Conference_programme: 18.1 - Effect of room acoustics and noise on speech intelligibility and task performance in schools
Lecture: Communication Behaviour and Workload of Students and Teachers in Highly Absorbent Classrooms
Author(s): Tiesler Gerhart
Summary:
A team of occupational, medical and pedagogic scientists investigated the influence of room acoustics on pedagogic process. Database for analysis was the continuous monitoring of more than 175 lessons at two elementary schools:\n\n• Classroom acoustics by reverberation time (RT) and speech transmission index (STI)\n• Continuously sound pressure level (SPL)\n• Type of work\n• Communication and social behaviour\n• Work load of teacher by heart rate (HR)\n\nThe first school had 4 classrooms with “very good” acoustics and 4 rooms with “good” acoustics, assessed by the speech transmission index (STI). At the second school the acoustics of one classroom has been approved from “bad” to “very good”.\n\nDifferences of classroom acoustics are discussed appropriately. The main question is: Which impact does room acoustic have on the communication behaviour and the workload of students and teachers during lessons? The results presented below provide the basis for discussions on stress level and work demands of all participants in that working process. \n\n• It has been proved, that heart rates of teachers are coupled very strongly to stress reaction caused by noise level. It was not allowed to monitor heart rate of the students in this context, but in a follow-up study with similar results.\n• Increasing of SPL results in increasing of HR of teachers, that means stress reaction. The higher the RT, the steeper is the increasing of HR.\n• Bad acoustics results additionally in continuous increasing of SPL during the school day and subsequently to increasing stress reaction.\n• Lower SPL results in lower stress reaction, as e.g. fatigue, better concentration and hopefully better performance at school.\n\nIn conclusion, “very good” classroom acoustics is a primary requirement for a good pedagogic process.\n\n
Corresponding author
Name: Dr Gerhart Tiesler
e-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Country: Germany
