My research in noise has had a particularly important impact on secondary schools and students. In addition to protection of student and teacher hearing, there is strong evidence that the use of hearing protection devices results in improved cognitive and psychomotor performance. Many tools have been identified as dangerously noisy and highly annoying in vocational education laboratories. I have clearly demonstrated to teachers that they are at risk for hearing damage in their laboratories. The overall teacher exposure during a normal work day is significant.
Students typically experience short exposures in laboratories.
Overall, even short exposures may be damaging to students because of other noise sources in their daily lives. Changes have been recommended as a result of my research in the acoustical treatment of laboratories and in the arrangement of equipment. Arizona teachers routinely provide hearing protection devices as a result of their understanding of the impact of hearing protection for their students and themselves. Many teachers in Arizona now routinely monitor noise levels in their laboratories with inexpensive sound level meters. Findings from my research in noise, safety and magnetic fields have been introduced in undergraduate course work in agricultural education to maximize the impact on Arizona students and teachers.