Impact on Children's Learning
The physical environment in the Steiner classroom has an impact upon student learning. Steiner 'felt that young children are extremely sensitive to their environment' and suggested that 'colours play a very important role- loud, bright colours can be overly stimulating, tray and browns cab be dreary, plain light colours will promote a light airy feeling, reminiscent of cherry blossoms or spring leaves. This aesthetic beauty stimulates the child's imagination' (Roopnarine & Johnson, 2005). Thus, children are significantly impacted upon by colours of walls and other aspects of the classroom. Imagination is stimulated through appropriate use of colour as it is in Steiner education. This essentially promotes children to further develop and implement their creative capacities in the classroom and therefore benefit by enhancing their imagination and hence ability to think creatively and express their ideas collaboratively.
Another aspect of Steiner's educational model that impacts upon children's learning relates to mixed-age grouping. With children ranging three to six years of age, the diversity in ages 'offers the younger children to look up to and learn from the older children'. Essentially, the younger children's learning is scaffolded by the peer assistance that they receive from the older children. The older children benefit by gaining an 'attitude of caring and responsibility and improve social cognitive skills' (Jackman, 2009). All children benefit from the philosophy of mixed age grouping; irrespective of their role in the learning process as either a peer assistant or a receiver of assistance.
Another aspect of Steiner's educational model that impacts upon children's learning relates to mixed-age grouping. With children ranging three to six years of age, the diversity in ages 'offers the younger children to look up to and learn from the older children'. Essentially, the younger children's learning is scaffolded by the peer assistance that they receive from the older children. The older children benefit by gaining an 'attitude of caring and responsibility and improve social cognitive skills' (Jackman, 2009). All children benefit from the philosophy of mixed age grouping; irrespective of their role in the learning process as either a peer assistant or a receiver of assistance.