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This study investigated the relationships among environmental noise (i.e., location, type, and constancy) and graduate student preferred learning styles (visual-overhead transparencies, auditory-lecture, kinesthetic-activity), gender, and age differences. The participants were 43 graduate students, who were currently teachers with experience ranging from 5 to 30 years. Six were male, and 36 were female; 76.7% were White, and 16.3% were African American. Participants completed a survey and indicated their demographic factors, preferred learning styles, and environmental noise variables. Data were analyzed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences and inferential statistical procedures. The independent variables were environmental noise (location, type, and constancy) gender, and age, and the dependent variables were preferred learning styles. Results indicate that graduate students enrolled in teacher education courses preferred auditory-visual and kinesthetic activities. There were no significant differences among noise, gender, or age and preferred learning style. Limitations and implications for future research are discussed. (Contains 11 tables and 11 references.) (Author/SLD)

A study examined the effects of using a musical clocklight as discriminative stimulus, paired with individual and group contingency rewards, on the decibel level in an elementary school lunchroom. Subjects were 256 students aged 5-12, who ate lunch in two sessions for younger and older students. The musical clocklight (MCL) apparatus consisted of a sound level meter that monitored and displayed decibels, a stoplight such as those used for traffic signals, a clock, a microphone, and a CD player. During the baseline condition, decibel levels in the lunchroom were measured at 30-second intervals. On the day prior to the initial MCL session, students were informed that the stoplight would change in accordance with noise levels and would control the delivery of music and the accumulation of time on the clock. If the noise became too loud, the light would turn red, the music would stop, and no time would accumulate on the clock. Upon accumulating 20 minutes per day for 12 days, the students would be awarded a pizza party. In addition, age-appropriate individual rewards were presented to students displaying appropriate behavior. Data indicate that the clocklight paired with reward contingencies decreased decibel levels significantly for both older and younger groups. The younger students reverted to baseline conditions when the clocklight was withdrawn. (SV)

This symposium report presents a summary of research on the affect of aircraft noise on the classroom environment revealing that aircraft noise can interfere with learning in the following areas: reading, motivation, language and speech acquisition, and memory. The strongest findings are in the area of reading, where more than 20 studies have shown children in noise impact zones are negatively affected by aircraft noise. Additionally, summaries of studies are provided showing negative impacts of aircraft noise on memory and cognitive performance as measured by standardized test scores. The paper concludes with brief descriptions of where more research is needed and recommendations from the Federal Interagency Committee on Aviation Noise. (GR)

This paper discusses the difficulties that children with central auditory processing difficulties can have in the classroom environment. Classroom acoustics that can hinder a child's accessibility to instruction are discussed, including open windows or windows not designed to be acoustic barriers, increased reverberation time in rooms with high ceilings, bare floors and walls, and high ambient noise. Soundfield equalization is described as a classroom listening strategy that creates an environment where each child is at a favorable speaker-listener distance by routing the teacher's voice through small, wireless, high-fidelity public address systems self-contained in the classroom. The positive results that students have had in classrooms with soundfield equalization are highlighted. (CR)

This paper reviews research on the use of white sounds (relaxing background sounds such as water or ocean waves) with people in a variety of situations and in the education of children with learning disabilities. Applications reported include the following: toilet-training toddlers; encouraging sleep in neonates; inducing relaxation in dental patients and patients with diagnoses of suspected myocardial infarction; inducing sleep in young adults; facilitating mathematical problem solving by students; and encouraging relaxation in cancer, heart, and post-surgery patients. The use of white sounds in a classroom setting with eight children having a variety of learning disabilities is then reported. Results strongly support the use of white sounds as a non-evasive, highly effective way to mask out all extemporaneous stimuli for children with reading difficulties or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. (Contains 15 references.) (DB)

This study investigated four types of media formats: (1) talking head; (2) voice-under-text; (3) voice-under-video; and (4) multiformat (combination of talking head, voice-under-video, and text). Sixty-four suburban middle-school students were shown four different narrative stories, each presented in a different media format. Students were tested to determine what they remembered through verbal recall and a spatial task. Memory differed depending on format. The formats that most enhanced memory were the primarily visual formats (multiformat and voice-under-video styles). Students were less apt to remember stories presented in the primarily audio (voice-under-text and talkinghead) formats. In contrast, initial analysis of spatial recall was inconclusive. This may have been due more to the inadequacy of the scoring scheme than real differences in the drawings. Some suggestions are made for improving scoring through coding spatial relationships and verbal responses. Four tables present study findings. (Contains 40 references.) (Author/SLD)

