The learning environment looked very bland and boring in most of my classrooms. Everything was either grey or beige. Supposedly this was to limit distractions, but I found that my history classes were my favourite class to be in because it felt interactable. Limiting distractions is understandable, but also makes the environment far more boring to students who do not enjoy sitting for an hour in class. The teachers put a lot of historical pieces like helmets, pelts, maps, and other stuff for people to look around at and learn from. I remember asking one of my teachers about a worn, faded green helmet and he told us about it being a replica World War Two soldier’s bucket-style helmet.

The classroom space indicated power by having the teacher facing the students. This showed the teacher had power or control over the students as they were watching over the students as they learned and worked. The teacher in almost all classrooms would be in front of all of the students, and all eyes were on the teacher when they spoke.

Most of my classes were engaging classes. Students were encouraged to discuss with one another when the teacher wasn’t speaking. Teachers wanted to know students were understanding the material being taught by encouraging students to discuss what they have been learning. One moment that stands out where students were encouraged to interact with all of the students was in my History 20. My teacher split us into groups and got us to research events/moments from the cold war and teach that event to the entire class. It helped the entire class learn from one another and to engage with the course by not only learning but teaching the material.

Although this environment was typically bland and boring, the encouragement to interact with one another and spread our knowledge was beneficial to my learning. I learn a lot from spoken word, and being told from other students rather than the teacher about something we need to learn feels more engaging. This showed that the other students were very engaged and interested in what they were learning.

Teachers can make classrooms more relational by having areas with decorations that relate to the course, similar to how my history teachers had gear and propaganda posters. This creates conversation pieces for the students to discuss and learn from. Also encouraging students to discuss the course and spread their knowledge is very effective in making the classroom more relational.

This is a sketch of my Science classroom. The teacher sat on the right side, directly in front of the whiteboard. This classroom layout made it hard for students to interact with one another, as we sat in rows and it made interacting with others difficult.