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.

摘要

课堂设计影响决定学习的认知过程。然而，教室几何的影响很少被研究，部分原因是为了实验目的而修改物理空间很困难。今天，虚拟现实允许研究人员非常密切地控制许多环境条件，同时收集用户体验的心理和神经生理指标。本研究的目的是分析课堂宽度对大学生注意力和记忆能力的影响。在虚拟现实中实施的三个教室宽度设置（8.80、8.20 和 7.60 m）中的 90 名受试者的表现通过测量他们的注意力和记忆相关的心理和神经生理反应来评估。结果表明，更宽敞的教室与较差的表现和较低的情绪唤起有关。这表明教室的几何变量与学生的认知和生理反应之间存在联系。总的来说，本研究及其方法可以帮助建筑师和研究人员制定可以改善学生认知过程的设计指南。