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This study conducts a thorough literature review to explore the relationship between the physical learning environment and creativity. Addressing a gap in understanding how specific attributes impact creative processes, the research aims to inform the development of innovative learning environments. Using a four-step methodology, the study involves selecting relevant articles, creating a classification framework, analyzing environmental factors' effects on learning, and interpreting findings to elucidate the correlation between physical attributes and creativity. Bibliometric analysis reveals growing scholarly interest in creative spaces. Findings emphasize the substantial impact of elements like furniture flexibility, resource accessibility, and lighting conditions on creative thinking. Key themes highlight critical factors like lighting, furniture arrangement, and diverse roles of environmental elements, contributing to enhanced cognitive performance. The study underscores the potential of optimized learning spaces to nurture creativity, promote problem-solving skills, and stimulate innovation. By enriching knowledge on the influence of physical environments on creativity, this research provides valuable insights for educators, designers, and policymakers aiming to create inspiring and effective learning environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Designing an energy-efficient IT classroom has not been straightforward due to the scattered recommended practices that involve different aspects. Some related aspects have not even been explored and need to be included - to increase the level of power saving and flexibility in implementation. Thus, a comprehensive layered approach or method is designed by this paper. It involves four (4) layers that represent different aspects of an IT classroom that can be made efficient in terms of energy consumption, namely hardware, platform, middleware, and application layers. Each layer is autonomous and hence can be implemented flexibly, subject to the bespoke feasibility of the use case. The proposed method is also expected to be future-proof and expandable due to its catering to both hardware and software-based optimizations. Such guidance is also crucial for the ongoing Industrial Revolution (IR) 4.0 and soon-to-be-established IR 5.0, where smart cities worldwide would be required to be energy-efficient. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Achieving adequate classroom temperatures is crucial for optimal learning. However, construction decisions are based solely on budgetary considerations, without considering variables such as thermal environment or environmental impact. This research evaluates the impact of using cellulose as thermal insulation in a university classroom located in Bello, Antioquia, Colombia. Measurements, an architectural survey, and other factors affecting the thermal environment were carried out. Subsequently, a computational model was built in Rhino software and thermal simulations were performed with Climate Studio. The results indicate that cellulose can match or improve thermal performance compared to expanded polystyrene, while having a lower environmental impact. This raises a discussion on the choice of materials for future construction at the university. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Learning to calculate the area of composite shapes is an important application of area measurement but evidence suggests that many middle school students struggle to calculate the area of even simple composite shapes. In this article, I report the findings of a classroom design study conducted to investigate the collective development of strategies for measuring the area of composite shapes. I used the theory of strategy choice from an emergent perspective to analyze the collective strategy choice of two Year 8 mathematics classes (n = 31) and the findings revealed that the classes developed a repertoire of strategies to decompose the shapes, measure the area of the constituent shapes, and recompose those areas to calculate total area. The students used their strategies in flexible combinations in response to the varying features of the composite shapes presented and developed justifications to support their emerging adaptive strategy choice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite its potential, daylighting strategies in school classrooms in the tropical climate regions is little explored in the literature. The use of two-sided or bilateral daylight opening, as well as the self-shading mechanism using sloped walls, are currently seen as potential strategies to achieve good daylighting in tropical buildings. This study thus aims at exploring and optimizing self-shading design possibilities for creating daylight-friendly, tropical elementary school classrooms with bilateral openings, by means of sensitivity and uncertainty analyses. Design parameters such as façade orientation, window-to-wall ratio, window elevations, wall slopes, interior surface reflectance and glazing transmittance are considered in the model of a hypothetical, typical classroom without shading devices. Climate-based daylight metrics such as UDI250-750lx, sDA300/50% and ASE1000,250 are utilized as the performance indicators. Computational modelling with Honeybee [+] in Rhinoceros/Grasshopper platform is employed to conduct the annual daylight simulation. Multiobjective optimizations using genetic algorithms (GA) through Octopus with SPEA-2 algorithms are performed to determine the optimum design solutions following the sensitivity and uncertainty analysis. The slope and WWR of the wall that faces west, southwest, south, or southeast, has the strongest influence on the defined objective function that includes all daylight metrics. To achieve the optimum daylight performance, design of the opposing window façades of school classrooms with bilateral openings should not be identical. