The Effect of Wall Color in the Classroom

The effect of wall color on learning environrments is striking.

Color can have an effect on mood and experience. By changing the colors in a classroom, the effect on teaching and learning can be measured by student performance. Many schools that have experimented with different colors to enhance student performance.

Space Ownership

In school design, successful experiments in the UK and the U.S. have shown that by breaking up different areas by color, students get a sense of ownership about their part or grade in the school.

Tones and Highlighting

There is a suggestion that by painting three walls of a classroom a pastel shade, such as blue and then having an accent wall where the teacher might stand in a brighter, darker tone, creates a calm environment for learning with a focus on the teacher. Highlight colors on window sills and door frames can also be used to create a more stimulating environment

Selecting Color

Andrea Grazzini Walstrom (writing in the magazine, "Stir") suggests that it doesn't really matter what colors you use, as all colors are good; the brightness of a color seems to matter more in affecting mood. Lighter shades seem to be more calming and too many bright colors can be over-stimulating. Too much of one color can cause monotony, so it is a case of selecting colors well, and mixing and matching to create a stimulating learning environment.

References

• Design Share: The Color of Debate: Chapter 1
• Teachernet, gov.UK: Case Studies