Page 47 - International Journal of Process Educaiton (Special Issue)

Creating a Quality Learning Environment (1994) C
A quality learning environment is characterized by respect, trust, openness, high expectations,
support for risk-taking, a willingness to challenge performance, continuous assessment, and a
growth-oriented mindset for everyone.
The question of what constitutes a high-quality or
productive learning environment is not likely to be
answered anytime soon, not least because we are not yet in
agreement about who “we” are (A university? A culture? A
nation?), let alone how “we” define the terms, learning and
education. What we (the authors and scholars of Process
Education) can do, and with a great degree of utility, is to
define and explore what constitutes a high-quality learning
environment within the bounds of Process Education (PE)
and its principles.
While we do have a set of those PE principles, they were
not the result of a thought experiment, where we asked,
“What does a quality learning environment look like?”
and “How does it function?” Instead, the principles arose
as a result of a critical analysis of what was sought as a
result of education, what worked best to meet those needs,
and possibly more critically, what didn’t.
Defining a Preferred Learning Environment
The handbook for the first Teaching Institute set forth
the idea that, for facilitating the development of problem
solving and critical thinking skills, “the traditional learning
environment (in which the instructor delivers content
and the students copy from the blackboard) is the wrong
environment” (Apple, 1991). From this perspective,
the ability to think critically and solve problems is
the preferred result of education, and the traditional
education dynamic does not lead to that result. Faculty
were reminded of the characteristics they long to see in
learners and the kind of environment that tends to foster
those characteristics:
Inherent to the problem-solving process are an
inquisitive spirit and critical-thinking skills.
However, most educational processes do little
today to stimulate students to develop an attitude
of asking “why?” or encouraging students to
explore and experiment. Somewhere along the way,
students are losing the exploring nature they had
as children and have become afraid to be wrong.
The most desirable type of learning environment for
problem solving emphasizes a “process-oriented”
approach where self-discovery on the part of the
student is paramount. The role of the instructor in
this environment is to facilitate student learning
International Journal of Process Education (February 2016, Volume 8 Issue 1)
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through the use of timely critical thinking questions.
The objective is to develop students who are able
to “process” or evaluate a data base of knowledge
rather than render the data base (that was taken
from the text to the blackboard) (Apple 1991).
By 1993, the key characteristics of a learning environment
that best foster critical thinking and problem solving were
slightly more polished and included the ideas that,
 Students need to experiment, explore, test, and seek
their own answers with the help of their teammates.
 Students should be forced to think, but not to the
point that they become overwhelmed.
 Frustration is valuable but must be continually
monitored; some frustration is good, and provides
motivation to find a solution and resolve the
frustration.
 Discovery learning works well in tandem with
cooperative learning; the students have a pool of
thinking and learning skills to draw on in addition to
their own, and the effort, excitement, and frustration
can be shared (Pacific Crest, 1993).
Let’s take a pause to summarize what has thus far been
claimed about the characteristics of a Process Education
quality learning environment:
It should…
 Build critical thinking skills
 Foster an inquisitive spirit in learners where they ask
“Why?,” explore, and experiment
 Support risk taking and student willingness to be
wrong and make mistakes
 Be process-oriented
 Foster self-discovery
 Facilitate student learning
 Shift responsibility for learning to the learner with
facilitators asking critical thinking questions
 Challenge students, with facilitators creating/allow-
ing enough frustration to motivate
 Include cooperative/team learning
 Incorporate problem solving
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