Lesson 3.1: The Environment as the Third Teacher
Lesson Objective
By the end of this lesson, you will be able to conduct a basic accessibility audit of a learning environment, identifying potential sensory, cognitive, and physical barriers.
Shifting Your Focus to the Space
The concept of the ‘environment as the third teacher’ suggests that after the adult and the peers, the physical and sensory space itself is a powerful teacher. It can either support or hinder learning. For neurodivergent pupils, the environment is never neutral; it is either regulating or dysregulating.
“Our goal is to become ‘detectives’ of our environment, learning to see, hear, and feel the space through the senses of our pupils. By identifying and removing barriers, we free up their cognitive and emotional energy for learning.”
Your Accessibility Audit Checklist
A simple audit involves looking at three key areas. We are not looking for problems, but for opportunities to make small, high-impact changes.
1. The Sensory Environment:
What are the sounds (buzzing lights, ticking clocks, outside noise), sights (cluttered displays, bright strip lighting), and smells (air fresheners, cleaning products)?
2. The Cognitive Environment:
How are instructions delivered? Is the timetable visual and clear? Are resources clearly labelled and easy to find? Is there a predictable structure to the lesson?
3. The Physical Environment:
Is there a clear path through the classroom? Is there a quiet, calm space a pupil can retreat to? Is the seating flexible?
An Audit in Action
[Video: A practitioner walks through a classroom, using the audit checklist to point out potential barriers and simple solutions]
Your First Environmental Audit
In the resources for this lesson, you will find a downloadable ‘Classroom Accessibility Audit’ checklist. Your task is to use it.
Choose a learning space you are familiar with and spend 10-15 minutes looking at it through the lens of the checklist.
You do not need to change anything yet. The goal is simply to practice observing the environment in this new way. Make notes on your checklist of things you notice that you may not have paid attention to before.
This audit checklist will become a valuable tool in your practitioner’s toolkit. Keep your notes, as you will use them in the next lesson.