Teachers’ and Children’s Experiences after an Acoustic Intervention and a Noise-Controlling Workshop in Two Elementary Classrooms

Abstract

Introduction: Treating sources of noise is a novel aspect of voice ergonomics intended to enhance the preconditions for good voice production and easy listening. Objective: To improve experiences of listening and voice ergonomics in classrooms. Methods: Participants were two female elementary school teachers with voice symptoms and their pupils (N=50). Two interventions were performed: the Acoustic Intervention and then the Workshop Intervention where the teachers and pupils were active. Teachers' voice symptoms and pupils' and teachers' experiences of the interventions were elicited by questionnaire. Results: The teacher with many voice symptoms experienced more annoyance from sounds and benefitted more from the interventions. After the interventions both teachers suffered fewer voice breaks and voice symptoms such as lump and mucus in the throat. The pupils reported improvement in the teachers' voice clarity and audibility (p = 0.001). Pupils aged 12-13 years were more annoyed by sounds than those aged 8-9 years (p = 0.003). The older pupils experienced less sound annoyance after both interventions and the younger ones after the Workshop Intervention. Conclusions: The importance of good acoustics and individuals' ability to improve voice ergonomics and listening conditions was demonstrated.

Evaluation of Noise Reduction Interventions in a School

“…When comparing the pre-and postintervention questionnaires, it was possible to observe that children started to be less annoyed by noise, reducing the AI from 0.78 to 0.59, suggesting that the interventions performed reduced the noise improving the annoyance felt by the children. The same happened in the study by Pirilä et al [20], in which the annoyance from noise decreased after the interventions.…”

“…This decrease in noise levels in the empty rooms was likely directly related to the installation of acoustic ceilings. The educational actions implemented may also have contributed to the noise reduction, as background noise can be caused by any noise generated inside or outside the classroom [7,12,20].…”

“…Pirilä et al [20] did not perform an objective measurement of the signal-to-noise ratio, but found that the children started to report improvement in the clarity and audibility of the teacher's voice, hearing it much better after the physical and educational interventions performed. In the present study, students reported less interference with communication after interventions (from 71.2 to 53.6%), which agrees with the findings of Pirilä et al [20] and the observed improvement in the signal-to-noise ratio.…”

“…The studies carried out in this area are usually crosssectional and evaluate the acoustic conditions of schools/ classrooms (such as background noise, acoustic comfort, signal-to-noise ratio, reverberation) [2,3,16,17], the effects of noise on children and teachers [18] and the effects of physical interventions carried out in the school environment [19]. The rare longitudinal studies, on the other hand, carry out only qualitative analyses, as is the case of Pirilä et al [20].…”

Sound Quality Characteristics of Importance for Preschool Children’s Perception and Wellbeing After an Acoustic Intervention

“…Other studies investigating the effect of an acoustic intervention on vocal symptoms have focused on the teacher. For example alleviation of some vocal symptoms was reported among participating teachers and an improved perceived clarity and audibility of the teacher's voice was reported by school aged children after an acoustic interventions in a classroom (Pirilä et al, 2020).…”