A room with a view increases test scores
High school students perform better on tests inside a classroom with a view of green landscape outside, says a study from the University of Illinois Department of Landscape Architecture.
“It’s a significant finding, that if you have a green view outside your window, you’ll do better on tests,” said Dongying Li, a doctoral student who conducted the research with Sullivan. Students’ capacity to pay attention increased 13 percent if they had a green view outside their classroom window, the study found.
In the study, 94 students were assigned to either a windowless classroom, a classroom with a bland view (like a building or a parking lot), or a classroom with a green view. The students were given 30 minutes of activities. Following the activities, the students were given an attention test, then a 10-minute break in the classroom and another attention test following the break.
Students in the room with the green view showed had 13% higher scores in the attention tests than those in the other two rooms.
Researchers think that the Attention Restoration Theory is responsible for the positive effects. The theory suggests that when focusing on a task, warding off distractions tire out the brain. When someone stops focusing, their attention is drawn involuntarily to certain things – a campfire, a waterfall, a baby, a puppy. Focusing on those things doesn’t require effort, and the theory suggests that doing so provides an opportunity for the brain to rest and restore its ability to focus attention again.
In the case of the classroom, trees allow the brain to relax and restore mental energy.
Li suggests their findings can help planners find school locations with a vast amount of green space or create some themselves.