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Identifying students facing difficulties and providing them with timely support is one of the educator's key responsibilities. Yet, this task is becoming increasingly challenging as the complexity of physical learning spaces grows, along with the emergence of novel educational technologies and classroom designs. There has been substantial research and development work focused on identifying student social behaviours in digital platforms (eg, the learning management system) as predictors of academic progression. However, little work has investigated such relationships in physical learning spaces. This study explores the potential of using wearable trackers for the early detection of low‐progress students based on their social and spatial (socio‐spatial) behaviours at the school. Positioning data from 98 primary school students and six teachers were automatically captured over a period of eight weeks. Fourteen socio‐spatial behavioural features were extracted and processed using a set of machine learning classifiers to model students' learning progression. Results illustrate the potential of prospectively identifying low‐progress students from these features and the importance of adapting classroom learning analytics to differences in pedagogical designs. Practitioner notesWhat is already known about this topicLearning analytics research on predicting students' academic progression is emerging in both digital and physical learning spaces.Students' social behaviours in learning activities is a key factor in predicting their academic progression.Emerging sensing technologies can provide opportunities to study students' real‐time social behaviours in physical learning spaces.What this paper addsFourteen progression‐related socio‐spatial behavioural features are extracted from students' physical (x‐y) positioning traces.Predictive learning analytics that achieved 81% accuracy in prospectively identifying low‐progress students from their real‐time socio‐spatial behaviours.Empirical evidence to support the need for classroom learning analytics to have instructional sensitivity (ie, be calibrated according to the learning design).Implications for practice and/or policySensing technologies and machine learning algorithms can be used to capture and generate valuable insights about higher‐order learning constructs (eg, performance and collaboration) from students' physical positioning traces in classrooms.Researchers and practitioners should be cautious with generalised classification algorithms and predictive learning analytics that do not account for the pedagogical differences between different subjects or learning designs.Researchers and practitioners should consider the potentially unforeseen ethical issues that can emerge in using sensing technologies and predictive learning analytics in authentic, physical classroom settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recognizing the prevalence of suffering among management teachers and students, we raise the importance of compassion as central to the practice of management teaching. To aid in understanding how suffering and compassion arise in management teaching, we call upon a theoretical view of their rhizomatic structure, which conveys the widespread, complex, and largely unspoken spreading of suffering and corresponding need for compassion in the work of management teaching. To meet this suffering with compassion, we propose two clusters of practices central to teaching that lend themselves to helping management teachers see possibilities for more skillfully intertwining suffering and compassion. The first focuses on how management teachers can design the context for teaching in ways that make compassion more likely, focusing specifically on roles and networks. The second draws upon Honneth's recognitional infrastructure to focus on how teachers can approach the relational practice of teaching with emphasis on enriching human recognition of suffering. We conclude with a caution about overly simplistic approaches and overly individualized views of compassion in the work of management teaching. We call for systemic approaches to action that will enrich our imaginations as we approach management teaching and its role in our collective responsiveness to suffering. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Actas de Diseño is the property of Facultad de Diseno y Comunicacion, Fundacion Universidad de Palermo and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This participatory design-based research study addresses the relational character of the physical learning environment and pedagogical practice in the context of a design project carried out at a Swedish upper secondary school. Three teachers initiated the project with the intent to introduce student centred pedagogy and increase active learning. In collaboration with the research team, they designed and furnished a classroom supportive for communication and intense interaction between students, and where students and teachers could work and construct knowledge together. Drawing on observations, video recordings and design conversations with the teachers, the analysis, which is inspired by Actor Network Theory, concentrates on the six month period when the teachers started to teach in the new classroom with focus on their experiences, asking what they experienced as advantageous and challenging. Considering the new learning environment as a network