A room is never neutral. Before a single lesson begins, the space has already told children whether they are safe, whether they belong, and whether they are invited to think. In this module you'll learn to read a learning environment the way children feel it, and to design one that teaches alongside you.
Pathway 1: Read the theory
Have you ever noticed how certain spaces, a friend's kitchen, a favourite café, a cluttered office, make you feel the moment you walk in? Some invite you to stay. Others quietly ask, "How fast can I get out of here?" Our learning environments have exactly the same power to trigger an emotion, and children feel it first.
Classrooms welcome young, inquisitive minds every single day. For many children, the classroom is the one place they will meet new ideas and new experiences on a daily basis. We ask them to be risk-takers every minute of the school day. That expectation carries a responsibility: it is our job to make the room feel safe, welcoming and comfortable enough that taking a risk feels possible. Before we teach a single thing, the space has already begun the lesson.
So what actually makes a space come alive? A large part of the answer is nature. Incorporating elements inspired by the natural world into indoor settings, wooden furniture, a real plant or tree, natural light, soft and earthy colours, serves more than an aesthetic purpose. These elements invoke the calming, restorative effects of nature, creating environments that support attention, lower stress and free the mind for learning and creativity (Kaplan & Kaplan, 1989; Heerwagen & Orians, 1986). According to Taylor and Kuo (2009), natural elements in classroom design can reduce stress, help children concentrate and support them to perform better cognitively.
"We are the architects of the atmosphere; our values and decisions shape the way children perceive and interact with their educational environment." Jacquelene Da Silva
Warmth is only half of the story; the other half is restraint. Each item and element within a learning space should serve a functional purpose. A clutter-free room opens the mind to exploration and imagination, while walls plastered with overly vibrant displays can be visually overstimulating and, ultimately, distracting. This is not simply a matter of taste. When children learn in an environment that is both orderly and inviting, it can positively influence their ability to focus and process information (Fisher, Godwin & Seltman, 2014). Design is not decoration; it is a condition for concentration.
And the stakes are real. A landmark study of classroom aesthetics by Barrett (2015) found that well-designed classroom spaces can account for around 16% of the variation in learning progress over a single academic year. The way a room is designed is not a background detail. It is one of the measurable ingredients of how well children learn in it.
Drawing on: Kaplan & Kaplan (1989) · Heerwagen & Orians (1986) · Taylor & Kuo (2009) · Fisher, Godwin & Seltman (2014) · Barrett et al. (2015) · Edwards, Gandini & Forman (1998) · Vygotsky (1978) · J. Da Silva (2025).
In the Reggio Emilia approach, the environment is described as the "third teacher", after the adults and the other children, an active participant in learning rather than a container for it (Edwards, Gandini & Forman, 1998). When we take that idea seriously, the furniture itself begins to teach. In thoughtfully designed classrooms we tend to see furniture that is low to the ground, respecting the physical proportions and perspectives of young learners, and furniture on wheels that can be reconfigured in real time. When large elements can move, the room becomes fluid: it responds to the needs of the moment rather than fixing children in place.
Living plants, natural materials and, where possible, a real tree bridge the gap between indoors and outdoors, extending the sensory, restorative qualities of nature into the everyday learning space. Storage matters too: baskets made of natural materials, grouped thoughtfully, create an atmosphere of calm and order that itself communicates respect for the child and the work. Every corner, when it is intentionally crafted, ensures accessibility, eliminates clutter and quietly extends children's capacity to learn (Vygotsky, 1978).
What holds us back from creating such nurturing environments is rarely budget alone. More often it is habit, the assumption that a classroom must look a certain way. The invitation of this module is to Stop, Pause and Reflect: to recognise ourselves as agents of change, and to treat the classroom as a living ecosystem that responds to the children who inhabit it.
Let's dive deeper into what it means to use our learning spaces as a Third Teacher in Module 2: Learning Spaces Acting as a Third Teacher.
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These titles are wonderful companions for rethinking your learning environment. Visit Path 2, 'Observe,' to practise reading real spaces, and Path 4, 'Try,' to redesign a corner of your own room.
