Honors: All College Participants

Acoustics in Classrooms: Old, New, and Renovated

Academic Level at Time of Presentation

Senior

Major

Communication Disorders

Minor

N/A

List all Project Mentors & Advisor(s)

Susan Brown

Presentation Format

Oral Presentation

Abstract/Description

Acoustics in elementary school classrooms are an important factor in the learning process for children. Acoustical features such as reverberation time, ambient noise, background noise and signal-to-noise ratio can positively or negatively affect how well children can listen and learn during the school day. These features differ between classrooms as well as between schools based on materials and items in the classroom, the size of the room, location of the room in the building, and location of the school. The American National Standards Institute and the Acoustical Society of America have set recommendations for these acoustical features in elementary school classrooms, but these standards are not always adhered to. This thesis discusses the effects on learning due to poor acoustical features, as well as differences in the measurements of reverberation time and ambient noise in three different elementary schools: an older school, a recently-built school, and a school that is currently being renovated. Alterations and modifications for the classrooms are also discussed to help improve the ambient noise levels and reverberation times in classrooms that are outside of the recommendations by the ANSI and the ASA.

Location

Classroom 211, Waterfield Library

Start Date

November 2016

End Date

November 2016

Affiliations

Honors Thesis

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Nov 15th, 9:30 AM Nov 15th, 12:30 PM

Acoustics in Classrooms: Old, New, and Renovated

Classroom 211, Waterfield Library

Acoustics in elementary school classrooms are an important factor in the learning process for children. Acoustical features such as reverberation time, ambient noise, background noise and signal-to-noise ratio can positively or negatively affect how well children can listen and learn during the school day. These features differ between classrooms as well as between schools based on materials and items in the classroom, the size of the room, location of the room in the building, and location of the school. The American National Standards Institute and the Acoustical Society of America have set recommendations for these acoustical features in elementary school classrooms, but these standards are not always adhered to. This thesis discusses the effects on learning due to poor acoustical features, as well as differences in the measurements of reverberation time and ambient noise in three different elementary schools: an older school, a recently-built school, and a school that is currently being renovated. Alterations and modifications for the classrooms are also discussed to help improve the ambient noise levels and reverberation times in classrooms that are outside of the recommendations by the ANSI and the ASA.