Keeping a classroom environment stimulating will help stimulate a student's mind, and make them better thinkers and learners.

So says Rod Pitcher, education expert, who looks at a stimulating classroom environment and how it can benefit students in an article on EducationHQ.com. The classroom, Pitcher said, "should include lots of books, visual materials and activities. All these requirement should be aimed at attracting and keeping the child’s interest and promoting questioning and discussion. It is obvious, I think, that these facilities must be suited to the child’s age and level of education."

"Expecting children, particularly young ones, to sit at a desk all day and learn is not the way to go," he said. "Children, particularly young ones, need to move around and do different activities. However, for the best results these activities must be related to their learning. Thus the children will be stimulated to learn, particularly if they are rewarded for doing well by being given access to facilities that have to be earned by correct responses and actions."

Pitcher said having a stimulating environment "will stimulate the students to do well and strive to do better."

"Anything that stimulates their minds will encourage them to take an interest and thus learn about the subject," he said. "Activities that promote thinking and attempting to answer questions will encourage the child to strive for answers, providing it is done properly and in such a way that it stimulates the child’s interest."

Pitcher said "if the student is not interested in the topic being taught and nothing is done to stimulate and build an interest then learning will not take place."

"A major factor in providing a stimulating and creative environment in the classroom is the attitude of the teacher," he said. "A teacher who is interested in the topic being taught and the student’s development will naturally provide stimulus to the students and they will respond in turn by learning and being interested in the topic. A teacher who is bored and uninterested will only pass that attitude onto the students who will then, in turn, not be interested in the topic being taught and so will not learn anything."

Pitcher said a stimulating classroom environment will also motivate the teacher to do better.

"If his/her students are interested in the work and learning about it then the teacher will in turn be stimulated to make the lessons more interesting," he said. "Thus a stimulating, creative classroom environment is to everyone’s benefit. It will feed back onto itself and become more and more stimulating and creative to the benefit of teacher and students."

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Article by Kassondra Granata, Education World Contributor