This study aimed to produce a significant improvement in the educational achievement of Hawaiian preschool children in 2 years, through implementation of a communication program in five preschool classes serving approximately 100 children. The six components of the program were: (1) an enhanced hearing loss and middle-ear disorder and speech disorder screening program; (2) follow up to ensure that screened children received appropriate medical care; (3) reduction of classroom ambient noise levels; (4) amplification of instructional speech to an educationally effective signal-to-noise ratio; (5) special communication-enhancing classroom teaching techniques and equipment for use with children experiencing moderate speech and hearing difficulties; and (6) an individualized home and school communication therapy program for children needing it. Although not all the proposed interventions were successfully implemented, the program results indicated that the experimental group children showed nearly 25 percent more growth on verbal and quantitative achievement test scores than those in the comparison group. The intervention procedures are detailed and the full findings are presented in textual and graphical forms. (10 references) (DB)

This report is the product of a National Institutes of Health Consensus Development Conference on Noise and Hearing Loss which addressed the characteristics of noise-induced hearing loss, acoustic parameters of hazardous noise exposure, individual and age-specific susceptibility, and prevention strategies. The report examines the incidence of hearing loss and exposure to noise, a definition of noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL), assessment of NIHL, types of sounds that can damage hearing, factors determining an individual's susceptibility to NIHL, prevention strategies, and directions for future research. The consensus panel concluded that sounds of sufficient intensity and duration will damage the ear and result in temporary or permanent hearing loss at any age. Sound levels of less than 75 decibels are unlikely to cause permanent hearing loss, while sound levels above 85 decibels with exposures of 8 hours per day will produce permanent hearing loss after many years. Current scientific knowledge is inadequate to predict that any particular individual will be safe when exposed to a hazardous noise. Strategies to prevent damage from sound exposure should include the use of individual hearing protection devices, education programs beginning with school-age children, consumer guidance, increased product noise labeling, and hearing conservation programs for occupational settings. (JDD)

This paper describes the types of microphones that are available for use in media production. Definitions of 16 words and phrases used to describe microphones are followed by detailed descriptions of the two kinds of microphones as classified by mode of operation, i.e., velocity, or ribbon microphones, and pressure operated microphones, which include crystal, moving coil, carbon granule, and capacitor microphones. It is noted that microphones are also classified according to the way they respond to sounds emanating from different directions: the omnidirectional microphone picks up sounds from all directions, whereas uni-directional microphones are sensitive to sounds from directly in front of the microphone. The latter include cardioid, supercardioid, and hypercardioid microphones. Specialty microphones are also mentioned: the parabolic reflector, lavalier, machine gun, tie-clip, zoom, and pressure zone microphones. A description of a conference microphone--i.e., one that maximizes the clarity of speech around a table--concludes the paper. (DB)

California has conducted on-site sound surveys of 36 different schools to determine the degree of noise, and thus disturbance, within the learning environment. This report provides the methodology and results of the survey, including descriptive charts and graphs illustrating typical desirable and undesirable sound levels. Results are presented for the following questions: What are the typical sound levels in open plan schools where few, if any, physical barriers exist between classes? Is it possible to obtain good sound control with open space planning? When do satisfactory acoustic performance levels stop and when do interference levels start? and What differences in architectural designs and finishes contribute to satisfactory or unsatisfactory acoustic performance? (GR)

Previous work has demonstrated the importance of Osgood's three semantic dimensions (Evaluation, Potency, Activity) in people's conceptions of various domains. To test the effects of arousal on how individuals use these dimensions, three studies were conducted. In each study, six stimuli from a particular domain were presented in pairs. Subjects rated how similar one stimulus was to the other, while being exposed to loud or soft white noise. In study one on the social domain, 28 male undergraduate students judged the similarities of six of their acquaintances; in study two subjects rated similarities of university courses; and in study three they rated self-roles. The results showed that a high level of arousal induced by the loud noise acted to reduce subjects' cognitive complexity. For the social domains (acquaintances and self-roles), high arousal led to increased use of the "Like-Dislike" (Osgood's Evaluation) dimension. For the non-social domain (university courses), arousal enhanced the use of the arts versus science dimension. In all three studies, arousal inflated the importance of the primary dimension of judgment. Arousal enhanced the importance of evaluation only in domains where evaluation was the primary dimension to begin with, i.e., the two social domains. The reduction of complexity under stress is viewed as an adaptive mechanism suggesting that given an affective threat, a normally open-minded person may exhibit simplistic thinking based primarily on evaluative consideration. (Author/NRB)