of socio-material relations consisting of a) physical and spatial agents, b) organisational structural agents, and c) teacher/teaching agents, we conclude that whereas some actors corresponded well and contributed to a well-coordinated classroom practice facilitating the project's intentions, some actors contradicted each other and challenged the same intentions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Learning spaces that engage students actively are becoming more common. Active learning spaces are designed to facilitate collaboration between students as they engage in problem solving, communication, and teamwork. Recently, Auburn University installed an active learning space in the construction management teaching facility which provided a dedicated active learning space for construction education. During the 2018–19 academic year, students were surveyed to better understand their perspectives on the learning environment after having a class in the space. The goals of this exploratory study focused on student experiences within the active learning environment including perceived impact on learning and engagement within construction education. Sixty-eight percent of the students surveyed believed their learning and 82% believed their engagement with the material was enhanced by the space, the teaching tactics, and shared engagement. Results indicated that while the majority of students expressed positive experiences in areas of “group work and collaboration” and the “engaging and interactive” nature of the class, some construction students found the space distracting particularly when traditional lecture teaching was employed. Overall, the active construction management classroom can enhance the quality of students’ experience through appropriate course design and enriched dialogue, and a potential to positively improve the quality of construction education exists. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores the take-up and imaginaries of open-plan schooling during the 1970s, drawing on examples from Denmark and Victoria (Australia). As well as expressing new forms of classroom design and pedagogical praxis, open plan classrooms stood for reimagining schooling as a social institution and to possibilities for remaking student and teacher subjectivities. As a thoroughly transnational concept, the open-plan ethos was entwined with broader processes of social-cultural and political change and suffused with a critical optimism in its potential to inaugurate powerful transformations that extended beyond classrooms. We explore these aspects of open-plan schooling through Levitas´s (2013) typology of modes of utopia and Cooper´s (2013) concept of 'everyday utopias', arguing for closer attention to the decisive role of mundane practices in navigating what is 'doable and viable' in how open-plan classrooms were planned and enacted while also being attuned to a vision of another future. To analyse the interweaving of national, local and transnational processes in the making of open-plan ideas and practices, we draw upon Ingold´s (2011) notion of 'meshwork', proposing that local enactments of open-plan schools fold back into and contribute to building up different (transnational) conceptions of the open plan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Verimlilik Dergisi is the property of Verimlilik Dergisi and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This article presents the perceptions and experiences of 12 school principals, 35 teachers and 85 students on the influences and processes used by eight Australian government primary and secondary schools to transform traditionally arranged classrooms into flexible learning spaces. Characterised by a variety of furniture and layout options, these spaces are designed to enable a range of learning styles and activities and facilitate student-centred pedagogy. These changes to school learning environments are discussed in light of some central constructs of complexity theory, including inertial momentum, emergence, agent interaction, information flow, feedback loops and lock-in. The findings highlight the role of consultation, participation and ownership as central elements of sustainable change processes. Further effective design and transformation of learning environments requires a reflexive school community, pedagogical shift, professional development, and ongoing support to teachers and students. The discussion emphasizes the sociomaterial interplay between the pedagogical and physical classroom environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explains the relationship between learning spaces and the furtherance of student engagement and enhancement of student-faculty interaction. Following a design-driven methodology and considering flexibility, interaction, and connectivity as core elements to classroom design, we have prototyped spaces and implemented them in 96 classrooms. After doing so, we evaluated how the classrooms were used through a mixed-methods study that involved more than a thousand students. The results of this study highlight the importance of the physical space as a factor that contributes to student engagement and connects both students and professors in an active learning process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent research and innovations involving schools' spaces for learning show the need to link three dimensions (pedagogical, environmental, and digital) when analyzing and designing educational spaces. This article presents the design and validation of an instrument for collecting information that permits measuring the three dimensions: classroom space, pedagogical aspects, and technological elements, from the perception of