When I committed to creating a positive emotional climate and reduced stressful aspects of our learning environment my students’ learning improved and they were noticeably calmer (Hardiman, 2003, p. 25). Making use of natural lighting and changing to full-spectrum bulbs helped reduce glare on the glass doors of our bookshelves and eliminated a form of visual distraction, drawing the eye to the engaging books behind, and appealing to the attention system (Hardiman, 2003, p. 42). My students immediately noticed the books and began requesting reading time more frequently.
It is my responsibility to help my learners experience all of life’s wonders. I took a hint from a sweet potato that began to sprout in our culinary learning space and thought about what my students could learn from growing a plant. I sketched out a concept map to help organize my ideas for a botany unit. Taking advantage of a novel and authentic learning experience captured my students’ attention and sparked their curiosity for further learning. Also, by helping my students form an emotional attachment to their sweet potato vine I hopefully increased their retention for what we learned during our botany unit (Hardiman, 2003, p. 56).
