Sample Essay On Colors In The Learning Process

1) No one will deny that school classrooms, their design and layout of the rooms intended for studying play an important role in the effectiveness of the educational process. Color affects the emotional state of a person and causes corresponding changes in the body: acceleration of the heart rate, change of the breath rhythm, the speed of reaction and so on. Clearly, the color also influences performance and, consequently, the learning process which is an important activity. Whether we realize it or not, but we always experience the strong influence of the color. Different colors may have various effects on people, depending on their age and gender.
2) In order to trace the effect of color on the learning process it is sufficient to refer to the research of psychologists who recommend for classrooms yellowish-green color or the range of colors from yellow to orange. If the classroom windows are facing south, the blue and green shades are also suitable for the classroom walls. It is necessary to take into account the age of the students − in primary school it is preferable to use warm colors, and in high school it is recommended to use calm and neutral blueish-gray and grayish-green tones. From the point of view of the physiology of visual perception, the organization of the school environment greatly affects the psyche and the corporeal organization of the student and his health. Scientists’ research proved that the effect of the white-gray-black environment is that it increases the fatigue of a student, lowers his emotional mood. On the contrary, a combination of various colors contributes to a higher performance, better mood, and optimistic expectations.
3) It is known that everyone has his special attitude to colors. Most people have a whole range of favorite colors. It is noted that the scale of favorite colors changes throughout the life of a particular person. Preschool children prefer red color to all other colors. Adults usually rank blue as their top favorite color and red as second favorite. Children like intense colors much more than adults do. With age, grey and pastel colors often become favorite ones. Research has identified the combinations of colors which are the most common and accepted by students. On average, the sequence of the preferred colors is as follows: blue - red - green - purple - orange - brown - pastel colors - black and white. The colors which stimulate the activity vary depending on the age of the children: younger children prefer bright colors, whereas teenagers like more neutral ones. It is proposed to use bright and warm colors for the younger children, but it is necessary to avoid using intensive basic colors because the effect of using such colors may be that they distract attention and do not allow students to concentrate. There are differences in color preferences between boys and girls: boys prefer more vibrant colors, while girls prefer more neutral ones.
4) The color of the walls in the classroom affects the children’s desire to cooperate. Color of the walls in the classroom affects the productivity and accuracy. Cold colors contribute to the concentration. A study conducted on girls in grades 7-9, showed that they made fewer mistakes when working in rooms painted in their favorite colors, and the time of performing the task did not change. In rooms with pink walls the preschoolers demonstrated great physical strength and a more positive mood than in rooms with blue walls. However, in adults an opposite effect was noticed: pink was a soothing color which ‘sucks’ out the power and thus can be used to reduce aggression.
5) Children believe that the color of the walls at school is important, and most of them think that the color of the walls in their school is boring and unattractive. Parents and teachers believe the color is not important. In the book “The School I’d Like”, there are quotes of students about their perception of school: a 15-year-old school girl described her school as a “huge prison” and mentioned that the school lacks color. Students often complain of eye fatigue in the class, so it is advisable to paint the wall behind the teacher in a color different from the other walls. For more productive activity and higher performance of the students it is preferable to use yellow, red and green colors. This study can be recommended to teachers during the process of selection of suitable color combinations for the classroom walls as well as for the process of preparation of textbooks and learning tools.