teachers. The questionnaire created for the study can be transferred to other research having the same focus and may be useful for teachers wishing to design and plan spaces for learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The flipped classroom is becoming a popular course structure in many academic disciplines, but particularly in STEM disciplines, including mathematics. Considerable research has addressed potential advantages and challenges of teaching a flipped course, as well as examining students' attitudes towards the flipped classroom. Studies on students' academic performance in a flipped classroom remain relatively scarce, and have shown mixed results. This paper reports on a study using a flipped classroom design, combined with interleaved practice, in a 5-credit precalculus course at a regional 4-year university. I evaluated the students' performance on the final exam compared to a similarly sized random sample of students from non-flipped sections of the same course. This evaluation was done by a single-blind student research assistant, to reduce researcher bias. I also tracked students success in the calculus sequence. Since grades in subsequent courses were determined by other instructors, they should also be free of researcher bias. I found the students in the flipped sections performed better on the final, with the difference being statistically significant. I found that the percentage of students completing subsequent calculus courses with a or better was not significantly different between the students coming from the flipped and the non-flipped sections of precalculus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For this study the authors explored the use of pre-recorded lecture videos by students in a large introductory management course using a flipped classroom design to determine patterns of video use and to explore the potential relationship between student use of videos (video viewing) and student learning measured by grades and student satisfaction as measured by an end-of-course survey. A quantitative study approach was used, using frequency counts of student video use, student grades on three exams, and student responses to a 20-question survey. Correlation analysis results indicate that student use of videos varied significantly along several aspects – across the multiple video segments addressing a course topic, by time of day and day of week, and during the full course term. Implications for effective use of pre-recorded videos when implementing the flipped classroom model are discussed along with directions for much-needed future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to design energy efficient and thermally comfortable air-conditioning system in university classrooms. The research has been conducted in two steps. The first step was a survey of students' thermal comfort under air-conditioning classrooms, which collecting 175 questionnaires from 92 students. The second step was the calculation of cooling energy consumption using the EnergyPlus software. With the air temperature ranged from 23.0 to 27.0°C about 53% of respondents felt uncomfortable (cold or cool). The neutral temperature of students was found to be 27.0°C, which is higher than the classrooms' temperature. The energy simulation results show that the most significant factors affecting energy use is the temperature setting. Therefore, there is a possibility to reduce the cooling energy while improving the thermal comfort of students. To this end, it is recommended to raise the air temperature setting from 25.0°C to a minimum of 26.0°C. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Despite the enhanced popularity of flipped classroom research, there is a lack of empirical evidence reported about the different impacts revealed by the implementation of this concept. Therefore, to respond to this issue, this study aims to review and analyze the trends and contents of flipped classroom research based on 48 studies recently published in 2017 and 2018. The analysis was based on flipped classroom impacts from various fields. Design/methodology/approach: A systematic literature review and content analysis were used as a methodology to investigate positive impacts and challenges of flipped classroom implementation. Findings: The results of the analysis were interpreted using descriptive analysis. Analysis of the impact revealed that the flipped classroom yielded positive impacts on students' learning activities such as academic performance, learning motivation and/or engagement, social interaction and self-directed learning skills. Meanwhile, the most significant challenges encountered by the instructors is a lack of students' motivation to watch the pre-recorded video lectures or to study the contents outside of the class time. Practical implications: Several issues in this discussion become implications that can be taken into consideration for future research. The findings suggest that the flipped classroom concept might be effective in promoting the twenty-first century learning skills. Originality/value: While highlighting the limitations of an ineffective flipped classroom implementation, this study proposes further recommendations for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Active-learning research has explored 2 distinct areas: pedagogy and physical space. As existing research has most often explored only 1 area per study and few have been done in the area of sport sociology, additional research is needed. This research combined both areas of active learning through a quasi-experimental design. Using 2 different classes, Sport and Society and Gender and Sport, students were exposed to an unchanging physical space or manipulated physical