Thermal comfort in classroom: constraints and issues

Transcription

1 Available online at Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences 46 ( 2012 ) WCES 2012 Thermal comfort in classroom: constraints and issues Marzita Puteh a, Mohd Hairy Ibrahim b, Mazlini Adnan a, Che Nidzam Che Ahmad a, Noraini Mohamed Noh c a Faculty of Science and Mathematics, b Faculty of Human Sciences, c Faculty of Education and Human Development,, Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris, Tanjong Malim,35900, Perak, Malaysia Abstract Development in the rapidly growing urban areas can influence local climate. This micro-climate change may affect the surrounding environment, including schools. However, the study of comfort in teaching and learning environment is very limited, especially for schools. Thermal comfort is defined as "that condition of mind, which expresses satisfaction with the thermal environment" (ISO Standard 7730 in 1994). Thermal comfort is affected by heat, convection heat, radiation and absorption of heat loss (evaporative heat loss) and retained the heat produced by the human metabolism can be removed. This will maintain thermal equilibrium with the environment. Any gains or losses outside this range, the heat will cause discomfort. Many studies conducted shows thermal comfort can influence occupants in it. Several studies have shown lately that the international comfort standards for buildings and the related predictions models report a warmer sensation than the occupants report in the case of naturally ventilated buildings in warm climates. This paper exposes some aspects of the debate in the field of thermal comfort in naturally ventilated buildings located in warm and humid climates. This paper reports on the findings of a preliminary survey conducted to using The Teaching and Learning Classroom Thermal Comfort Inventory (TLTCI) instrument. The results show that the surveyed students have high level of awareness regarding the climate change and also they find that their teaching and learning classroom thermal comfort is at a comfortable level Published Published by by Elsevier Elsevier Ltd. Ltd. Selection and/or peer review under responsibility of Prof. Dr. Hüseyin Uzunboylu Open access under CC BY-NC-ND license. Keywords: Thermal comfort, classroom environment, teaching and learning environment, comfort models, micro-climate change 1. Introduction At the turn of the 19th to 20th century many Asian countries have experienced high economic growth accompanied by rapid urbanization. This growth affect people s aesthetic sense and it influence the architecture of the world (Rashid et al. 2010).The tropical climate in Malaysia is hot and humid. Data obtained by the Malaysian Meteorological Service (1997) for a ten-year period records the outdoor temperatures are relatively uniform with the average relative humidity throughout a day between 67% to 95%. With this kind of climate, it may have an adverse impact on occupant comfort indoor. In Malaysia, some buildings built have traditionally relied on a combination of cross-ventilation and mechanical ventilation by fans to achieve thermal comfort, such as in schools. It is therefore, interesting to carry out investigations on the adequacy of these types of ventilations in providing thermal comfort. The primary objectives Published by Elsevier Ltd. Selection and/or peer review under responsibility of Prof. Dr. Hüseyin Uzunboylu Open access under CC BY-NC-ND license. doi: /j.sbspro

