Not long ago, researchers wondered how environmental factors affect the ability to learn. Research shows that a well-designed learning environment helps you concentrate better and gain new knowledge. Consider several factors in the learning environment that help and hinder learning.
What the workplace should be like for productive learning
The way a student’s workspace is organized affects his productivity and the efficiency of the learning process. An uncomfortable desk in a poorly lit corner, or no desk at all, can greatly reduce the quality of learning.
At university and in practice, student workstations are already set up with ergonomic norms in mind. There are a few things you can change on your own. But at home every person can give free rein to his or her creative imagination and arrange his or her work area as he or she ideally imagines it, taking into account the necessary requirements and his or her own preferences.
How to organize a workplace for a student at home?
First of all, the place for independent study and homework should provide the student with the maximum possible working capacity.
But sometimes homework is too difficult, and even a perfectly arranged place does not help to concentrate and solve the task. In this case, it is worth turning to a paper writing service that will help to solve the problem of any complexity and volume.
As for the workplace, the second requirement – must also meet the conditions for a comfortable rest between classes. Let us tell you how to meet both requirements at home.
Choice of study room
Ideally, the room for classes should be as isolated as possible from extraneous noise. It is best if it is away from the kitchen, and the working TV, loud music, or children’s shouting cannot be heard through the walls.
If it is not possible to achieve the required sound insulation, try using earplugs or headphones with “white noise”, nature sounds, or neutral music.
In case there is no possibility to use a separate office for studies, allocate a working area in the most suitable room (it can be not only a living room but also a bedroom, a kitchen or even a warm loggia). It is desirable to separate it from the rest of the space with the help of floor shelving, a partition, or a special screen.
And what to do if there is no place for a separate table from the word “at all”? In this case, you can expand the window sill or use a hinged table on the principle of a secretary. This is better than studying “anywhere. It is important to have a place to study that is permanent. It helps to get in tune with the work more quickly and ensures high productivity.
Choosing a color scheme
To choose the best color scheme for your work area, you should know how colors affect a person’s psyche:
Orange is an excellent antidepressant, increases mood and self-esteem, evokes joyful emotions and bursts of vitality, adjusts to a positive mood, and charges with optimism. This color promotes activity and creativity, giving a feeling of harmony.
Yellow stimulates mental activity, helps to make quick decisions, improves memory, increases concentration. In addition, it calms the emotional state of the person, helps to find equilibrium.
Pastel shades of pink are quite acceptable in the interior, especially if you are a dreamy and romantic nature. It is better not to use aggressive shades of pink – they will be irritating.
Green helps to neutralize negative emotions, gives a sense of calm and serenity, helps to make decisions and concentrate on important issues. It should be combined with other colors, as in large quantities it can cause excessive relaxation and laziness.
Read speeds up the heartbeat. Its abundance may lead to feelings of anger and irritation. Psychologists recommend using it in small quantities and in combination with neutral shades such as gray.
The burgundy color is often used in the decoration of the interiors of restaurants, jewelry and furniture salons, banks, as it is considered expensive and exquisite. But for a working interior it is unlikely to be appropriate because of its heavy, depressing effect.
Purple stimulates brain activity, causes inspiration and helps to concentrate. It is not recommended as the main color, as in large quantities it can cause fatigue.
Blue is a comfortable enough color for the main color. It is associated with intelligence, evokes a sense of well-being, and promotes a favorable outcome of any case.
Dark blue is considered to be a business color, it helps to concentrate thoughts on the most important things. It is acceptable to use in the interior in small quantities.
Gray is neutral and compatible with all the other colors. It gives a feeling of relaxation and tranquility. It is considered universal, but in large quantities causes melancholy. It must be diluted with bright colors.
Brown is partly recommended for office interiors – it symbolizes solidity and stability. But in the home interior, an overabundance of brown can cause a feeling of despondency and depression. It is best to use its lighter shades in combination with other colors.
White is ideal as a background color. It combines with any other colors. Gives a sense of purity, tranquility, and freshness.
Black is rarely used in the interior in its pure form, as it has a negative impact on the psyche. It is usually combined with bright warm colors for a contrasting effect.
To organize the workplace, it is better to use muted, neutral tones. They will help not to get distracted and focus on studying. But for individual parts and elements, you can apply saturated, bright shades of your favorite colors. But with them, it is necessary to be careful not to overdo it.