space, as well as active-learning tasks of varying complexity. No differences in student perceptions of engagement or learning were found when comparing space variations; however, task complexity did lead to significant differences in student perceptions of engagement and learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we analyze the outcomes of a design experiment that sought to improve the multiplicative reasoning of 12–13 year-old learners across two schools in a South African context of low performance. Using a hybrid theoretical base in Realistic Mathematics Education, variation theory and analogical reasoning, a short-term intervention consisting of four lessons, designed with attunement to classroom culture and levels of learning, was implemented. Outcomes based on pre- and post-testing pointed to substantial gains in both schools, leading to interest in understanding the nature and extent of changes in models and calculation approaches in high performance and high gain item clusters. Increases in appropriate setting up of symbolic models of multiplicative situations and in more efficient calculation are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The physical classroom remains the one constant space where most schooling takes place and where everyday Computer Supported Collaborative Learning (CSCL) practices in formal educational settings occur. While educational advocates have championed the need for a change to schooling, pedagogy and various teaching and learning practices, the learning environment where these activities are taking place especially at the university level remain the same year after year, creating challenges for those attempting to implement CSCL. In this paper we argue that we cannot improve learning without looking at how the physical classroom space and furniture layout is designed and its impact on learning. Given that the CSCL research emphasizes social interactions, collaboration and knowledge growth, all of which should be occurring in the classroom, it seems appropriate to look at classroom space and changing pedagogies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Physical classrooms are often overlooked in educational research. While teachers, students, materials, and methodologies have all been the foci of studies for many years, research into the spaces in which instructed second language acquisition takes place is, for the most part, absent in the literature. In Thomas (2018a, 2018b), I argued that exploring these spaces and the affordances they provide is a necessary endeavor if we are to offer a holistic view of learning. It should be noted that my discussion of learning spaces refers to formal education settings--classrooms--and not self-access centers. However, I believe that relevant work in the field of self-access learning can indeed inform classroom design in instructed settings. Therefore, I use this work to support my discussion. As a work-inprogress report, this short paper will first describe my work up until this point, and second, explain how my ideas about learning spaces have transformed over time. I will discuss a new direction in which this and other studies may take. This new direction involves viewing classroom spaces as complex language learning systems and harnessing successful strategies students use within these systems to allow learning to take place. This focus on learning spaces as complete systems, as opposed to just their physical characteristics, has implications for how students can be better prepared to learn beyond the classroom. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Today's rapidly changing media industry poses an ongoing challenge for American institutions of higher education, which are often responsible for educating and preparing the next generation of skilled professionals. This case study examined how a service-learning design guided by the dual system of vocational education and training could help address journalism students' workplace readiness and increase their capacity to contribute to the community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Chile, the vast majority of educational buildings possess neither heating nor cooling systems that regulate temperature and thermal comfort in classrooms. Therefore, indoor temperatures can increase or decrease considerably in specific periods during the school year, thus preventing students from carrying out their academic activities in a suitable environment. For this reason, the present investigation evaluated thermal behavior and took as the unit of analysis each of the five passive design classroom prototypes from the "Energy Efficiency Guide for Educational Establishments" (Guía de Eficiencia Energética para Establecimientos Educacionales). The study demonstrated the level of thermal comfort in the classrooms in the current climate context. Additionally, comparisons were made to evaluate the vulnerability of these spaces in the face of future climate change scenarios for the years 2020, 2050 and 2080. Lastly, the classrooms with the highest number of hours of thermal comfort were selected so that these can act as models for new educational projects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We spend all our lives in spaces, whether those are digital spaces, public areas, institutional sites, or the spaces of our minds. These spaces are necessarily filled with sounds—heard, felt, imagined, or evoked. In thinking about what Purdy and DeVoss (2017) call the “infrastructures of writing,” and learning experiences of classrooms in particular, there has been an increased interest and scholarship within composition and rhetoric that focuses on built environments, learning spaces, and classroom design. However, much of this literature has yet to draw productively on sound. Most mentions of sonic dimensions of space merely suggest a signal/noise relationship, where undesirable “noise” would be minimized. In what follows I will argue that becoming attuned to sound in classroom design has far more potential than a desire to eliminate noise. In doing so, I offer the soundscapes of 7 cross-disciplinary, writing-intensive courses as a means of recovering the potential for sound in evaluating space. Finally, I argue for further work in putting the research of rhetorical soundscape studies in conversation with learning spaces and classroom design. