why acoustic comfort in the classroom leads to grade-A results
Everyone can agree that a supportive school environment is crucial for the education of children. Investment in teachers and school facilities are seen as paramount, but acoustic comfort in school buildings is often overlooked.
Ambient classroom noise and simply being able to hear clearly is essential for the development and wellbeing of students, particularly younger ones. Effective noise control is vital for creating the best possible learning environments for pupils.
the consequences of poor classroom acoustics
Excessive levels of noise reverberation is often a consequence of sound reflecting off hard interior surfaces such as bare floors, walls and hard furniture like tables, chairs and counters. This is a very common setup in classrooms.
In schools, this creates several issues. Most obviously students have to be able to properly hear their teacher to learn, but it’s been found that in typical classrooms pupils in the back row might only hear 50% of their teachers’ words. Classrooms are hardly oases of silence at the best of times – The World Health Organisation (WHO) suggests a ceiling of 35 decibels if effective teaching is to take place, but the average noise level in classrooms is 65 decibels.
Noise reverberation in classrooms often reduces speech intelligibility: the louder teachers are, the harder it can be to understand them. Concentration and productivity both suffer and studies have found that substandard acoustics impact on children’s listening comprehension, short-term memory, reading and writing – all key elements of the learning process.
On top of that, excess noise is a stress trigger. The WHO has pointed to high noise levels as a cause of increased irritation, aggressiveness, discomfort and headaches in schools, issues that particularly impact younger students but also affects older kids and teachers.
Studies have also indicated that long reverberation times diminish pupils’ perception of having fun and being happy at school. Addressing poor acoustics could have a very real positive impact on students’ mental health and improve the wellbeing of teachers; in one study, acoustically treated rooms resulted in reduced staff sick days, with absences falling from 15% to 2% in a single term.
acoustic comfort is essential to unlocking students’ potential
There are plenty of practical steps to take to ensure that overly noisy classrooms don’t stop students from reaching their potential. In particular, reducing reverberation times will go a long way towards improving acoustic comfort within a learning environment.
One of the simplest and most impactful steps that school administrators can take is utilising an acoustic ceiling spray that’s easy to apply with minimal disruption, like SonaSpray. SonaSpray is part of Oscar Acoustic’s range of noise dampening solutions, helping businesses and schools create more productive, stress-free environments.
As an acoustic spray, SonaSpray can be quickly and easily applied to a range of surfaces without disrupting regular classroom activity for long. By absorbing sound energy rather than reflecting it, SonaSpray lessens the impact of noise,makes speech more comprehensible and facilitates acoustic comfort in buildings. With SonaSpray, teachers can get their message across without raising their voice and give students the means to fulfil their academic potential.
To find out how SonaSpray could enhance the learning environment of your school, get in touch with Oscar Acoustics today.