Furniture
The main requirement for the furniture for the student’s workplace is its functionality and simplicity, and its aesthetic appeal. You should start by choosing a table. It should be convenient for carrying out written work and have enough space for a laptop or a computer monitor.
Ideally, if the table is equipped with shelves for textbooks, a place for a printer and a scanner, a nightstand with drawers. When choosing a desk it is important to pay attention not only to the size of the work surface but also to its height. Since the student will have to spend a lot of time at it, it is necessary to observe a comfortable seating position in order to avoid future health problems:
- The back should be straight;
- forearms should be relaxed, resting completely on the surface;
- feet do not rest on the table or drawer;
- the monitor or laptop screen is at eye level;
- your feet are bent at a right angle on the floor, and if necessary, you can use a footrest to support them.
You need the right chair for proper seating. It is good if it is an office version with the ability to adjust its height. Such a chair should have a comfortable backrest that allows you to change the angle of inclination. It will help to fix the posture and prevent its violation so that the back does not get tired and does not hurt. An additional bonus will be comfortable armrests. In moments of rest, they will allow you to take a relaxed pose.
Lighting
Ophthalmologists recommend using as much natural light as possible when doing written assignments such as essays, research, and others, which is good for your eyesight. For this purpose, it is desirable that the desk is near a window – either in front of it or so that the light falls to the left (for right-handed people). In the dark times of the day, it is necessary to provide good artificial lighting. It is good that it was combined – general and desk.
A desk lamp should be placed in such a way that the shadow of the working hand does not fall on the notebook. It is undesirable to sit in complete darkness with one monitor on – such contrast negatively affects not only vision but also causes headaches, irritates nervous receptors, preventing the production of melatonin, necessary for good sleep.
The main mistakes in creating a workspace
To use your workspace with maximum efficiency, you should avoid common mistakes. Observe the following rules to do this:
To ensure that the environment of the room and what is happening in it does not distract from work, it is better to have a desk “facing” the wall or a window (if it is not the first floor – otherwise you will be distracted by what is happening in the street).
The workspace, which is in sight, should not be cluttered with unnecessary objects – they will be distracting. Therefore, put all unused writing materials, notebooks, textbooks into a drawer of a nightstand or on a shelf. Leave the most necessary for work: a pen, a pencil, a ruler, an eraser, and a marker for marking text, placing them in an organizer. It is better to mount the lamp on a bracket.
When using decorations to decorate the workplace, place them so that they do not distract from the learning process and do not catch the eye. It should be low-key and placed a little to the side. It is better to hang photos and pictures on the wall rather than put photo frames on the table. Put flowers and souvenirs on a shelf.
Do not accumulate in the working area of paper, post-it notes, drafts with already unnecessary notes. Get rid of such garbage in time. It’s a good idea to have a plastic garbage can under the table or next to it. The free space on the table, the more comfortable it is to work at it.
The temperature in the room also plays a huge role in productive mental activity. The room should not be hot or stuffy. It is necessary to ensure a constant inflow of fresh air or at least air it periodically.
Before the student is admitted to the production practice, he/she is obliged to undergo training (safety briefing at the workplace). There is a special regulation on the order of briefing, training, and testing knowledge of health and safety at work and fire safety, which must be strictly adhered to.
The Student Workplace at University
At the university and the institute, the student does not have a permanent place to study. Depending on the academic discipline, classes are held in lecture halls, classrooms, and laboratories. The basic requirements remain the same as for the home workplace.
Each student must have a designated personal space in which to place the necessary supplies. All classrooms must be adequately ventilated, cool, well lit, and meet all Sanitary Regulations and Norms for use in classrooms.
Students use the reading room as a workspace for independent preparation for university classes. It is recommended for people who live in the dormitory and cannot arrange for study space in their room.
The reading room provides the basic conditions for effective mental work: silence, absence of distractions, a neat desk, and plenty of personal space.
Conclusion
Undoubtedly, the issue of making space for student learning is very important. In this article, we gave practical tips on how to make studying at home more efficient and enjoyable.
In turn, we wish all students to cope with the study load on time and not to have debts. And the qualified professionals at good services on reddit can help you do just that.