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nowadays, the design of energy efficient and comfortable building results as the solution to a complex optimization that involves a great number of interdependent variables. In such a complex system that is characterized by many requirements, sometimes conflicting, the use of an integrated design approach can speed up the design process, allow evaluating and comparing a great number of design options and lead to optimized performance at multiple levels. We present the conception of a replicable methodology, including the integrated tools and metrics, for supporting the integrated design of the building envelope, aiming at minimizing the building total energy demand (resulting from the sum of heating, cooling and lighting energy needs) in a thermal and visual comfort context. The methodology relies on a simulation-based optimization process. For each of the two thousand of design solutions that are analyzed within the design space of the problem, the thermal and visual comfort conditions are evaluated at the same time. A “filter” approach is used for combining the different objectives. The methodology is applied to the design of a school classroom as a reference case study. Results are compared for four different building orientations and two different climatic conditions. The differences in design between the optimized building configurations in the different location and orientation emerge from the study, however resulting in similar energy performance (total primary energy demands in the range 78.6–82.8 kWh/m 2 y for Turin and 57.7–60.1 for Palermo). In all cases, energy-optimal solutions result as nearly optimal also from the comfort point of view, which demonstrate the validity of the implemented total energy approach. Beyond the numerical results, we provide an effective integrated methodology that is able to support designers in defining a unique energy and comfort optimized solution to be implemented in the real design analyzing the design space and determining the optimal set of passive solutions to minimize the total energy needs of a building in a context of good comfort conditions, going beyond the Pareto optimality concept and without dealing through complex multi-objective optimization processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this research, a novel “thermal capacity on demand” approach to modular thermal storage design has been discussed, seen as a key to the climatic adaptability of a proposed Smart-POD building system and its energy performance. Smart-POD is a unique and innovative research project which provides an alternative to traditional classroom design. It proposes a rapid deployment building solution, temporary or permanent in its use, modular in design, flexible in set-up and self-sustaining in use, requiring minimal site preparation, and meeting all its energy demands from renewable energy sources. Its feasibility was tested by a design case study which investigated climatic adaptability based on the proposed approach. This approach uniquely combines balancing of energy demand and supply using renewable technologies and a bespoke low temperature thermal store. It further proposes to use an open source Building energy Management System (oBeMS) conceived in this research, to intelligently manage thermal, ventilation and humidity control strategies which adapt to the climate, season and weather in which the building is placed. The predicted performance of proposed system demonstrates potential for an effective diurnal climatic adaptability, enhanced by integrated passive design strategies, and intelligent modes of building control. The method of BIM integrated sustainable design analysis (SDA) and building management system (BMS) has also been deliberated, as a framework for exploring the integration of proposed building management system into smart building environments (SBEs). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates adaptive thermal comfort in air conditioned classrooms in Hong Kong. A field survey was conducted in several typical classrooms at the City University of Hong Kong. This survey covered objective measurement of thermal environment parameters and subjective human thermal responses. A total of 982 student volunteers participated in the investigation. The results indicate that students in light clothing (0.42 clo) have adapted to the cooler classroom environments. The neutral temperature is very close to the preferred temperature of approximately 24 °C. Based on the MTSV ranging between −0.5 and + 0.5, the comfort range is between 21.56 °C and 26.75 °C. The lower limit is below that of the ASHRAE standard. Of the predicted mean vote (PMV) and the University of California, Berkeley (UCB) model, the UCB model predictions agree better with the mean thermal sensation vote (MTSV). Also, the respective fit regression models of the MTSV versus each of the following: operative temperature ( T op ), PMV, and UCB were obtained. This study provides a better understanding of acceptable classroom