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Quiet Your Space

When should I use this?
Rationale & benefits

Close your eyes, settle your mind, and imagine your ideal environment for learning. Does your classroom resemble this haven? Probably not. Classrooms are typically bright, noisy, and full of people, and this may be perfect for kids who thrive in high-stimulation environments. But for those who prefer quiet or need minimal distractions to concentrate, classrooms can pose barriers to participation, engagement, and ultimately learning.

 

In this section, we provide you small-sized accommodations you can make to your classroom to support students who need quiet or time alone to learn.

  • The physical space in which we learn holds a great deal of importance in how we learn - or, rather, how effectively we learn. The presence of noise, for example, can enhance the mental performance of some students, while proving harmful for others.

  • The traditional school environment places students in a constant state of being with other people. Options for low foot traffic and solitary environments are critical for students who need time away from people-packed locales. “Solitude, quite literally, allows introverts to hear themselves think,” writes psychologist Laurie Helgoe.

  • Just as a curriculum requires differentiation to meet the different needs of learners and their abilities, accommodating environmental preferences is a form of spatial differentiation.

  • Creating low-stimulation segments of the classroom can enhance some students’ feelings of security and comfort and ultimately improve their ability to learn.

Things to keep in mind

  • We realize there are only so many accommodations you can make to your classroom. Space is limited. Resources are limited. Funding is limited. We offer a range of low- and high-tech solutions but recognize that some of these approaches are beyond the current means of some schools.

  • We describe these options as particularly effective for introverted learners, but these spaces are meant to accommodate all learners. Just as an extrovert thrives amidst many people, he or she may also need to be alone occasionally. And just as introverts typically thrive in spaces with few people and little noise, they may embrace a large group in particular cases. In short: treat these options as ways to differentiate your space with all your learners in mind.

Implementation options
Low-tech
High-tech
UDL accommodations

  • The quiet space accommodations that we have recommended here require a certain level of maturity among students. The ability to productively work alone, sometimes in an environment with limited supervision and sometimes with the aid of media, requires a relatively high amount of self-regulation. If you have students in your class who need this level of quiet but have not demonstrated this level of self-regulation, we recommend the follow accommodations:

    • (1) Ask your department to fund noise-cancelling headphones for the student. You may even make the case that this is an assistive technology needed for the student to perform to his/her maximum potential.

    • (2) Introduce a trial period for quiet spaces. Come to an agreement with you the student that you’ll try out time in the quiet space and will regroup with him/her each day to discuss if it went well and what can go better next time.

    • (3) Set up a buddy system. If you are sending a student group outside your classroom for a quiet space, introduce a system in which pairs of students will check in with each other every 15 minutes to see how things are going. This strategy won’t work well if you are concerned with the level of maturity of multiple kids in the group, but it may prove effective if you are only concerned about one student staying focused. It adds a level of peer-led accountability to the dynamic that may be lacking otherwise.

References:

- Belojevic, G., Slepcevic, V., & Jakovljevic, B. (2001). Mental performance in noise: The role of introversion. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 21, 209.

- Helgoe, L., & Hutson, M. (2010). Revenge of the introvert. Psychology Today, 43(5), 54.

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