2 Marzita Puteh et al. / Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences 46 ( 2012 ) of this study are to explore the indoor climate in mechanically ventilated school buildings in Malaysia such as in classrooms of schools and in particular schools in the town of Malacca which is a typical town in Malaysia, and to the impact from the change of climate in the urban areas. Classroom environment and thermal comfort has an understanding of concepts, problem solving abilities and attitudes towards learning. * Marzita Puteh. Tel.: ; fax: address: marzita@fsmt.upsi.edu.my Therefore, appropriate and comfortable physical facilities will stimulate intellectual activities, increase social contacts, promote learning an (Arzi, 2003). Generally, increased temperatures were observed at urban built-up areas as compared to urban fringes and rural areas. Most researches of discuss the environmental issues of in relation to rapid urban development and industrial factors which tend to alter natural patterns and trends of temperatures within the urban environment (Shaharuddin Ahmad, Noorazuan Md. Hashim & Yaakob M.Jani (2009). 2. Review of Literature Malaysia is one of the most rapidly developing and urbanizing countries in Asia (Hanafiah & Chan 2011). Urban areas having rapidly growing in the event of urban climate change, acid rain, the heat island until there is an increase of temperature and disturbance to people's lives (Ibrahim et al. (2010). Urban growth from urbanisation has resulted in several changes and transformation including socioeconomic and significantly change climatic and weather (Ismail et al. 2009) and resulted in change to the thermal comfort. Comfort and particularly comfort models for naturally ventilated buildings located in warm and humid regions are topics of wide discussion in the present literature because of their importance in the design of energy-efficient building. Other related issues under debate are the differences of comfort sensation between subjects in air-conditioned (AC) and naturally ventilated (NV) buildings and the adaptability of people to certain environments due to behavioural and psychological factors. Thermal comfort as defined in the ISO 7730 standard (1994), as being "that condition of mind, which expresses satisfaction with the thermal environment". A definition most people can agree on, but also a definition that is not easily converted into physical parameter (Olesen, 2000). There are three main factors that can affect the human comfort, which must be considered. They are the effective temperature, moisture content of air (relative humidity), and air motion. There are also other factors such as heat production and regulation in human body, cold and hot surfaces and air stratification. Human occupants are more sensitive to the variation of temperature rather than relative humidity (Hussein et al., 2002) and there is little conclusive evidence to show that either high or low humidity is detrimental to the health of normal people. Many research done by several researchers such as Agung Murti Nugroho (2011), Hussein and Rahman (2009) and Wafi and Ismail (2010) also indicate that thermal comfort does affect its occupancy. Most thermal comfort studies carried out have been devoted to determining thermally comfortable temperatures in various settings, in climates ranging from temperate to tropical. Several studies on the thermal comfort in an equatorial (tropical) climate were carried out as early as in them1950s. Webb (1959) conducted a study in Singapore and derived an equatorial comfort index which was based on the dry and wet bulb temperature and wind speed. Ellis (1952) also carried out study in Singapore and concluded in his study that the levels of thermal comfort were similar for acclimatized European men and women and for Asian men and women. According to Hussein and Rahman (2009), the Since learning environment is a place where learners and educators congregate for extended periods of time to participate in the activity of learning, the environment created during this activity is regarded as an important component in the teaching and learning process. Over the past several decades, research has established relationships between the classroom environment and student outcomes and identified determinants of learning environment (Fraser, 1994). Indeed, research indicated that gher in those environments which students feel comfortable and positive in (Waldrip & Fisher 2003). Furthermore, a favorable learning environment correlates significantly to student involvement, teacher support, and classroom order and organization (Fraser & Tobin 1989; Puteh 2010; Che Ahmad et al. 2010). In Malaysia, learning environment research is still at an introductory stage. According to Lilia (2009) vast research

3 1836 Marzita Puteh et al. / Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences 46 ( 2012 ) stics of their classroom but few researches has been done on physical characteristics such as thermal comfort of the classroom that might affect the learning environment experienced by the students. Therefore, this preliminary research tries to identify st perception of thermal comfort in the learning environment in secondary schools in the state of Malacca, Malaysia. 19' E. The Malaysian Meteorological Service (MMS, 2009) summarizes that the temperature range for Malacca is between 70% - 90%. ropical rainforest climate which is warm and sunny. Malacca the surrounding sea and window system and due to its proximity with Sumatra, Indonesia, it is susceptible to dust particles carried by wind from transient forest fires from the latter. 3. Methodology This paper reports on the findings of a preliminary questionnaire survey conducted in this study to identify and investigate the stud. The Teaching and Learning Classroom Thermal Comfort Inventory (TLTCI) instrument was used in this survey. It consists of 5 parts: i) demographic; ii) Climate change awareness; iii) Teaching and Learning Comfort Inventory; iv) Classroom Thermal Effect; v) Adabtibility and Involvement. This instrument was shown to two expertists in order to determine its validity and the reliability of this instrument was obtained by using Cronbach Alpha. The survey was conducted at three secondary schools in Malacca and 60 students participate. The data was analysed using SPPS. on on thermal comfort of the classroom. The study used quantitative methods and classroom thermal comfort aspects were measured by using The Teaching and Learning Classroom Thermal Comfort Inventory (TLTCI). TLTCI consists of five parts which are, demographic; Climate change awareness; Teaching and Learning Comfort Inventory; Classroom Thermal Effect; and Adabtibility and Involvement. Reliability is also obtained through a pilot study. The internal consistency reliability (coefficient alpha) ranged from 0.64 to 0.87 for TLTCI. This range is considered acceptable to good (George & Mallery 2001), since the closer the alpha is to 1, the greater the internal consistency of the items. 4. Result and Discussion 4.1 Climate Change Awareness and Teaching and Learning Classroom Thermal Comfort From the data concerning the classroom thermal comfort (Table 1), regarding the climate comfort is high with a mean value of 3.99 (SD: 0391). The result also shows that the teaching and learning comfort is also high with a mean value of 3.70 (SD: 0.462). This result seems to be in line with the fact that these students have high awareness regarding their classroom learning environment, and they are satisfied with their teaching and learning facilities. Therefore the perceptions about classroom thermal comfort is important as these perceptions could affect the students learning in the classroom. Table 1. The Average Mean of Climate Change Awareness and Teaching and Learning Classroom Thermal Comfort Student Part Mean SD 1. Climate Change Awareness Teaching and Learning Classroom Thermal Comfort

