The ability of individuals to concentrate on a learning activity is strongly influenced by factors in their environment. Therefore, the author of this paper has offered a number of suggestions about how the classroom environment can be made more conducive to learning. (RH)

Twenty-five home maintenance and improvement ideas to reduce utility bills are given. These practical ideas range from hot water heater cleaning and insulation to planting wind breaks. (MDR)

A heat pump life-cycle cost analysis is used to explain the technique. Items suggested for the life-cycle analysis approach include lighting, longer-life batteries, site maintenance, and retaining experts to inspect specific building components. (MLF)

Schools seem to be the logical place to serve the health needs of students, since children spend a majority of their time there. Design standards were not available for health clinics in Georgia elementary schools; therefore, this study examined key characteristics of an elementary school clinic in order to determine the importance of each design…

A Florida study replaced conventional light switches with passive infrared or ultrasonic sensing systems to control classroom lighting in an elementary school to determine the performance of such controls in saving energy. A before-and-after monitoring protocol was used for 33 classrooms and 7 offices in which electrical demand data were…

In the past 10 years the play movement has illuminated the educational value of play. The old-time school yard, with its limited space and its restrictive traditions, is entirely unsuited to the new uses demanded by the new ideals, and there is going on everywhere a reconstruction of theory and practice to meet the new requirements. As in all…

This excerpt from a report (See RIE EA 005 433) alerts school administrators and officials to the means for effecting economies in existing and future school buildings and instructs them in criteria for assessing proposed heating/cooling/lighting and other energy consuming systems. (Author/MLF)

Seventh grade students experiment with light as an art medium. (DS)

A discussion of the effect of background color on the legibility of projected printed messages on transparencies. (Author)

A recent study outlines the environmental prerequisites for a successful day care center. (Author)

Results of discriminating and monitoring tasks indicate that performance deteriorates over time when a specific object must be distinguished from previously presented nonspecific objects in a display which changes quickly. The results offer a basis for distinguishing between perceptual and response processes underlying the vigilance decrement.…

A Vermont school reaped a net "profit" of $13,000 in three years by using commitment, common sense, and caution. Specific measures included changing the hot water system and reducing heating and lighting. (Author/MLF)

Minnesota's Isanti Junior High, designed with an energy efficient variable air volume system, is an innovative school selected for display at the 1977 Exhibition of School Architecture in Las Vegas. (Author/MLF)

A comprehensive energy management program contains these basic parts: a plan with responsibility for performance, a system for monitoring and evaluating the results, and feedback to make sure the savings are maintained. (Author/MLF)