importance of School Facilities

    The impact of school facilities on student outcomes

    Research

    Self-Regulation

    Subtopic that explores children's developing ability to regulate their behavior on Digital Promise's Research Map

    Examples

    Creating a Kid-Friendly Space

    Six different spaces in an elementary classroom

    Examples

    Creating a Kid-Friendly Space

    Six different spaces in an elementary classroom

    Factors Supported by this Strategy

    Literacy
    Cognition
    Attention
    Inhibition & Self-regulation
    Sensory Integration
    Visual Processing
    Social and Emotional Learning
    Emotion
    Student Background
    Adverse Experiences
    Physical Well-being
    Safety
    Socioeconomic Status

    More Physical Space Strategies

    Dim or Natural Lighting

    Dim or natural lighting provides a calming environment.

    Individual Spaces

    Having spaces where students can go supports self-regulation and [individual deliberate ][1][practice][2].

    Mobility & Flexibility

    Multiple tables and chairs on wheels allow for setting up the classroom to support the desired learning outcomes of each classroom activity.

    Multiple Display Boards/Screens

    Multiple display spaces promote collaboration by allowing groups to share information easily as they work.

    Multiple Writing Surfaces

    Multiple writing surfaces promote collaboration by allowing groups to share information easily as they work.

    Quiet Environment/Pockets of Quiet

    Decreasing extra audio input provides a focused learning environment.

    Rich Library: Audio & Braille

    Books for vision differences support reading development for learners with visual needs.

    Rich Library: Complexity

    Reading materials of varying complexity and levels are necessary for all students to experience success.

    Rich Library: Diversity

    Multicultural and diverse books are critical for supporting all students.

    Rich Library: Multimodal

    Providing varied types of resources that align with interests of individual students supports overall literacy development.

    Rich Library: Poetry

    With figurative language and creative sentence structure, poetry supports the development of a deeper understanding of the different ways language makes meaning.

    Rich Library: SEL Topics

    Books on social and emotional learning (SEL) topics, such as developing empathy and productive persistence, help teach these skills.

    Sound Level

    Providing ways for students to adjust sound level supports individual auditory needs.

    Temperature

    Providing ways for students to meet their individual temperature needs supports Attention and Inhibition & Self-Regulation.

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