Llinares Millán, C; Higuera-Trujillo, J L; Montañana i Aviñó, A; Torres, J and Sentieri, C (2021) The influence of classroom width on attention and memory: Virtual-reality-based task performance and neurophysiological effects. Building Research & Information, 49(7), pp. 813-826. ISSN 0961-3218
Abstract
Classroom design influences the cognitive processes that determine learning. However, the effects of classroom geometry have been little studied, in part due to the difficulty of modifying physical spaces for experimental purposes. Today, virtual reality allows researchers to very closely control many environmental conditions while collecting psychological and neurophysiological metrics of the user experience. The objective of the present study is to analyse the influence of classroom width on the attention and memory performance of university students. The performance of 90 subjects in three classroom width settings (8.80, 8.20, and 7.60 m), implemented in virtual reality, was evaluated through measures of their attention- and memory-related psychological and neurophysiological responses. The results showed that wider classrooms are associated with poorer performance and lower emotional arousal. This demonstrates a link between the geometric variables of classrooms and the cognitive and physiological responses of students. In general, the present study and its methodology can help architects and researchers develop design guidelines that can improve students' cognitive processes.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | attention; classroom design; memory; neuroarchitecture |
| Index terms: | architect, virtual reality, geometry, methodology, classroom, environmental conditions, user experience, university student |
| Subjects: | construction type, profession, user-centered design, virtual reality, mathematical modelling, environmental science, curriculum design, research methods |
| Topics: | Education, Design Practice, Digital Applications, Roles and Professions, Construction Technology, Sustainability, Research Practice |
| Descriptive scope: | 4 PCTA |
N.B. Descriptive scope is a count of how many of the five facets of empirical research are indicated by the words used in title, abstract and keywords. It is not intended as a judgement on the research; merely a count of the kind of word we would expect to indicate Phenomenon, Concepts, Theoretical framing, Empirical techniques, Analytical techniques. If all five are present, then a code of “5 PCTEA” will indicate this. If you feel the coding for this record is questionable, we welcome discussion around the terms we matched or the way we categorized them. The facet you would expect may not be coded, or a facet may be coded inappropriately. This can also bear on a larger question, of which facets should be treated as defining in construction management research. Please get in touch, and we will look at it. More details here