UNDERGRADUATE WEARABLE SENSOR PROJECT REVEALS CLASSROOM TEMPERATURES OUTSIDE RECOMMENDED RANGES

As part of the Climate Literacy in Undergraduate Education (CLUE) National Science Foundation IUSE project, Middle Tennessee State University undergraduates collected and analyzed personal temperature and humidity data by wearing small sensors over a two-day interval in and around Murfreesboro, TN. During Spring 2024, undergraduates measured temperature in a 131-seat undergraduate lecture hall on March 12 from 1:10-2:20 pm (n=41), April 8 from 12:40-2:05 pm (n=55), and April 12 from 10:20-11:15 am (n=41), finding mean temperature ranges of 19.3-19.7^oC (66.9-67.4^oF), 21.1-28.2^oC (69.9-82.7^oF), and 20.4-27.9^oC (68.7-83.2^oF), respectively. Humidity was not relevant on these three days. On all three occasions, temperatures went outside the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) recommended wintertime and summertime temperature ranges: 20-23.3^oC (68-74 ^oF) and 22.2-26.7^oC (72-80^oF), respectively. On April 8 and 12, temperatures also exceeded the threshold of 24.5^oC (76.1^oF) above which student self-reported thermal acceptability dropped in a 2016-2017 University of Georgia classroom study. In addition, the April results indicate that temperatures went above the optimum for student performance which is below 22^oC (71.6^oF) based on a published 2019 meta-analysis. The room is windowless, and classroom doors must remain closed under 2023 university security protocols. However, the classroom is equipped with lecture-capture video technology, potentially allowing sensitive students to watch videos instead of attending in-person. Also, undergraduates were enrolled in in-person courses that are also offered in a fully online format. Results underscore the value of student collection of personal environmental data as well as the challenges involved in heating and cooling classrooms.