Classroom Design and Children's Attention Allocation: Beyond the Laboratory and into the Classroom

Prior laboratory research suggests the visual environment can be a source of distraction for children, reducing attention to instructional tasks and learning outcomes. However, systematic research examining how the visual environment relates to attention in genuine classrooms is rare. In addition, it is unknown what specific aspects of the environment pose a challenge for attention regulation. This observational study aims to (1) provide a nuanced examination of specific elements of the classroom visual environment (e.g., visual noise, display quantity, color variability) by analyzing panoramic classroom photographs (N = 58) and (2) investigate whether specific visual environment elements are related to children's rates of on‐task behavior. Results indicate on‐task behavior was lower in classrooms containing greater quantities of visual noise and color variability, and in classrooms with either relatively small or large amounts of displays (controlling for observation session, school type, student gender, grade‐level, and instructional format). Implications for creating more optimal visual learning environments are discussed. LAY ABSTRACT Laboratory studies suggest that highly decorated environments reduce attention to instructional activities and learning outcomes. It is unknown whether these findings extend to genuine classrooms. This observational study investigated whether specific aspects of the visual environment are related to rates of on‐task behavior in 58 elementary school classrooms in the United States. On‐task behavior was lower in classrooms containing greater visual noise and color variability and in classrooms with relatively small or large amounts of displays.