Check your understanding
1. What is the central claim of this pathway about a learning space?
2. Why are natural elements, wood, plants, natural light, earthy colours, recommended indoors?
3. What does the research suggest about walls covered in bright, busy displays?
4. Barrett's (2015) study found that well-designed classroom spaces can account for roughly what share of the variation in a year's learning progress?
5. In the Reggio Emilia tradition, what is meant by the environment as the "third teacher"?
Pathway 2: See it in practice
The next time you enter a room, a classroom, a shop, a friend's kitchen, even a waiting room, take a few seconds before you do anything else. Wander a little. Ask yourself honestly: how does this space make me feel? Design begins with that noticing. Children do it instantly and without words; our task is to make it conscious.
Explore the spaces below. Try not to judge them as "good" or "bad" yet. Simply notice the feeling each one gives you, then look for the design decisions that created that feeling.
Click on an image to enlarge it and study the image carefully.
Do large spaces demand grand design, or does thoughtful design make a large space feel grand?
Notice the impact thoughtful symmetry makes on how you experience a room. Notice the use of light and natural elements
Do the items in this space each serve a purpose, or are some simply clutter?
Can a classroom be playful and feel like a home away from home?
Notice the furniture is on wheels. Natural materials and furniture found in a home are placed thoughtfully. Yes, that is a real tree!
A living element bridges indoor and outdoor, quietly lowering stress as plants and natural elements from outdoors (if placed neatly) have a positive effect on our amygdala.
What shelving looks like in schools today. Do you feel inspired to engage with these learning resources?
When the intention is good, yet an eye for detail is lost. Designing a learning space takes careful consideration and consistency. When we care about the way we present learning materials to children, they are more likely to care about how they use the space and how they leave it behind for the next child.
Organised, symmetrical and considered storage can be used as an invitation for inquiry when designed well. A photograph of the very storage arrangement is placed next to the area, as a friendly reminder of the classroom expectations.
"A clutter-free space opens the mind to exploration and imagination." Jacquelene Da Silva
To sharpen your eye, it helps to look backwards. In the 19th century the factory model of education predominated, in an era when schooling was a privilege only around 3% of the world's population could access, not a universal right. The layout of classrooms from this period, often in stark, straight lines of desks, mirrored the industrial ethos of efficiency and uniformity. Yet the image below dares to defy the norm, hinting at a surprisingly progressive mindset towards classroom design.
Look closely at the image again. This time, notice the intention behind the design, and how much of it still feels forward-thinking today.
Notice the abundance of colour; every letter of the alphabet has a different colour. The letters of the weather chart are "creatively" designed to represent the rainbow. How clever! To remain uniform, the weekly calendar, welcome sign, carpet, and storage containers all match the rainbow theme. The wall housing the board is painted in the same shade of bright yellow as the tiles on the floor, and the children all have their own individual chair bags to store their personal belongings. The welcome sign indicates to me that this teacher has dedicated a tremendous amount of their time to ensuring that every detail of this classroom was carefully thought through, designed, created, laminated, set up, and presented perfectly before a single child had even entered the classroom.
With good intentions, this educator fundamentally believes that it is their responsibility to ensure that their classroom design is completely ready to receive children before the first day of school begins. I challenge this theory and wonder how differently this particular classroom would be designed if the students were asked what they believe is necessary to thrive in their learning environment.
As we embark on this exploration of classroom design's past, present, and future, let us appreciate the journey education has undertaken. From the rigid rows of the 19th century to the dynamic, inclusive, and creative spaces of today, the evolution of the classroom mirrors our growing understanding of what it means to teach and learn in a world that is constantly changing. Our adventure through time not only highlights the innovations in classroom design but also challenges us to continue reimagining these spaces to better serve the intellectual, emotional, and social needs of every learner.
Referenced texts: The Third Teacher · Classroom Design · In Dialogue with Reggio Emilia
Check your understanding
1. What is the best first step when learning to "read" a learning environment?
2. When auditing the objects in a space, what question best reflects the principle of purposeful design?
3. Why does low, movable furniture matter when we observe a classroom?
4. A colleague's room feels tense and tiring, though nothing is obviously "wrong". Which observation is most likely to explain it?
5. What is the purpose of the Observe pathway's numbered prompts (feeling, purpose, furniture, palette, nature)?
Pathway 4: Try it yourself
Choose one corner of your classroom, the reading area, a shelf, a single table. Don't redesign the whole room. Audit and reimagine one small space using the Stop, Pause, Reflect approach, then come back and jot what changed.
