With the change of weather, I noticed I have been less inclined to be active and more inclined to focus and study my schoolwork. This got me wondering if there is any correlation between the temperature, and your academic performance. When it is hot out I find it difficult to concentrate and easier to be distracted or sleepy. Due to these observations I decided to see if there were any studies that would go along with my hypothesis.
When researching this I found out that there was a study that had similar results to me. In the study they organized students from Westview High School in Oregon where an initial test was administered in six different classes. The test included how they would memorize shapes, recreate them, name basic shapes, colors, and solve basic math equations. The students were randomly picked, and the tests were random so no student had a greater opportunity. Also the students were given a 10 min waiting period before receiving the test so they could get adjusted to the temperature. After administering the tests, the reuslts showed that when it was 70.5 degrees students scored an 86.7%. When it was 73.6 degrees the students recieved an 82.5%, and when the temperature was “neutral” at 72.5 degrees students received an 86.9%. Even though these results matched my hypothesis, the numbers were not really spaced out. So I researched some more and found out the school did the same study with more drastic temperature change and these were the results…
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This experiment shows that students will perform better when the temperature is colder rather than warmer, but they will do the best when the temperature is neutral. This makes sense because students won’t feel as distracted by the temperature, and also wont be drowsy or tired by heat. Even though this makes sense this experiment had some faults. The tests were administered in different rooms which could cause different distractions, also there were different people taking different tests which could result in a louder or quieter classroom. Also they took the tests at different times of the day. This could one mean students who took the test earlier could be more tired, and also more sunlight which also make students less tired. This experiment rules out reverse causation. Taking away from this study I agree that I would rather work in a place that is cooler than hotter but the ideal place to excel is a classroom in which it is a neutral temperature.
Source: http://healthyschools.cefpi.org/temperature.html
This blog is very interesting, but when I looked at the link you have given, i found out that you have comprehended the information incorrectly. The conclusion in the study you explained is, temperature affects attention rates not grades on test. In order to further pursue your hypothesis, a controlled study should be done with a large sample size. In which the temperature is changed over the duration of the month and grades are recorded.
Great blog! You tied in a lot of Andrews concepts which mad it easy to understand. Way to catch the idea that the second experiment contained a lot of faults. Sticking to your idea that the temperature affects academic performance I can personally say from experience that the heat seems to affect academic performance and not for the better. In class I notice when its hotter I tend to not want to do work. Attending high school in Florida other kids in my age group could vouch as well. Sometimes we would even skip school it was so hot. The school board would even cancel schools if the heat index was high enough. My mother, a teacher in elementary school, says teacher notice a distinctive difference in behavior and performance in students the hotter it gets. They believe the heats causes agitation and lack of caring or interest in children. Here is a blog further addressing my argument that hot temperatures put kids at a disadvantage in their learning environment http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/06/01/schools-are-not-cool/?_r=0
I agree with your hypothesis because temperature and your surrounding environment affect how humans act and scientists have looked extremely deep into this topic. I personally during extremely hot days never want to focus and am extremely tired and dehydrated and that definitely would affect my score if i am taking an exam and likewise with the cold. Temperature is just another distraction that takes your mind away from the task at hand. A comfortable temperature allows you to focus the best and thats why students in the experiment got different grades. The environment around you can really change how you feel for example another example of this is that trees reduce crimes and hospitals put trees in their rooms to allow patients to feel happier. You can see how trees reduce crime and violence here: http://actrees.org/news/trees-in-the-news/research/more_trees_less_crime/
http://blog.pickcrew.com/how-climate-influences-productivity-why-the-future-of-productivity-doesnt-look-so-hot/ Here’s an interesting blog post that states that people are most productive in tropical climates. Very interesting that there are so many different claims because there is yet to be one extremely reliable study.
I also agree with Chloe. I feel like staying in my warm bed during the winter instead of going out and doing things. I’m thinking there may be a third confounding variable present, like amount of work that one has when the weather is colder. As I was reading I was thinking about how students generally have more work when the weather is colder because it’s the end of the semester and beginning of a new one, so you almost are forced to be more productive. The article also presents a lot of absolute risk instead of relative risk which is good because relative risk tells you nothing about actual risk. I think there is definitely a lot more to be studied here.
This is definitely an interesting study, but I find some of the results questionable. First of all, it’s not a very big sample size. The study was conducted in one high school located in one state in one country, so the implications of any other level of school, state, or country are questionable. I like how they randomly allocated the tests so there was an even chance, but it’s still difficult to make the tests even. Maybe one class learned more about one subject than another. It’s almost impossible to make one test the same level of difficulty as the other. You can also never rule out the possibility of chance, and since this test was only conducted once, it makes it even harder to trust. I’m not saying that these test results aren’t correct, I just think there are better ways to produce results yielding more accurate information. Maybe this will be something studied in the near future in more depth.
This is a really interesting blog post. I’ve always found that when it is colder I am able to study better and by correlation do better in the class room. By reading the results of the experiments you researched I see now that I was right. I was however surprised by the fact that the neutral temperature room received the highest marks on test. I guess this makes sense because after dropping below a certain temperature all I can think is “I’m so cold”. On the other side of the spectrum when it becomes very hot I do become drowsy and less likely to pay attention to the teacher and or concentrate on a test in front of me. I agree with your conclusion at the end of your blog stating which type of room one would rather work in.
I might be wrong, but with this colder weather I feel really UNproductive. I would rather stay in my bed and watch Netflix, whereas when the weather was nice out I could motivate myself to do something productive, like go to the gym or the library. This article (https://blog.bufferapp.com/the-science-of-how-room-temperature-and-lighting-affects-our-productivity) cites a Cornell study that found colder weather decreases productivity. By using a large Florida insurance building, they found that those in low temperatures (68 degrees Fahrenheit) made 44% more mistakes than the rooms that had average temperatures (77 degrees Fahrenheit). However, this may be a little biased since the workers who live in Florida probably are not accustomed to abnormally cold circumstances if the AC is on average 77 degrees. This could be a potential third variable that the study overlooked. However, I agree with you that temperature has an effect on thinking and productivity.