The Simple Classroom

I was recently told by one of my students that my class “isn’t necessarily easy, but it’s simple.” And, I’ve got to be honest with you…it made my day. I take that as a huge compliment. The simple classroom is something I strive for and is constantly on my mind when I consider both the physical environment and instruction provided during class. The fact that a student noticed this is immense. And that she could differentiate between simple and easy? I’m not sure that many students have the wherewithal to do that. I was impressed. : )

So, what does a simple classroom look and feel like?

There are a few words that come to mind when I consider the simple classroom:

The first is predictable. Rules and expectations are known. Everyone generally knows how the classroom works. They know what to expect and they understand the procedures for how to behave in the classroom as well as how to correctly complete certain activities that will be frequently administered during lessons.

A secondary term that works hand in hand with the predictability of the simple classroom is consistency. It’s not enough to have appropriate rules, procedures, and expectations…they have to be applied equally and routinely. If that isn’t the case, the classroom loses its predictability. My students know the first activity we will complete just about every day in my classroom is a short review of content from the previous day’s lesson. This only takes about 5 minutes, but it helps to demonstrate the importance of retrieval practice via spaced practice and helps to focus students’ attention from the beginning bell. They know to expect this review because it is consistently administered.

In addition, the simple classroom presents itself to be organized and tidy. Visuals on the wall or on the board need to serve an instructional purpose and add to the lessons. Otherwise, they may serve as distractions to learning.

“The visual perception system in the brain can process a limited number of outside stimuli,
which can compete for visual attention. The more stimuli present, the harder it is for the brain to focus on one object. The clutter in disorganized workspaces can impact focus on the task at hand. Distractions such as objects and perceptions can slow down a person’s ability to process information, causing mistakes.” (1)

While it may seem obvious to the teacher what learners should attend to visually in the classroom, we shouldn’t assume it is as clear to the students what is important and what is not. For the simple classroom, less (visual distraction) is more (attention to content). This need for tidiness also applies to the auditory elements of the simple classroom. A classroom cluttered with needless noise…idle chatter, earbuds in ears playing music, et cetera…also only serves to distract students.

All of this leads to a last word that describes the simple classroom – focus. The classroom’s predictability, consistency, organization and tidiness, allows both the teacher and students to simply focus on what is important for learning; the presentation, the content, the questioning, the discussion, et cetera. Anything that takes away from this ability to focus also takes away from the simplicity of the classroom. And, when learning becomes more complicated…yikes…usually not good.

Keep it simple.

Once the simple environment is established, the next focus should be on the simplicity of the instruction. A large majority of the students I teach are novice learners when it comes to the curriculum of psychology. And novice learners learn best when the instruction is simpler. It comes back to students being able to focus on what’s important without having to decide what to attend to while ignoring all other stimuli. If I am teaching new and complex information, the novice learner needs to focus more on the material to-be learned and less on potentially intricate instructions for how to successfully complete an activity.***

Keep it simple.

Why is a simple classroom not necessarily an easy classroom?

While sometimes viewed together, simple and easy are two totally different attributes. Lifting 500 pounds is simple. Just pick it up. But is it easy? For the vast majority of human beings, the answer is a resounding no. So, just because I create a simple, focused environment in the classroom and present material in a simple, straightforward manner (especially when initially introducing content), doesn’t mean what is being taught or how students are meant to think about and use the content is easy. Of course, students need to be challenged in a way that assesses their level of understanding and makes known what they know and where the holes are in their learning. That isn’t accomplished in an easy classroom, but is most validly and reliably achieved in the simple classroom filled with frequent assessment of learning. Students should be doing a lot of thinking; a lot of assessing and using their newly gained knowledge to answer questions, discuss problems, and think creatively.

Keep it simple. Keep them thinking.

---

In my upcoming book, I talk extensively about memory processing and learning strategies. These strategies have over a century of research demonstrating increased retention of material for all age levels and ability levels. This vastly expands on the simple classroom. If you are interested in finding out more, my book is currently available for preorder:

US – tinyurl.com/4jjsp7w5

UK – tinyurl.com/cw6m37df

---

1. Annes, C. K., Taylor, J. A., & Hallock, R. M. The effect of workspace tidiness on schoolwork performance of high school students. https://ipalab.princeton.edu/sites/g/files/toruqf2841/files/documents/Charlotte2023.pdf

***Please check out this article for more on novice vs. expert learners.