Overview
Insuring a favorable acoustic environment is fundamental to the classroom learning process. The ability to hear and understand the teacher is the basis for our entire educational system. Classroom acoustics in combination with other variables such as age of the child, degree and configuration of hearing loss, the intensity of the speech signal, the adequacy of hearing aids and assistive technology will dictate how well a student can listen and learn.
What are Classroom Acoustics?
The acoustics of a room depend on three factors: background noise and reverberation. Distance between the student and teacher will also complicate listening. The background noise level can be defined as the signal to noise ratio, which is a comparison of the level of the teacher’s voice compared to the level of background noise at a student’s ear. The other factor is reverberation or echo of sound. Reverberation happens when a sound reflects of hard surfaces such as walls, floors, ceilings and desks. This phenomenon degrades speech by covering up and distorting important components.
Classrooms are noisy places!
Risk factors: Background noise problems
 | - When hearing, venting and air-conditioning systems are clearly audible
- Noise from hallway or playground
- Open windows
- Sounds from adjacent classrooms
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Risk factors: Reverberation problems
 | - Hard ceiling without acoustic tiles
- Room with ceiling height more than 10 feet
- Acoustic ceiling tiles have been painted and lost effectiveness
- Walls and floors of non-acoustic absorptive materials
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Risk factors: Distance problems
 | - Distance is the greatest obstacle to speechunderstanding
- When the distance between speaker and listener is doubled, sound decreases by 6 decibels (dB).
- The distance between teacher and student – combined with background noise and reverberation – makes understanding speech extremely challenging
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Simple tips for improvement
- Locate students with challenges close to the teacher
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- Arrange furniture to reduce distance between students and teacher
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- Keep windows and doors closed
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- Reduce noise produced by movement in the classroom: wear quiet shoes, put tennis balls or padding on feet of chairs and desks
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- Move students from portable classroom to permanent structure with better acoustics
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- Replace noisy instructional equipment, ie aquariums with pumps with quieter models or move to non-instructional rooms
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- Reduce students per classroom
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Who is this important for?
All students benefit from ideal classroom acoustics. Some children have conditions that increase the importance of creating a favorable acoustic environment. These populations include:
- Typical school children still developing language
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- Children with any degree/type of hearing loss including ear infections and unilateral loss.
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- Children with auditory processing problems
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- Children with learning disabilities
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- Children with attention deficits
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- Children with behavioral problems
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- Children with developmental disabilities especially speech, language and reading
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- Children with visual problems
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- Children whose first language is not that of the speaker
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