To clarify the effects of noise, sex, and intelligence on student performance, 289 sixth-grade students were randomly assigned either the Standard Progressive Matrices (SPM) or the STEP Reading Test Form 3 (STEP III) to be taken under high- or low-noise classroom conditions, with gender and intelligence as variables. Students who took the SPM while listening to low levels of previously recorded classroom noise performed better than did students in the high-noise-level group. When below-average intelligence students took the STEP III under high-noise conditions, their test scores improved, while above-average intelligence students performed best on STEP III when noise levels were low. Students with above-average intelligence did significantly better on both tests, in both noise settings. This study supports the contention that the effect classroom noise has on student performance depends on the task involved, but does not support previous findings that suggested sex was a significant variable in determining student performance under various noise-level conditions. (Author/DCS)

A newer discipline called environmental psychology has begun to study the effects of noise, particularly on task performance and reactional behavior. In the 1970's college dormitories liberalized their living conditions; this led to fewer quiet hours. College students may not move off campus to find a quiet environment for studying. Dormitory students deal with the noise by studying elsewhere or drowning out outside noise with their own stereo or television. It was hypothesized that college students attempting to study under various audio environments would evaluate material and author less favorably and make more errors as their ability to control the environment decreased. Female subjects (N=64) volunteered. A dormitory situation was simulated with recorded noises: (1) dormitory noise; (2) rock and roll music; (3) television; (4) bird sounds; and (5) silence. Subjects were given a psychology chapter to read. The participants rated their evaluations of the informativeness of the chapter, the quality of the writing, their liking of the chapter, and their liking of the author. Quiz performance was scored. The results showed that the dorm noise group scored significantly lower in all comparisons. Rock and roll and television noise did not affect comparisons. This research might point out the need for dormitories to be quiet in order to ensure quality of study. A floor plan of the simulated dorm used for the experiment is included. (ABL)

In this 1977 publication, findings and recommendations are presented from 22 case studies involving the impact on schools adjacent to highway systems in the states of California, New Mexico, Colorado, Texas, Missouri, Maryland, and Virginia. The impacts described include: noise; vehicular and pedestrian safety; air pollution; access; circulation changes in service area; and visual distraction. The cases illustrate the range of perceived impacts associated with various types of school/highway positionings and the range of mitigation measures utilized to minimize negative impacts and their relative success. Positive impacts on schools include increased vehicular and pedestrian accessibility, and visibility from the road. Negative impacts include noise, safety, air pollution, and visual distraction. No perceived positive impacts are reported on the highway system from the school; negative school-to-highway impacts include traffic congestion, circulation, and decreased vehicular safety. Twenty-six broad recommendations are provided to minimize the adverse impact resulting from school/highway juxtapositioning. An appendix provides background and study objectives along with study methodology. (GR)

The purpose of this study was to ascertain the feasibility of incorporating certain protective concepts into selected systems-constructed schools. These concepts were to be incorporated at a minimal cost increase, with minimal sacrifice of amenities, and with no detrimental effect on facility configuration. The environmental hazards taken into consideration were earthquakes, tornadoes, hurricanes, and noise. The five schools selected for analysis are currently in use. The design changes are offered as suggestions that might be incorporated into future designs in order to better protect the inhabitants of the facility. Photographs may reproduce poorly. (Author/MLF)

A five-year study of college classroom incivilities (CI) in large survey courses at a large research university found the most problematic to be teachers displaying aloof, distancing mannerisms; teachers discouraging student involvement with fast-paced lectures; student noisiness and indifference; students coming late, leaving early; and students' sarcastic remarks, gestures. Results and interventions are discussed. (Author/MSE)

Examined the possibility that auditory stimuli with properties of adult-to-infant speech are more detectable in a noisy ambient environment than ones that resemble adult-to-adult speech. Findings suggests that properties that characterize adult-to-infant speech may compensate for young infants' low-frequency deficits and therefore facilitate the detection of the speech signal in ambient noise. (AA)

Problems ask students to calculate the pressure against a billboard in high winds and the velocity of water flowing from a reservoir through a cylindrical pipe. Problem solutions incorporate computer tools such as spreadsheets. (MDH)