Ensuring optimal acoustics is imperative in most spaces, but perhaps nowhere is it more important than in a teaching environment such as a classroom, music room, multi-purpose hall or staffroom.
Good acoustics are crucial at an early learning and primary level, because young students cannot automatically complete sentences without directly hearing words. If their educator’s instructions are overshadowed by other noise, a young student may misinterpret an important lesson or directive.
At high school, university or TAFE level education institutions, poor acoustics can be very detrimental to a student’s learning. A noisy room can make understanding complex concepts difficult, and can limit collaboration with peers. Students who are constantly straining to learn against too much noise will become fatigued and can suffer from illnesses.
Students are not the only ones impacted by poor acoustics. Teachers also struggle in a noisy classroom. Studies show teachers use their voices for about 60% of their workdays, which is why raising their voice to be heard in a loud classroom can strain a teacher's voice, leading to illness, stress, and fatigue.
Good acoustics are very important in the classroom. Students who cannot clearly understand speech tend to lose concentration and eventually become disconnected from learning.
Historically, most school halls were used for events such as school assemblies. Today though, they have evolved into multi-purpose spaces for various school-based and community applications such as wet weather play areas, musical performances, before and after school care, presentations, parades, and more.
School music rooms tend to cater for both theory and practical work – sometimes with both teaching methods occurring simultaneously. This combination of practical and theory in one space doesn’t just create a lot of noise and distraction, it can also cause harm to the teacher, hinder learning for the students, and disrupt those working in surrounding classrooms and offices.
Teachers spend 60-75% of their day using their voices. And for most of this time, they use elevated tones just to be heard over outside noises or poor classroom acoustics.
In today’s fast-paced world, childcare is a necessity for most families. The pressure of selecting the right childcare centre for a child is immense. Most caregivers consider the quality of education, the facility’s cleanliness, and the educators’ kindness – but do the facility’s acoustics make the list? They should!
