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Learning Environments are the Foundation for Learning: Using the Brain-SET Environments Formula©
Let’s start with early childhood theorists
In the world of early childhood, what do Jean Jacques Rousseau, Friedrich Froebel, Maria Montessori, Rudolf Steiner, Jean Piaget, Erik Erikson, Lev Vygotsky, Loris Malaguzzi, Abraham Maslow, and Urie Bronfenbrenner have in common?
All men? No – we have Maria Montessori.
All have passed from this life? Well, yes – but there’s more to it.
These dominant theorists have changed the face of early childhood since the 1770s beginning with Rousseau who passed away in 1778 – and over 300 years later, we still refer to his work of giving people a ‘voice’; Froebel (known as the father of kindergarten) left the world in 1852 and we continue to follow the essence of his educational reform. Each theorist has contributed greatly to our world of early childhood education as we know it today.
Another connection with these ‘greats’ is that key pieces of their theories have been drawn out and woven together, combined with neuroscience and 40 years of teaching experience to underpin the Brain-SET Environments Formula©. Brain-SET is a revolutionary pedagogical theory (as it has been called by academics). It is a complete package that describes what, why, and how we must design the early learning environment to align with the needs of the developing brain of every young child.
The brain and designing learning environments
The brain develops deep neural pathways during the first 5 years of life. The exposure to sensory stimulation and a variety of rich experiences increases the brain’s functionality during this critical period of growth and development. Adding this consideration to the physical, social, emotional, cognitive and language developmental domains gives us a vital framework for ‘whole child’ development.
Supporting development and designing a learning environment is much more than where we put the furniture. It takes a little sidestep from the norm to evaluate a classroom through a Brain-SET lens, and then design spaces and places for children to develop naturally while enjoying a playful childhood.
Traditionally, teachers have taken considerable time and thought to set up the classroom space. Across a year, the learning environment could be changed as often as every two weeks or months, or other time frames that suits the intent of the teaching and/or children’s interests.
Generally, we have focused on wanting the learning environment to:
• Look good with colours and positioning of furniture so there is symmetry and flow
• Have room to display children’s art or activities – often used as assessment examples
• Have activity spaces that are functional – painting near the sink, blocks in a corner, a reading space in a quiet corner
• Easy traffic flow between spaces, to and from the entry, exit doors and storage spaces for children’s bags/shoes
• Ensure that children are in the educator’s line of sight and within earshot
This seems perfectly practical and a lot to think about! But wait, there’s more – we must factor in the structure of the building, positioning of, and the size and number of windows and doors, height of the ceiling, entry and exit points, the height and positioning of the sink, built in benches, storage cupboards and possibly the nappy (diaper) changing station. That’s a lot when we are moving furniture.
The big questions when designing learning environments
With all of this in mind, how do we make sure that:
• We design a learning environment to align with the developmental needs of the children
• We meet personal and professional requirements to provide a quality environment for teaching and learning
• We provide rich, child centred, playful learning opportunities?
The answer
A simple way to evaluate our learning environment is to kneel – then you are at the height of a young child.
When you are on your knees and at the entry door – what do you see? Is there a high shelf that prevents you seeing what’s around the corner? Is there a clear pathway between learning spaces?
Now do the same from the middle of the room – what do you see from this vantage point when you are on your knees? Does the room look cluttered or sparse?
If you are thinking in terms of Brain-SET, you will know what to do with these observations – more about that later.
What else should we consider for learning environment design?
With all of this in mind, how do we make sure that:
Functionality and what you noticed during your kneeling room evaluation are very important considerations. Do we also think about how the classroom is set up to focus on development, specifically brain development?
The thoughts, feelings, and actions of children (and adults) are in response to the built environment. Think football game to yoga class – our thoughts, feelings and actions are different because of the environment. Our environment matters!
The Brain-SET Environments Formula
The brain is a complex organ that grows from the bottom up when in utero. Simplistically, in Brain-SET we look at the brain as having 3 levels. At the bottom is the brain stem with the function of ensuring that we are safe and we can Survive, the limbic system near the ear, houses our Emotional responses to the environment or people, while the neocortex in the top part of the brain is the Thinking part of the brain. The S.E.T. levels work together to support natural learning. This is conditional on the 2 lower levels (the Survival and Emotional levels) harmonising to experience a sense of safety, and feel secure, valued, wanted and safe.
