Niche Construction in Learning Environments
Learning environments are fundamentally the phase of niche construction, a phenomenon where individuals learn by teaching or in-built our educable settings in a literate way. This interplay delineates the centrality of empowerment and resourcefulness in education, as students design and restructure their premises to improve their own learning. Niche construction in learning environments is a case of a phenomenon in which people create by interacting with a charter.
Likewise, learners can design their learning atmosphere to better fit their own personal needs and learning styles with the help of niche construction. For example, a learner could design a study room with fewer distractions; it can include the types of learning materials he/she/they prefer and can use some tools that he/she/they find useful for their understanding.This personalization can help them to be more engaged in the process and thus perform better academically.
Teachers might be the ones that introduce the niche construction concept by giving options to students about their learning activities, environments, and assessment methods. An example would be giving students authority to choose either a project subject or the presentation format they wish to communicate their work with. The consequence of this is that the students claim their part in the learning process, and thus, they develop a sense of agency and increase their motivation.
In collaborative learning contexts, niche construction can take place through the participation of group dynamics, where the students in a group define the roles, responsibilities, and norms together. For instance, a project where group members can each assign tasks based on their strength, for example, one member would do the research and another would develop the presentation, creating a learning niche that effectively involves each member's capabilities.
Niche construction has the potential to be improved by learning, but there is also a possibility of it being the source of difficulties such as unequal participation or even negative behaviors being learned if it is not monitored. For instance, if a number of learners monopolize the time and power to decide the course of the discussions, the rest will probably feel left out, which is a threat to their learning. Teachers have to apply the processes inclusive of those that give ear to al and other who should be valued.