The effect of classroom acoustic conditions on literacy outcomes for children in primary school: A review

2022

Acoust Aust

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Obtaining adequate numeracy skills and listening comprehension skills at primary school are vital for children’s future success. However, classrooms are often noisy and reverberant which may interfere with learning these skills. Two scoping reviews were conducted to synthesise research assessing the effect of different classroom acoustic conditions on (1) children’s numeracy performance and (2) children’s listening comprehension and to identify areas for future research. The PRISMA-ScR protocol was used for these scoping reviews. A comprehensive search of four online databases was conducted in September 2021 using the search term classroom AND (noise OR reverberation OR acoustics) AND (numeracy OR math* OR arithmetic) for the first scoping review, and in May 2022 using the search term classroom AND (acoustic* OR noise OR reverb*) AND ("listening comprehension" OR "auditory comprehension" OR "spoken language comprehension" OR "speech comprehension”) for the second scoping review. The effect of the acoustic conditions on children’s numeracy was varied with most studies showing a negative or no effect of noise, but two showed a positive effect. Therefore, future research is needed to better understand the effect of different classroom acoustic conditions on children’s numeracy performance. For listening comprehension overall, signal-to-noise ratios below + 10 dB mostly had a negative effect on children’s listening comprehension compared to quiet conditions; however, variables such as the noise type, signal-to-noise ratio tested, the listening comprehension domain examined, the population studied, and the voice used for the stimuli affected this. Future research avenues to better understand these effects are proposed.

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Scoping Review of the Effect of Classroom Acoustic Conditions on Primary School Children’s Numeracy Performance and Listening Comprehension

2022

Acoust Aust

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“…7 Other recent reviews have been conducted summarizing the effect of classroom acoustic conditions on children’s comprehension 8,9 and literacy outcomes. 10 The focus of this review will be on effect of classroom acoustic conditions on children’s cognitive performance. According to the World Health Organization International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health for Children and Youth (WHO ICF-CY), 11 cognition consists of attention, memory, and higher-level cognitive functions such as abstraction, organization and planning, time management, cognitive flexibility, insight, judgment, and problem-solving.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Classroom acoustics and cognition: A review of the effects of noise and reverberation on primary school children’s attention and memory

2022

Building Acoustics

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Classroom acoustic conditions are often suboptimal, so how do they affect children’s cognition? This review synthesized research assessing the effect of different classroom acoustic conditions on children’s attention and memory. A comprehensive search of four online databases was conducted in January 2022 using the search term classroom AND (noise* OR reverberat* OR acoustic*) AND (cognit* OR attention OR memory OR processing). The results revealed 21 relevant papers plus an additional 10 from their references. The papers assessed the effect of a range of chronic and acute acoustic exposures on different attention and memory processes. Overall, the majority of studies showed a negative effect or no effect of higher noise levels, longer reverberation times, or lower speech clarity on children’s cognition. It would therefore be beneficial to improve classroom acoustic conditions if possible. Suggestions for future research to more fully understand the effect of different classroom acoustic conditions on children’s cognition are posed.

“…These effects can be either from acute exposure, or chronic exposure over a long period of time. Poor classroom acoustic conditions can negatively affect children’s speech perception, 3,4,12,15 comprehension (see Lamotte et al 16 and Schiller 17 for reviews), literacy outcomes (see Mealings 18 for a review), cognition (see Mealings 19 for a review), and physical health (see Mealings 20 for a review). These negative effects on the learning processes can affect children’s academic achievement.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A scoping review of the effects of classroom acoustic conditions on primary school children’s mental wellbeing

2022

Building Acoustics

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The aim of this scoping review was to systematically map research on the effect of classroom acoustic conditions on children’s mental wellbeing and identify existing gaps in knowledge to inform future research. This scoping review followed the PRISMA-ScR protocol. A comprehensive search of four online databases (ERIC, PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science) was conducted using the search term classroom AND (acoustic* OR noise OR reverb*) AND (“mental health” OR emotion OR wellbeing OR “quality of life” OR anxiety OR depression). Peer-reviewed papers were included if they were written in English, included children in the primary school age range (i.e. 5–12 years), and included a measure of children’s mental wellbeing. Six papers met the criteria to be included in the review. Overall, this review suggests that poor classroom acoustic conditions can negatively affect children’s mental wellbeing. Given the small number of studies, future research suggestions are proposed to fill current gaps in knowledge.