Let us explore one area of your classroom at a time. Find a shelf filled with learning resources in your classroom and apply the intentional storage concepts from the images below to your own storage unit. Using photographs, document your before, during, and after transformation process.
What shelving looks like in schools today. Do you feel inspired to engage with these learning resources?
When the intention is good, yet an eye for detail is lost. Designing a learning space takes careful consideration and consistency. When we care about the way we present learning materials to children, they are more likely to care about how they use the space and how they leave it behind for the next child.
Organised, symmetrical and considered storage can be used as an invitation for inquiry when designed well. A photograph of the very storage arrangement is placed next to the area, as a friendly reminder of the classroom expectations.
A traditional classroom we often see in many schools today.
By simply removing the clutter and wondering who the displays are actually for, a calmer and more inviting learning environment can be created. Golden rule: Less is more!
Designing a learning space with the bravery to step out of one's comfort zone and away from traditional standards can transform the learning experience for everyone.
1. Before: how did the space feel and function?
Look at your first photograph and be honest about the starting point.
Quick note
Before the redesign, this space felt:
2. During: what did you change and why?
Record the design decisions you made, not just the tidying.
Quick note
The most useful single change I made was:
3. After: what did the children do differently?
Observe how the redesigned space is actually used.
Quick note
After the redesign, I noticed the children:
The planner is designed to be revisited each half-term as your space evolves.
Referenced texts: The Third Teacher · Classroom Design · In Dialogue with Reggio Emilia
Check your understanding
1. Why does the challenge ask you to redesign one small corner rather than the whole room?
2. Why does the audit begin by photographing the space?
3. During the clutter audit, what question should you ask of each item?
4. "Lower and mobilise the furniture" is included because it does what?
5. What is the purpose of the final "Stop, Pause, Reflect" step?
Pedagogical Approach: What does that sound like?
It is a fable. A calm room is not an empty room, and a quiet room is not an idle one. Intentional design is one of the most powerful, and most overlooked, classroom-management tools we have. Much of what we label "behaviour" is, in fact, the environment doing its job badly.
Before reaching for a new reward chart, it is worth asking what the room itself is asking of children. An overstimulating space, walls of competing display, materials out of reach, no clear zones, quietly raises the temperature all day. A calm, well-zoned space lowers it. When we design with intention, we prevent many behaviours before they begin, so we can spend our energy facilitating rich learning rather than managing disruption.
Consider three everyday management challenges and how design answers each one:
Design also gives children ownership. When materials are accessible, labelled and scaled to them, children can find, use and return resources independently, reducing the constant low-level requests that fragment a session. An orderly, inviting environment tells children, without a word, that this is a place where they are trusted and where things have a home.
Design as classroom management in action.
Define clear areas and keep larger furniture movable. When the room can reshape in seconds, moving between activities stops being a flashpoint.
Strip back competing display and busy surfaces. Lowering the sensory load helps children who are easily overstimulated stay regulated and available to learn.
Accessible, labelled, child-height materials. Children who can find and return resources themselves make fewer interruptions and take more ownership.
1. Zone for calm transitions
I choose. I learn. I grow. Encourage students to take turns (3 at a time) to choose which learning experience they will be engaging with.
Encourage independent, organisational, and self-regulatory skills. Point to the images and ask the question, "Are you ready to leave the classroom?"
2. Declutter to regulate
If it serves no purpose, it should not be in the classroom. If you can't see what it is, it should be removed.
Presenting common resources to students in an inviting, cared-for manner is accompanied by the expectation that they return the items the same way they found them.
3. Design for independence
Design to encourage independent choices and communal areas where resources are shared.
When a provocation is presented beautifully to a young learner they become excited to engage with the learning experience.
Referenced texts: The Third Teacher · Classroom Design · In Dialogue with Reggio Emilia
Check your understanding
1. "A calm, minimal classroom means less learning is happening." Is this a fable or the truth?
2. What is the key mindset shift this pathway asks of us regarding behaviour?
3. How does movable furniture and clear zoning support classroom management?
4. Why can decluttering a space help children who are easily overstimulated?
5. How does designing for independence reduce low-level disruption?