temperatures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Numerous studies have shown that teachers often speak louder in classrooms because of the acoustic properties of the spaces. To improve the acoustics in classrooms, it is necessary to develop relevant acoustic criteria. Existing evaluation scales for parameters of room acoustics have been developed on the basis of studies of adults for a variety of languages (e.g. Dutch and English). One of the issues still not fully recognized is the effect of the respondents' language and age on the results of speech intelligibility tests. The aim of the study was to recognize the possibility of applying some international guidelines for room acoustics developed on the basis of adult studies to classrooms in Polish schools. This paper presents a study of the speech intelligibility of Polish-speaking children (10-13 years old) in conjunction with parameters of room acoustics. It also compares studies of speech intelligibility for other languages. The study confirmed a relationship between the results of speech intelligibility tests and speech transmission index STI for classrooms with varied acoustics. It also showed that the results of Polish word test are similar to results of English tests (Anderson, Kalb, 1987; Jacob et al., 1990). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Students spend a large portion of their time in school. In this broadened time of sitting, poor fitting furniture can cause various types of musculoskeletal disorders and discomforts. Thus, it is crucial to use anthropometric data to coordinate the arrangement of school furniture. To fulfill this perception, a survey has been conducted in 10 primary schools in Khulna, Bangladesh. Anthropometric measurements were accumulated from 300 students of these primary schools. Seven furniture dimensions were measured and fifteen anthropometric measurements were taken and they were compared to identify potential mismatch. A significant degree of mismatch was found between furniture and student anthropometric measurements. The results highlighted that desktop height and seat height were found too high and seat width was too small for all of the students. The paper also proposes furniture dimensions, which reduce mismatch percentage of students ranging from 90% to 10%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This study explored the effect of different classroom spatial layouts on student perceptions of digital technology in a secondary schooling environment. A quasi‐experimental approach facilitated by a Single Subject research design (SSRD) isolated the impact of two learning spaces—traditional' classrooms, and ‘new generation learning spaces’ (NGLS), on students' perceived effectiveness, use and value of one‐to‐one technology as a learning tool. Results from quantitative analyses over the period of a school year indicated that different spatial configurations had a measurable effect on how students' perceived the effectiveness of the affordances of digital technology, with improvements often linked to NGLS. However, the evidence suggests that a change in learning space alone will not increase learning. A change in space supports those teachers who are able and willing to integrate the affordances of technology into their practice. Building on the collective methodologies of earlier work this analysis has reinforced the credibility of this unique methodological approach, arguing this evaluative strategy offers the capacity to generate much needed robust empirical data on evaluation of learning environments in a secondary school setting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Students with emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD) have difficulty with academic engagement during independent seatwork tasks. The goal of the current study was to evaluate the effectiveness of Behavior Bingo, a novel interdependent group contingency intervention, on the academic engagement, off-task, and disruptive behavior of students with EBD during independent seatwork in an urban alternative high school setting. During the intervention, the class collaborated to fill in a posted Bingo board contingent on demonstrating appropriate behavior. Using an ABAB withdrawal design in two classrooms, the Behavior Bingo intervention showed promise as a feasible and effective classroom management intervention. Given the urban setting and diverse sample of participants, implications for culturally relevant and responsive intervention are discussed, including the role of peers in culturally responsive intervention, the use of randomization and uncertainty, preference assessment, and engaging intervention components. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As students file in, they are surprised to see their classroom transformed. Desks have been arranged into circles, and in the middle of each circle is a box with multiple locks. On top of each box is a folder that says "Classified." The room is dark; at the bell, a video begins to play informing the students that they have been selected to use what they have learned over this semester to help solve a case before the suspect's flight out of the country leaves in 30 minutes. An evidence file has been provided, and the recovery team has found the locked boxes. The challenge is to open the boxes safely and decide if the suspect needs to be detained for further questioning. The clock starts ticking down from 30:00 as the student groups devour their classified files. Soon, they begin using what they had learned during this history class to follow the trail of evidence left by the suspect, some of which is true and some of which is false. They find a hidden message from the suspect proclaiming their innocence and asking for help, imploring someone with a kind heart to follow the trail of falsehoods to open the box. Each puzzle uncovers a series of facts, one of which is not true. As the students discover the lies, they are able to open the box. Inside, they find . . . well, that would be spoiling the ending, now wouldn't it? [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Turkish Online Journal of Qualitative Inquiry is the property of Turkish Online Journal of Qualitative Inquiry and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

