With the Olympics in mind, and understanding that Athletes are judged by their performance, one can ask the question here in Canberra; Does temperature affect our performance? Because there is no denying it — winter has definitely come to Canberra.
So, why is this the case? A study conducted by Westview School Beaverton, in Oregon which measured student’s academic performance. Students were given tasks/tests to do in various climates & temperatures and their performance were observed and recorded.
Each student that participated was randomly chosen. The test administered to the students was composed of basic shape memorization, colours, and basic math equations. The classrooms were adjusted to three temperatures: 61 degrees F (16.C), 72 Degrees F (22.2 C), and 81 Degrees F (27.2 C).
The students were put in the room for 10 minutes before the test in order to acclimate to the temperature. After the experiment was complete, the data showed that students in the warmest room, 81 Degrees F, did the poorest on the test with an average of 72%. Those in the cooler room were more likely to score higher by 4% or more. The students who performed the best were those in the 70 Degree F range.
This study demonstrated that students are possibly most likely to perform better academically when the temperature is cooler rather than hot. That being said, they will do their best when the temperature in the room is more neutral than not. (https://healthyschools.a4le.org/temperature.html). According to these findings, you could argue that our students should far better academically in these cooler months. However as we all know, the most common thing on our mind most mornings, would be to find the warmest heater where ever we are, whether it be in our offices, classrooms, the ovals or in the bus on the way to school.
From my experience, if you’re not from Canberra, winter is hard to get used to and requires a lot of patience. If we are looking for a silver lining here to make us feel better, know that the cooler months usually generate better results.
Sources: http://healthyschools.cefpi.org/temperature.html
Tim MacArthur
Head of Rice House