A systematic approach to quantify the influence of indoor environmental parameters on students' perceptions, responses, and short-term academic performance

Henk Brink (Corresponding author), Marcel G.L.C. Loomans, Mark P. Mobach, Helianthe S.M. Kort

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Academic › peer-review

16 Citations (Scopus)
191 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

Several studies found that classrooms' indoor environmental quality (IEQ) can positively influence in-class activities. Understanding and quantifying the combined effect of four indoor environmental parameters, namely indoor air quality and thermal, acoustic, and lighting conditions on people is essential to create an optimal IEQ. Accordingly, a systematic approach was developed to study the effect of multiple IEQ parameters simultaneously. Methods for measuring the IEQ and students' perceived IEQ, internal responses, and academic performance were derived from literature. Next, this systematic approach was tested in a pilot study during a regular academic course. The perceptions, internal responses, and short-term academic performance of participating students (n = 163) were measured. During the pilot study, the IEQ of the classrooms varied slightly. Significant associations (p
Original languageEnglish
Article numbere13116
Number of pages19
JournalIndoor Air
Volume32
Issue number10
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 17 Oct 2022

Funding

The authors express their sincerest gratitude to the lecturers involved in this study for their excellent contributions, their trust, and for providing us with the opportunity to attend their lectures. Furthermore, the authors want to thank the students who participated in the study and provided data. Without their help, this study would have been impossible. The authors also would like to thank ETAP Lighting International for providing the lighting armatures and Ecophon Saint Gobain for providing acoustic ceiling panels for the classrooms. Also, the authors want to thank ATAL B.V. for providing the online platform “Onlinesensor” for collecting all of the measured data. The authors acknowledge ICOS Netherlands for providing data on outdoor carbon dioxide concentrations and especially prof. Dr W. Peters for his assistance. The authors are also very grateful to Dr W.P. Krijnen of the Hanze UAS Groningen, the Netherlands for his most generous contribution to the data analysis. This work was supported by the Department of Facility Management and the Executive Board of Hanze University of Applied Sciences, Groningen, the Netherlands.

FundersFunder number
Hanze University of Applied Sciences

    Keywords

    • Performance
    • classrooms' indoor environmental quality
    • health
    • higher education
    • student responses
    • quality of learning
    • performance
    • Pilot Projects
    • Students
    • Humans
    • Air Pollution, Indoor
    • Academic Performance

    UN SDGs

    This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

    • SDG 3 - Good Health and Well-being

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