The process of perceiving music involves the transference of environmental physics in the air to anatomical and physiological interpretations of resonance in the body and psychological perceptions in the brain. These processes and musical interpretations are the basis of physical and cognitive science, neurophysiology, psychoacoustics, and…

This highly novel book provides an exploration of the role of silence in the school setting and interrogates the value of silence and quiet in contemporary educational practices, looking at pedagogies and classroom practice to guide this increasingly popular subdiscipline of the history of education. Arguably the first contribution written in…

The purpose of this literature review was to identify scholarship pertaining to teachers' vocal health and to discuss implications for music teachers. The review includes studies where researchers have addressed vocal health issues for K-12 teachers of all subjects as well as issues unique to music teachers. Risk factors, measurement, and…

Want to make your instruction more equitable and effective, more interesting, and more fun? It's time to try flexible grouping. Unlike traditional grouping, which typically puts like with like or combines students without regard to the best way to promote their individual growth, flexible grouping is both purposeful "and" fluid,…

The Deaf have often been overlooked when designing informal STEM education and public outreach activities. Astronomers at UC Riverside and teachers at the California School for the Deaf, Riverside (CSDR), have designed an astronomy workshop aimed specifically for the Deaf using the school's on-site sound lab. We have used astronomy for this…

The impact of space and furniture on children starts to be taken into consideration in the mid 19th century, in France. New legislation changes the face of the school and the reflection around architecture and learning spaces. Nowadays, learning spaces are an important part of the school design: numerous studies have demonstrated the impact of…

Classroom noise impairs students' cognition and learning. At a first glance, it seems useful to prevent the negative effects of noise on academic learning by wearing noise-cancelling (NC) headphones during class. The literature and guidelines emphasize the academic benefits of wearing NC headphones (decreased auditory distraction, increased…

School buildings across America are crumbling. According to a 2020 report by the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO), 54 percent of U.S. school districts need to update or completely replace multiple building systems in their schools. As a result of decades of underfunding school infrastructure, national spending for K-12 school buildings…

This book presents the main findings of a study on school learning environments and student outcomes, which the World Bank conducted in 2019 in three regions of the Russian Federation. Using data collected through the [Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development] OECD School User Survey and the pilot "Trends in Mathematics and…

Educational practices are constantly adjusting to technological advances, in order to improve their effectiveness in delivering knowledge and preparing students for the challenges of modern digital society. Electronic games and augmented reality environments are two such media that can shape powerful modes of interactive and immersive experiences.…

The experience that students gain through creative thinking contributes to their readiness for the 21st century. For this and other reasons, educators have always considered creative thinking as a desirable part of any curriculum. The focus of this article is on teaching creative thinking in K-12 science as a way to serve all students and,…

Improving the school building may well be the most overlooked means of improving student health, safety, and academic performance. Yet in conversations about factors that lead students to academic success, only rarely does the role of the physical environment come to the fore. By downplaying the importance of the building, policymakers and parents…

This article explores the creative function of virtual instruments, sequencers, loops, and software-based synthesizers to introduce basic scoring and sound design concepts for visual media in an introductory music technology course. Using digital audio workstations with user-focused and configurable options, novice composers can hone a broad range…

This Statistics in Brief summarizes the changes from the 1998-99 to the 2012-13 school years in the average age of public schools, ratings of satisfaction of the environmental quality of school facilities, the cost to put school buildings in good overall condition, and short-range plans to improve school facilities. In addition to providing…

As part of the new education initiatives of the Acoustical Society of America (ASA), an activity kit for teachers that includes a variety of lessons addressing acoustics for a range of students (K-12) has been created. The "Sound and Music Activity Kit" is free to K-12 teachers. It includes materials sufficient to teach a class of 30…