ABSTRACT
When a teacher takes over a new class the first thing they do is look at the environment to see how it will work for them. Given a new classroom they are unlikely to leave it as an empty space, but to start to divide the room up into separate units or areas for learning: the book corner, a painting area, an investigative area, a blockplay area and so on. The curriculum is divided across time and space. Hutt et al. (1989) describe these areas for learning as ‘microenvironments’, meaning environments which are created for a special activity or purpose. This term is further discussed by McAuley and Jackson (1992) and Robson (1996). Nash (1981) uses the term ‘learning centres’ to describe the areas which have been organised within the spatially planned classroom and Cole (1990) uses the term ‘activity center’. Henniger (1993/4, citing Esbensen 1987) uses the term ‘zones’ when describing outdoor play in US preschools.
