The Noisy Classroom—Can We Control the Volume by Design?

The Learning Wall is sound deadening as well as a collaborative space.

We know that a quiet classroom is probably one that’s empty. Kids create sound. But too much noise seriously impairs the learning of one third of children and is not great for another third.

Using the volume on a computer we select the level of noise we would be comfortable with in a classroom. The classroom we were getting ready to redesign was often near the highest possible level when the class was in session. Sound absorbent materials could really help but where would we put them? This was the inspiration for our first Learning Wall. The result was startling. This innovation provided a sense of calm not only in the classroom but also eliminated sound coming from the adjoining classroom.

The sound deadening material provided a huge space on which to create. The first Learning Wall was great at the calm part but turned out to be very prescriptive. In the next iteration we installed 3 more walls and left them blank so the possibilities were wide open. We handed out baskets of colorful chalk, pens, paper and push pins to the teachers and encouraged them to create the walls with their students, based on an essential inquiry question and supporting questions.

The prescriptive model was easier in a way. The wide open model was challenging and depended on the teacher’s initiative to be successful.