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.

Open plan classrooms, where several classes are in the same room, have recently re-emerged in Australian primary schools. This paper explores how the acoustics of four Kindergarten classrooms [an enclosed classroom (25 children), double classroom (44 children), fully open plan triple classroom (91 children), and a semi-open plan K–6 “21st century learning space” (205 children)] affect speech perception. Twenty-two to 23 5–6-year-old children in each classroom participated in an online four-picture choice speech perception test while adjacent classes engaged in quiet versus noisy activities. The noise levels recorded during the test were higher the larger the classroom, except in the noisy condition for the K–6 classroom, possibly due to acoustic treatments. Linear mixed effects models revealed children's performance accuracy and speed decreased as noise level increased. Additionally, children's speech perception abilities decreased the further away they were seated from the loudspeaker in noise levels above 50 dBA. These results suggest that fully open plan classrooms are not appropriate learning environments for critical listening activities with young children due to their high intrusive noise levels which negatively affect speech perception. If open plan classrooms are desired, they need to be acoustically designed to be appropriate for critical listening activities.

Objective: The aim of this study was to develop a screening questionnaire for auditory processing disorder (APD). Design: Fifty-two questions were created to enable parent/teacher proxies to rate students listening skills in terms of auditory processing, attention and language factors. Study sample: Parents rated their child’s frequency of competent performance (regularly, often, sometimes or rarely) on 52 questions. Scores were calculated for three scales: auditory processing, attention and language. Data was collected from 198 normal controls, 20 students with auditory processing disorder, 40 students with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and 10 students with a learning disability. Subjects were split into a younger group (7–10 y) and an older group (11–17 y). Results: Factor analysis revealed substantial internal validity. Analysis of external validity using a regression model revealed significant differences between normal and clinical groups for all scales (p < 0.001) and also significantly separated the three clinical groups. A group differential analysis of scale score results clearly demonstrated inter-group differences at 89% (on average) sensitivity and specificity levels. Conclusion: The auditory processing domains questionnaire appears to be an effective screening questionnaire for APD with scale score patterns likely to be helpful in making appropriate clinical referrals.

Classrooms are important learning spaces, however, the acoustic conditions in these spaces can often be suboptimal. The aim of this scoping review, which used the PRISMA-ScR protocol, was to understand what is known from the literature about the effect of classroom acoustic treatment on students’ listening, learning, and well-being. Thirteen papers from the database searches were deemed relevant for the review. Information on the years of publication of the papers, the population studied, the types of acoustic treatment used, the measures and methods used to assess the effect of acoustic treatment, and the outcomes of the papers was gathered. Seven of the 13 studies reported positive effects of classroom acoustic treatment on student’s speech perception, attention, and well-being. Five studies reported both positive effects and no effect depending on the measure, condition, or population. The remaining study reported a negative effect of classroom acoustic treatment on children’s speech perception and listening effort. These findings suggest that the effect of ceiling and/or wall absorbers/diffusers on sound and reverberation in the room can help students’ speech perception, attention, reading, and well-being, but they may also reduce the speech transmission index resulting in increased listening effort. The limitations of the reviewed studies and avenues for future research on the effect of acoustic treatment on a broader range of listening, learning, and well-being outcomes for students are discussed.

Literacy skills are essential for success in today’s society. However, classrooms often have suboptimal acoustic conditions for learning. The goal of this review was to synthesize research assessing the effect of different classroom acoustic conditions on children’s literacy. A comprehensive search of four online databases was conducted in August 2021. The search term was classroom AND (noise OR reverberation OR acoustics) AND (reading OR spelling OR writing OR literacy). Eighteen papers were deemed relevant for the review plus an additional seven from their references. The types of acoustic conditions that have been assessed, the types of measures used to assess literacy, and the effect of the acoustic conditions on children’s reading, writing, and spelling outcomes are discussed. Suggestions for the classroom acoustic conditions needed to ensure appropriate literacy development and areas for future research are also considered.

The aim of this scoping review was to synthesize research assessing the effect of classroom acoustic conditions on children’s physical health and identify areas for 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 termclassroom AND (acoustic* OR noise OR reverb*) AND health.Peer-reviewed journal articles 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 physical health. Eight papers out of the 407 papers returned in the search met the criteria to be included in the review. The results were analysed according to the effect of traffic noise, aircraft noise, and internal classroom noise on children’s physical health. The results were somewhat mixed, but overall they suggest that noise may have a negative effect on children’s physical health by inducing a stress response that results in asthma, fatigue, and headaches. Future research avenues are proposed to better understand the relationship between classroom acoustic conditions and children’s physical health.