According to a recent white paper entitled “The Impact of School Buildings on Student Health and Performance,” released on behalf of the Center for Green Schools at the United States Green Building Council (USGBC), school buildings impact the health and performance of students, teachers and administrators within the building. The paper outlines how students hear, breathe, see, feel, think and learn and how the physical school building plays a role in each category.
M SPACE partnered with industry experts to offer the P. IQ High Performance classroom, a green permanent modular building solution. The P. IQ fosters a healthy learning environment and improves the way students hear, breathe, see, feel, think and learn within the classroom.
How students HEAR
Classrooms with acoustic finishes and low background noise levels are ideal environments for speech intelligibility. When students have trouble hearing within the classroom, it becomes difficult for them to absorb and retain information. Distracting background noises and poor acoustics are to blame. Loud, outdated ventilation systems make it difficult for students to hear and for teachers to speak without raising their voices, causing strain and fatigue. The P. IQ contains a thermal displacement ventilation system (TDV), which is quieter than conventional systems, resulting in a less disruptive, more productive academic atmosphere. The P. IQ is designed with acoustic ceiling tiles, creating improved speech intelligibility and better student learning outcomes.
How students BREATHE
In addition to a reduction in background noise and providing thermal comfort, the TDV system improves indoor air quality (IAQ) within the classroom through proper ventilation and filtration. Conventional systems fail to provide the IAQ necessary to foster a healthy environment. Even worse, many classrooms do not have any active ventilation systems, but depend solely on windows and doors.
The walls of the P. IQ contain paperless drywall and are painted with non-toxic (containing no volatile organic compounds [VOC]) paint. VOCs can have a variety of health impacts, including respiratory issues, visual disorders, memory impairment and more.
How students SEE
Since children rely heavily on sight in the learning process, lighting and visual qualities are some of the most crucial building aspects to consider when designing a classroom. The P. IQ is positioned for the greatest benefit of daylighting, which reduces eye strain and brightens classroom space. The building has a vaulted open ceiling with clerestory windows. It also has sunshades and exterior light shelves as well as operable casement windows. The interior light fixtures have auto dimming ballasts that increase or decrease the brightness of the artificial light in correspondence to the amount of natural light available.
When individuals are deprived of natural light, according to the USGBC study, melatonin cycles are disrupted, which will likely impact alertness during school.
How students FEEL
Outdated classrooms with poor indoor air quality have been linked to conditions such as: irritated eyes, nose and throat, upper respiratory infections, nausea, dizziness, headaches and fatigue—referred by the Environmental Protection Agency as “sick building syndrome”. The P. IQ’s TDV system reduces the frequency of conditions by expelling germs and pollutants from the room before they are transferred from one student to another and between the students and the teacher. Cool air flows out of a diffuser at floor level; as it starts to rise it picks up heat from the occupants and exists the room through the exhaust vent located in the ceiling, taking germs and pollutants with it. The P. IQ’s TDV system creates a comfortable classroom environment with fewer illnesses and increased attendance rates.
How students THINK and LEARN
The P. IQ High Performance classroom promotes an overall healthier classroom environment, leading to an increased average daily attendance (ADA), longer attention spans and increased test scores.
