Researcher and senior lecturer Dr Catherine Hartung from Swinburne University has spent recent years immersed in the 'TeacherTok' space.
She says the platform pushes a highly specific kind of classroom set-up.
“I would say it’s a very particular aesthetic which you tend to see with [teachers’] classroom displays.
“So, they'll have laminated posters with affirmations saying, ‘You're amazing. You can do hard things’.
“Or there'll be a colourful alphabet above the whiteboard, fun borders around the notice boards … [the classrooms] have colour themes, and even particular fonts get used on the posters,” Hartung explains.
However, research tells us that too much clutter, colour and movement can actually hinder students’ learning in the classroom, she flags.
“It can be incredibly overstimulating for students. It can be distracting – and especially for neurodiverse students.”
La Trobe University's Dr Nathaniel Swain has previously argued that the focus should be on scaling back what’s in classrooms. The less visual ‘noise’ and distraction, the better, he's said.
"I think what’s really pushing teachers all the time is, ‘How do I make sure my classroom doesn’t look tacky or boring?’ Or there’s pressure that there has to be stuff on the walls that teaches students, rather than the teacher being there to actually teach...”
Striking posts on social media showcasing teachers’ decorative endeavours don’t necessarily tell the full story, Swain added.
“What those pictures don’t reflect is actually how the learning is working in those spaces...”
Yet on TitTok at least, it's “very hard to kind of swim against the tide of this colourful, fun aesthetic,” Hartung points out.
“Just to give you an example, I saw a teacher post – it was her setting up her classroom, which would appear to have taken a very short period of time.
“And she just said, ‘Reminder – you don't need a Pinterest classroom’.
“And, of course, the majority of responses to her video were applauding her honesty.
“Like, ‘Yes, kudos! Say it again for the people at the back!’ That kind of thing.”
Others were less impressed with the minimalist setting, the researcher observes.
“She also received a comment: 'I wouldn't be inspired to learn in this room at all. Poor kiddos. This is just a reflection on the type of teacher you are. It doesn't have to be a 'Pinterest class' at all, but this reflects no care and effort'.”
According to Hartung, the teacher creator did a ‘remarkable job’ with her response, providing considered context to the scene.
“She explained, ‘I'm a special education teacher. I have small classes. Some of my students are in wheelchairs’.
“There's all sorts of [elements for which a] lot of thought had gone into how she was arranging her space, which just didn't appear visibly flashy.
“But keeping things minimal was very much an informed decision that she's made.”
When it comes to crafting your learning space, Hartung says a good rule of thumb is, ‘would you put this up in your house?’
“‘Would you have this decoration in your living room?
“Why do we have to make classrooms so distinct from other places that we make comfortable for ourselves?” she queries.
Dr Catherine Hartung is working on a research project alongside Dr Natalie Hendry from The University of Melbourne and Monash University's Dr Rosie Welch, which is investigating teachers' use of social media with a focus on TikTok teacher content creators and TikTok video anaysis.
Hartung references the work of Dr William Glasser, an American psychiatrist and developer of Reality Theory and Choice Theory, whose logic, she says, can guide us in establishing an effective classroom set-up.
“He talks about the importance of four things that a learning environment should cover, four basic needs for children: their need for belonging, their need for control, their need for freedom, and also their need for fun.
“So how a teacher takes those and responds to those so that children remain at the centre, I think, is the challenge.
“It's not just about, ‘I really like these colours, so I'm putting these colours on my wall’…” she says.
The expert notes a trend in some school systems towards incorporating more natural elements in classrooms, as well as including ‘cosy’ furniture (like soft couches) and doing away with harsh ceiling lights that can sting the eyes.
It’s about creating the right ambiance for learning, Hartung says.
“This might not be aesthetic, [the elements you have] might not look perfect, but they create cozy spaces where children can have those four things: belonging, freedom, control, and fun.”
Hartung is by no means against overly aesthetic classrooms being shared on TikTok.
“I think we can push it further (though)” she clarifies.
“It would be beautiful to see some really inspiring classrooms get shared – not to pressure teachers to feel like, ‘oh, well, I can't do that’. Absolutely not. But just to be thinking about a classroom as an important part of their teaching.”
Above all, it pays to remember that your classroom does not summarise you as a teacher, Hartung emphasises.
“It doesn't mean that if your classroom's not perfect, [you’re ineffective or lazy or don’t care].
“But it is still something that you need to consider because it does play into the behaviour of students.
“It plays into the dynamics in the room and how engaged children can be based on how things are laid out.”
This is the second in a short series of articles canvassing Dr Hartung's insights on 'TeacherTok', classroom design and decoration when considering cognitive load theory, and trends in teachers' related spending habits. Read the first article here.