Room to Learn: Elementary Classrooms Designed for Interactive Explorations

Environments are a complex interaction of physical elements, including sensory components, design and organization, aesthetics, nurturing attributes, and pedagogical resources. Research shows these elements can work together to improve early learning, self-efficacy and higher-order thinking skills.

Pamela Evanshen, EdD and Janet Faulk, EdD, have developed an environmental rating scale—Assessing the Pillars of the Physical Environment for Academic Learning (APPEAL)—to help educational profes...