Our Learning Environments


Welcome to Mr. Krill and Mrs. Goranson's learning environments!  We use our space in very unique ways. Our learning environments are structured based on research on the effect a learning environment has on a students' ability to retain information long term and be successful in school.  Educational strategies based on what we know about the structure and function of the human brain at certain developmental stages can have a great impact on student success.  There are varied teaching strategies that we have taken into consideration when designing our learning environments.  Here are a few:

  • Talking-Students need to communicate with one another.  Providing students with the space to collaborate, turn and talk, and sit in small "campfire groups" is important.  
  • Visuals-Since vision is the strongest of the senses, it is important to provide visuals such as posters, drawings, videos, and charts.  
  •  Movement-The combination of movement and learning raises the level of successful retention of material.  We have designed our learning environments so that students have space to move.
  • Choice-Students love to have choice, and research shows that their brains are more engaged when they have a stake in the task at hand.  Our environments are designed so that students have a choice where they sit or stand, and the materials they use.  We also use learning menus so that students have a choice which tasks they complete, the direction they want to take to complete them, and when they complete them.  
  • The brain needs oxygen-The brain uses 20% of the oxygen in the body.  Students need space to move around to get oxygen to their brain.

Here are images of students hard at work in some of the learning environments that we make use of!
 




 

 
 
 
 

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