Learning Environments – Comfort Zones & The Sound Experience | Ambience Masking
Sound travels, so do ideas, thoughts, and perceptions. But are they clear? Do you know what others are hearing, or are your conversations just background ambience?
It is always helpful to understand a little about the difference between environments before designing your educational or working spaces.
–Offices
-Cubicles
-Open office
-Hot desking.
I would have to add one more to this list
-Learning Environment, the classroom
Learning Environment – a shift – moving the comfort zone
I recall a trimester I filled in for a high school instructor who sailed off into oblivion, never to be seen again. A lot led up to a couple new designs that I would implement into this classroom. I eventually would move the students desks by arranging them into the shape of a question mark “?“. It was a large room. When the students entered the classroom, they looked at me with those deer in the headlight looks. I told them as they entered, you cannot sit near your friend, someone on your team, etc. Doesn’t every teacher say that? hummmm.
Doesn’t every teacher say that?
I did not have assigned seats in the classroom. But, I had been moving their desks around every now and again during the trimester. After all it’s an institution, don’t get comfortable. Some young adults get way to comfortable, and act out with a level of control that is often not good. On the flip side, I understand some learners can’t deal with change either. But a teacher has the responsibility to take the lead, that includes adjusting the environment if necessary. So I did.
Classroom discipline can come in many forms. I made the decision to move their comfort zone – their desks! It turned out to be one of the best seating arrangements ever. The “?” configuration was the best.
The “?” configuration was the best.
I wanted them to look beyond their norm. Their environment was an institutional environment, a classroom; and the world doesn’t care about their norm. They needed to learn to shift. You don’t really start learning until you leave or shift your comfort zone.
I’d been teaching the students from a Positive Focus/Solution book, and helping them to look for positive affirmations in their environment. This shift in the room brought out a whole new dynamic. They were getting it. They were understanding that a shift isn’t necessarily bad.
Most students eventually learn about things that may have gone wrong over the school year in various departments, with other students, and staff. The students kept asking me if their missing instructor was dead. He was not. Yes, there is a lot of drama in high school. Why add to it? But, the theme for this trimester, was “What Went Right“. Kind of a philosophical change from their norm. A shift in their learning paradigm.
What Went Right
- In their question mark “?” desk configuration, the A+ student was next to the Failing student. They were seated at the dotin the question mark.
- By some form of osmosis the A+ student started tutoring the Failing student. There was a level of understanding there, of their own choosing. The Failing student over the trimester pulled his grades up to passing level! The A+student is still an A+ student, and I think he learned something about giving and being humbled.
- The loud mouth and know it all, let’s’ call him “Thunder”, became a quiet rain storm, allowing others into the conversation. He was the tip of the question mark. He learned about other ideas besides his own, and he liked them.
- The young adult girl in the middle, began to volunteer to work with the mainstream students. She was finding a new purpose and higher calling. She found growth in helping others; expecting nothing in return.
- The shy kid found his voice. He was the student on the curve. He found his voice because he had too. I made the students use a mic for asking academic questions related to the positive focus learning project. There was something about the microphone that brought out the voice in this student; his intellectual voice.
The microphone brought out all of their voices; it was a win-win. They had to put on their ‘BEST’ anchor personality. They discovered that shifting space isn’t so bad. Rather, it could be motivating to help them let go of their comfort zone, and engage in a more positive focus (or mindset).
Ambience masking – The sound experience
I’m going to shift gears here and talk a little about the ambiance environment these students helped to create. I’ll also attempt to work in the office experience in the next section, for those who might be interested in creating a more private environment for your staff and other working professionals.
Some of my students had challenges focusing and getting their work done. Others just couldn’t stop talking, it’s like their mouths were on repeat. So together we created our own ambiance sound environment.
We used ambience sound masking a lot in this classroom. Students loved the thunder and lighting, ocean waves and nature sounds. On really good days we listened to the rock and roll hits. I never had to raise my voice once with these students. The environment was theirs, I was just a guide. I would ask them what they wanted in life, and encouraged them to reach for higher goals. If they failed, I encouraged them to try again.
It is important to keep looking for the positive, and stop focusing on the negative. We know the problems, what we need are solutions. Positive solutions are not pointing fingers at others. In the adult world, we get this concept. In the classroom, some of these kids needed to have it explained to them. Take responsibility.
