Colour design for better classrooms

Colour Design for Better Classrooms April Cottreau, Teacher, Avalon Adventist Jr. Academy, Port Hardy, BC What colour is ideal for classroom walls? Here are some guidelines you may want to consider as you create an atmosphere for growth. 1. Choosing wall colours is an important decision in business, medical and retail facilities. 1 It only stands to reason that those in the educational businessgive the issue serious consideration as well. We should approach colour, not from an aesthetic standpoint, but rather from a functional standpoint. Do certain colours result in genuine benefits? Mood is very important in the school, in the work place and in daily life; therefore, it is pertinent to understand how colour affects mood. 2. Studies show that monotone environments may induce anxiety andlead to irritability and an inability to concentrate. 2 It’s suggested that the proper use of colour in schools can convert an atmosphere that is depressing and boring into one that is pleasing, exciting and stimulating, promoting more positive feelings about school. This does not mean we must choose the perfect colour and paint every classroom that colour. Several colours within the school arebeneficial. We should tailor the learning environment to be attentive to individual children rather than following a course of mass instruction. Too much sameness does not convey the value of diversity. 3. It is recommended that stairways and corridors use bright colours to provide variety and stimulation while passing between other spaces. Hallways serve for movement rather than engagement. 3 Theyshould be more colourful and provide both vibrancy and personality through complimentary colours. Examples include light orange walls, offset by blue doors, or light green walls with low-chroma red doors. Frank H. Mahnke summarizes his experience with institutional white: “During my many years of collecting reference material on color and light, I have not yet come across any pronouncement thatsupports white and off-white on psychological or physiological grounds for prompting its wide use.” (Interestingly, although black represents mourning in our culture, the colour of grief in China is white.) Since brighter colours encourage activity, we would do well to consider those colours for areas in the school created for movement such as the hallways, stairways, and gymnasium. Using schoolcolours in certain areas may promote more school spirit. 4. Lighting is too closely connected to room colour to exclude it from this discussion. Glare from the sun must be avoided from surfaces of televisions, whiteboards and monitors. But humans need and want natural sunlight more than
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www.peterli.com/archive/spm/551.shtm-23k asumag.com/mag/university_classroom_colours/-39k 3www.coe.uga.edu/sdpl/researchabstracts/bestpractices/visualbp.html

artificial lighting. Positioning windows and reflective furniture properly and having light-coloured blinds will solve this in part. Brightly coloured walls (as well as high light levels) may increase glare. Therefore, the wall colour in a classroom should not be too bright. 5. Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) and Winter Blues are genuinelydebilitating conditions that act against learning. Its treatment through exposure to particular light is one of the “light therapies” that is well grounded in research. These problems affect up to 20% of people above the 40th parallel 4 (including Canada) leading to some depression and reduced productivity. The lighting used to help is full-spectrum lighting – fluorescent lighting that moreclosely resembles sunlight, enriched in blues and violets. The change in lighting, in connection with simple changes in room colour, minimizes the effects of the shorter days. Ideally, children would be outdoors in natural lighting a good part of the day, especially throughout the winter when the days are so short. Since they are largely confined to indoors instead, it’s best to simulate the natural...