Effects of Classroom Acoustics on Performance and Well-Being in Elementary School Children: A Field Study

Klatte, Maria; Hellbrück, Jürgen; Seidel, Jochen; Leistner, Philip

doi:10.1177/0013916509336813

Cited by 156 publications

(129 citation statements)

References 66 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

119

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…In fact, effects of irrelevant speech on children's listening comprehension and phonological processing have recently been reported (Klatte et al, 2007). Furthermore, field studies have shown that chronic exposure to irrelevant sounds, i.e., indoor noise in classrooms, has enduring effects on children's language, prereading skills, and academic attainment (Klatte et al, 2009;Maxwell & Evans, 2000;Shield & Dockrell, 2008). In order to prevent such outcomes, optimal interior acoustics in the classrooms as well as pedagogical interventions are necessary.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The importance of short-term memory in language and reading acquisition on the one hand and its sensitivity to noise-induced disruption on the other hand leads to the prediction that permanent exposure to irrelevant sounds of even moderate intensity may cause enduring deficits in these developmental domains. In fact, field studies have shown that indoor noise in classrooms affects children's language and reading acquisition (Klatte, Hellbrü ck, Seidel, & Leistner, 2009;Maxwell & Evans, 2000;Shield & Dockrell, 2008). Thus, experimental studies on the ISE in children are important in order to construct acoustic environments suitable for learning.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

The irrelevant sound effect in short-term memory: Is there developmental change?

Klatte

Lachmann

Schlittmeier

et al. 2010

European Journal of Cognitive Psychology

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

With two experiments, effects of irrelevant speech and classroom noise on serial recall of common nouns presented pictorially were investigated in children and adults. Experiment 1 used fixed list lengths for children (first graders) and adults. Experiment 2 used list lengths adjusted to participants' (secondÁthird graders, adults) individual spans. In both experiments, children and adults were equally impaired by irrelevant speech. This contrasts with a related study (differences in methodology) by Elliott (2002), who reported severe increase in the detrimental impact of irrelevant speech with decreasing age. In both experiments, classroom noise had no effect in overall analyses. For Experiment 1, however, separate group analyses revealed impairment in children. Results suggest that effects of irrelevant sounds on serial recall stem from two separate mechanisms: Specific interference due to the sounds' automatic access to short-term memory, and/or attention capture. Only for the latter there is developmental change.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

The irrelevant sound effect in short-term memory: Is there developmental change?

Klatte

Lachmann

Schlittmeier

et al. 2010

European Journal of Cognitive Psychology

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The research has shown that a poor acoustic environment has a negative influence upon teaching, learning, and teachers' health. [11][12][13][14][15] However, most of this research has focused on primary/elementary schools. Far less is known about the acoustic quality of secondary/high schools and the impact of noise and poor acoustics upon children of secondary school age.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A survey of acoustic conditions and noise levels in secondary school classrooms in England

Shield

Conetta

Dockrell³

et al. 2015

The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

An acoustic survey of secondary schools in England has been undertaken. Room acoustic parameters and background noise levels were measured in 185 unoccupied spaces in 13 schools to provide information on the typical acoustic environment of secondary schools. The unoccupied acoustic and noise data were correlated with various physical characteristics of the spaces. Room height and the amount of glazing were related to the unoccupied reverberation time and therefore need to be controlled to reduce reverberation to suitable levels for teaching and learning. Further analysis of the unoccupied data showed that the introduction of legislation relating to school acoustics in England and Wales in 2003 approximately doubled the number of school spaces complying with current standards. Noise levels were also measured during 274 lessons to examine typical levels generated during teaching activities in secondary schools and to investigate the influence of acoustic design on working noise levels in the classroom. Comparison of unoccupied and occupied data showed that unoccupied acoustic conditions affect the noise levels occurring during lessons. They were also related to the time spent in disruption to the lessons (e.g., students talking or shouting) and so may also have an impact upon student behavior in the classroom.

show abstract

“…Impairs cognitive performance in schoolchildren [2][3][4][5][6][7], as well as stress or voice problems for teachers [8,9] can be caused by both the noise coming from outside or inside the classrooms. Indeed, several studies shown that high reverberation and high levels of background noise, due to external or internal noise, can seriously affect speech perception, short-term memory, task assignments and general understanding, resulting in a significant negative impact upon school and working performance and an induced hearing threshold shifts in the worst cases.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Global noise score indicator for classroom evaluation of acoustic performances in LIFE GIOCONDA project

et al. 2016

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Abstract:The LIFE GIOCONDA is an ongoing project that aims to provide an innovative methodology to the authorities for supporting the environment & health policies by involving the young people in the decision-making processes. The project suggests a web platform able to relate air and noise pollution data in the schools with the students' pollution awareness. GIOCONDA aims to enhance the awareness of students, teachers and local administrations on the noise issues in schools, presenting suitable tools to improve the public participative processes. This paper presents a new method that has been developed within the Project. It aims to evaluate the acoustic performances of a classroom and to suggest the use of a global indicator based on a group of acoustic parameters compared with their limit values. Whit the new method the comparison between different classrooms or different schools becomes possible, together with a homogeneous evaluation of the priority for planning noise mitigation actions. Several noise measurement campaigns have been performed to characterize the students' exposure in eight Italian schools. The results are useful to describe the acoustic performances of classrooms.

show abstract

Effects of Classroom Acoustics on Performance and Well-Being in Elementary School Children: A Field Study

Cited by 156 publications

References 66 publications

The irrelevant sound effect in short-term memory: Is there developmental change?

The irrelevant sound effect in short-term memory: Is there developmental change?

A survey of acoustic conditions and noise levels in secondary school classrooms in England

Global noise score indicator for classroom evaluation of acoustic performances in LIFE GIOCONDA project

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About