Mask your sound issues without incurring additional costs
If you are having issues with concentrating in your learning or working environment, as a temporary fix, you can mask your sound issues without incurring additional costs. It’s a simple trick used in classrooms, offices, and even with babies. Often we want to mask the sound from another office and/or open classroom work station.
The goal is not to have complete silence, that is actually unhealthy for people. Rather, the goal is to make conversations unintelligible. We are just looking for auditory masking. Sound machines are good for that, but just straight white noise isn’t for everyone. Just ask my high school class. A variety of sounds are more conducive.
Working with young learners and non-traditional students who may have ADHD or other learning disabilities, they often respond well to soothing and pleasant sounds. Adults in an office setting also need to find the correct ambiance for themselves as well. Something that helps them not recognize conversations as speech. We do that using ambiance masking – mixing sounds together. You still hear people talking, you just don’t recognize what they are conversing about any longer. You can zone them out.
Take care of the obvious things first
1. If you are holding your meetings or teaching next to an connected wall, move your table or desk to the other side of the room. Make sure you have adequate space between study areas as well. You can put up a soundboard, or just place heavy fabric on the wall. Stick a bookcase or file cabinet next to the wall. Take care of the obvious things first.
2. Experiment by having individuals try to concentrate on an activity on their computers at these locations:
a. Sitting in a cubicle
b. Sitting next to a connecting wall
c. Sitting near a open floor workstation
3. Determining where to provide ambiance sound, and when it is important. I’ve used an old laptop next to wall to provide extra sound. I do try to make sure my neighbors approve of the sounds first. It is important that no one is offended, or that the sound is just obtrusive.
a. Does it play all the time?
b. Is it used only during meetings, interviews, work study sessions?
c. Who is responsible for the ambiance sound?
d. etc.
3. In each location make sure those helping you with this experiment can hear something like the following acoustic ambiance playing in the distance or background. It should not be loud, just audible. It’s provides the mix that will help you to create your own ambiance sound.
EXAMPLES:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zhgq1Wf1Snk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ipf7ifVSeDU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CmMrm4BpQHU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bn9F19Hi1Lk
4. Keep your voices at a lower level when discussing matters
5. You will find that you still hear other peoples voicesin the office and open spaces, but they aren’t as intelligible as they were before.
6. When online in meetings, you need a good noise cancelling headset and mic.
7. Open Cubicles Call centers where the entire team is working on the same project use cubicles more often than not. Pair up teams that are focused and quiet together. Same with talkative individuals, pair them together. It can be a win-win. Cubicles can be personalized and comfortable, hot-desking – not so much. But that is Biz.
Things can become problematic with employees who are working on different projects and with other levels of communication within an organization. There are just times where you need privacy. Privacy can be difficult, not only due to screens being visible, but your meetings with others are easily over heard. This can be in any type of environment.
It’s important when working on creating your own sound and ambiance usage, that your staff also has a buy in with the process. Let them be involved. It helps them to know that what is said in private to you, remains private. Building trust and integrity within your team – priceless.
Be willing to shift, and leave your comfort zone, it’s not always going to be there. By shifting, It could be the path that leads you toward a better adventure, and brighter future. Meet people where they are, not where you think they should be.
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Many years later, 2024.
I had someone recently that gave me inspiration to reach out and tell the other part of the story. Between all the laughter and the learning there was also grief. There was a loss not explained.
I left off the part where the students who loved their teacher were worried about him. The students longed to know their beloved teacher was okay. Some thought he was dead. Some kept asking me, and I told them to have faith. Faith that their teacher was okay. They couldn’t put words to the feelings and concern.
The students, now adults themselves, they can now comprehend knowing you did the right thing at time. It wasn’t about them. They probably respect you for it too. They may have done the same themselves.
Something you might not know if you are reading today. They loved you, they cared about you, and they still do. Should you meet them on the street, like it or not, you are still their teacher. That is something that never change.
There is still a lesson to teach. You might only reach one or two, but that’s okay. You can tell them the truth, and they will understand. Understand why you had to walk away.
Lesson today? You are never done teaching.
I wish you peace.