A natural consequence of setting up the learning environment using the Brain-SET Formula is that the classroom is calm, children are engaged, and deep relationships are built. However, when the 2 lower levels of the brain detect a threat, the cortisol hormone (stress response) floods the upper level and slows down the thinking. Memory, decision-making, problem-solving processes and more become ‘foggy’ in the neocortex – the Thinking part of the brain.
The way the environment is designed and the ‘gifts for learning’ or provocations we add to the environment makes a considerable difference to:
• The brain’s state of calm
• Quality of interactions and relationships
• The deepening of neural pathways
• Critical thinking opportunities
• The development of the brain’s executive functioning skills
Understanding the needs of the brain encourages us to be mindful of the materials we add to the learning environment. The Brain-SET mantra of ‘A Calm Brain is a Thinking Brain’ should be prevalent all day and every day in brain-based learning environments.
When designing the learning environment we consider 3 Pillars and 16 Design Elements. These features (seen in the Venn diagram) should overlap and appear many times across the learning environment. When this is done seamlessly, the traditional room design considerations mentioned earlier can be accommodated.
The environment stimulates:
Engagement | Rich conversations | Creativity |
Imagination | Solution finding | Collaboration |
Oral language | Scientific and mathematical thinking | Decreases behaviour issues |
Confidence | Independence | Resilience |
Respect | Perseverance | Relationships |
The Brain-SET environment is essentially characterised by having multiple, smaller, defined spaces throughout the classroom that complement the children’s interests and skill level. Brain-SET is a skills-based pedagogy that supports children having the opportunity to repeat skills over and over until they are ready for an additional challenge. This extends executive functioning skills and includes managing impulsivity, adapting thinking to different contexts, and expanding working memory. An example in adult terms could be managing your impulse to yell at someone who cuts you off in traffic; utilising skills learnt from driving a car to driving a bus; and remembering directions only long enough for you to arrive at a new destination.
Holistic child development, including the development of the brain, is supported and occurs naturally when using the Brain-SET Pillars of Design, coupled with planning processes and documentation methods. Some examples of using the Pillars of Design could include placing furniture in a way that ensures:
• The brain is not threatened by right angled edges of shelves
• That curves and circles are incorporated to soften the room
• The room flow is clear to allow for ‘wayfinding’ to happen naturally
• The inclusion of soft furnishings, lighting and nature
These and other elements indicated in the Venn Diagram all directly relate to the expansion of critical thinking and learning by children.
The big picture when designing learning environments
The Brain-SET Environments Formula is about quality teaching practices connected to the careful design of the learning environment; resulting in calm, playful learning spaces where we can confidently say that “A Calm Brain is a Thinking Brain”. Having this in the back of our minds guarantees that each child and adult has a positive, quality teaching and learning experience built on a solid foundation of environment design. This adds to wellbeing and stress management contributing to strong, authentic relationships between children and adults.
If this article has interested you and you’d like to know more or have Dr. Murray or her UK or Australian team train your staff please email admin@futurestrongeducation.com or message us through the ‘Contact Us’ page on www.brainsetformula.com or www.futurestrongeducation.com
©Dr. Kathryn Murray. Future Strong Education. www.futurestrongeducation.com
Key takeaways
- Designing the learning environment is so much more than positioning of the furniture! But it is also more than functionality, practicality, safety and displays – it is vital to also consider brain development.
- A Calm brain is a thinking brain!
- Brain-SET is a skills-based pedagogy that supports children having the opportunity to repeat skills over and over until they are ready for an additional challenge.
Critical considerations
- Have you tried out the kneeling room evaluation?
- As well as functionality, do you also think about how the learning environment is set up to focus on development, specifically brain development?
- How can you incorporate the Brain-SET Pillars of Design in your learning environment?
Explainer
Brain-SET – Brain-SET aligns the needs of the developing brain to the design of the learning environment. It addresses the importance of places and spaces in the early childhood classroom. It is underpinned, by research linked to the built environment, neuroscience, social and emotional wellbeing, playful learning, emotion and cognition, curriculum needs and experience from Dr. Murray’s 40 years in the education sector. Survival, Emotional and Thinking, to form the SET in Brain-SET.
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