4 Marzita Puteh et al. / Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences 46 ( 2012 ) Classroom Thermal Comfort Analysis of the classroom thermal comfort shows that 45.5% of the students participating in the survey feel that their classroom is hot and 48.3% said that they are not satisfied with the heat of their classroom. The result shows that the main factor that contributed to these phenomena is the blazing hot sun ray. This is not a surprise since 60 % of the students in this survey sits near the window and receive the direct sunlight. Findings also reveal that the classroom thermal affected the health being. Many students complain that their skin becomes dry (13.3%), having difficulties in breathing (16.7%), asthmatic syndrome (20%), coughing, eye infection (30%), emotional problem (40%) and stress (68.3). This survey also revealed that only 37 % of the students have any involvement with any charitable association pertaining to nature and environment. This is in line with the fact that the students seems to be aware of the thermal comfort that was asked earlier in this survey. 4.3 Issues and Constraints which are: ive, there are few constraints and issues related to the existing classroom in Malaysia (a)the learning environment was not conducive where some students complaint that the classroom become too hot (51.7%) especially afternoon class and they cannot concentrate on their study. (b) affects their health. They experience headache, difficulties in breathing and stress while in the classroom. The increasing classroom temperature was due to the higher city temperature. 5. Conclusion The main aim of this study was to observe whether the students felt comfortable with their classrooms and to determine any imbalance. Conducive and comfortable learning environment that meet the needs of students can help promote active learning, which eventually enhance their conceptual understanding. Thus, it is suggested that systematic assessment of the learning environments and in particular, the thermal comfort of the classroom is considered as vital because the information obtained that can be used as a basis to improve the quality and effectiveness of teaching in the classrooms. References Ahmad S., Hashim N.M and Jani Y.M. (2009). Urban Heat Island phenomenon and environmental issues in Kuala Lumpur. GEOGRAFIA Online, Malaysian Journal of Society and Space, 5, Journal of Economics and Engineering, 2(1). Arzi, H. (2003). Enhancing science education laboratory environment: More than wall, benches and widgets. In B. J. Fraser & K. G. Tobin (Eds.), International Handbook of Science Education, pp Netherlands: Kluwer Academic Publishers. Che Ahmad, C.N., Osman, K. & Halim, L. (2010). Physical and psychosocial aspect s of science laboratory learning environment. Procedia Social and Behavioral Sciences Jounal, 9, Fraser, B.J. & Tobin, K. (1989). Student perceptions of psychosocial environments in classrooms of exemplary science teachers. International Journal of Science Education, 11, Fraser, B. J. (1994). Research on classroom and school climate. In G. Gabel (Ed.), Handbook of research on science teaching and learning (pp ). Washington, D.C. George, D. & Mallery, P. (2001). SPSS for Windows step by step: A simple guide and reference 10.0 update (3rd ed.). Toronto: Allyn and Bacon Hanafiah. N.H & Chan., N.W. (2011). The occurrence Urban Heat Island and its effect human thermal discomfort in Penang, National Conference of Human, Space and Environment, 16th and 17th November, Penang. Hussein, I. & Rahman, M. H. A. (2009). Field Study on Thermal Comfort in Malaysia. European Journal of Scientific Research, 37(1).

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