In this paper, an assessment model based on multi-layer fuzzy comprehensive evaluation method (FCE) of classroom acoustical environment is proposed. The model classifies five major factors affecting overall assessment model into several subsets alternatives. The weightings of these main criteria and alternatives were collected through questionnaires among students based on analytic hierarchy process methodology (AHP). An evaluation score was calculated from the proposed model with the weightings generated from AHP method. In this paper, classrooms in the Hong Kong Polytechnic University were used to develop the assessment model. The result shows that the evaluation score of PolyU classrooms is about 87.2, which refers to “Good” evaluation set. It indicates that classrooms in PolyU needs to be improved. The weightings generated from AHP method can be considered for the importance of each alternatives. The assessment model can provide proper recommendation to universities for acoustic treatment so as to increase the acoustic quality of the educational environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Siloxane polymers and silicone materials are major components in most people's daily lives and are important in a wide variety of applications. However, despite their undeniable importance, they are often overlooked in the traditional undergraduate education, as they do not fall neatly into the traditional categories of organic or inorganic chemistry. Even in advanced polymer courses, they are often overlooked despite their value in describing many important polymer concepts. Herein we present three simple experiments to introduce siloxane polymers to the undergraduate education aimed at first-year, upper-level, and non-science-major students. This is prefaced with a brief overview of the history and chemistry of siloxanes and their value as teaching tools in the laboratory and classroom settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

PM 2.5 concentrations in ten schoolchildren’s houses and two classrooms in Changsha, China were measured. The objective was to understand the current status of PM 2.5 levels in the residential and classroom environment, examine the differences of PM 2.5 pollution at home between the children with one or more respiratory and allergic symptoms and those healthy ones. According to the obtained results, the indoor PM 2.5 concentrations in all investigated families were much higher than the Chinese national standard limit (75 μg/m 3 ). And the average concentrations of PM 2.5 in Group A (unhealthy children) were higher than those of Group B (healthy children), indicating that PM 2.5 could have adverse effects on the health of children. The PM 2.5 concentrations in two classrooms also exceeded the upper limit. The Pearson correlation coefficients ( r > 0.9) implied that indoor PM 2.5 mainly come from outdoor air. Some effective measures should be taken to control the indoor and outdoor PM 2.5 level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We argue that the traditional physical environment is commonly taken for granted and that little consideration has been given to how this affects pupil-teacher interactions. This article presents evidence that certain physical environments do not allow equal visual interaction and, as a result, we derive a set of basic guiding principles that could contribute to the improvement of classroom design. Discussions about research on the design of classroom spaces and the methods to evaluate them articulate the rationale for this study. We seek to accomplish this by focusing on two fundamental variables of the face-to-face communication process: visual and distance. They are discussed in the context of four classroom case studies. The method is based on a hybrid approach composed of first-hand video-photographic records, isovist analysis and proxemic information regarding distances. The conclusions suggest that the proportion and spatial configuration of a classroom have a substantial impact on the number of pupils receiving high-quality visual interaction with the teacher. Finally, the importance of integrating experiential analysis in the architectural design process to ensure the quality and equality of the interaction among the protagonists of the teaching and learning process is highlighted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Awareness of how to ensure that a family and consumer sciences (FCS) classroom meets the criteria of universal design is essential. Yet, meeting the requirements for students with diverse abilities may be perceived as a daunting task when educators think about planning, delivering instruction, and assessing learner outcomes. Differentiated instruction uses the same curriculum for all students, but modifies the learning task and outcomes to meet the student's diverse learning needs. The purpose of this paper is to identify strategies that can be utilized by the FCS educator to make the FCS classroom accessible for all students. An FCS student teacher shares her experience of differentiated instruction as she provides universal design for her students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]