Listening in the Classroom
Children & Adolescents
Children are involved in listening activities for 60–75% of their school day. Unfortunately, classrooms can be very noisy environments. Noise comes from reverberation within the classroom and outside the classroom. Other technological/instructional sources, such as SMART Boards and computers, also contribute to background noise. Children’s learning may be impacted by noise, reverberation, distance and the location of the teacher. In order for effective learning to take place, classrooms should be free from excessive noise.
Young and school-age children’s auditory systems are still neurologically developing. As a result, the impact of noisy classrooms is even greater as compared with adults. Therefore, it is critical that classrooms are as quiet as possible. Through classroom consultation, our goal is to improve the acoustics via technology or other simple cost-effective environmental modifications within the classroom. Our team is comprised of educational audiologists who are familiar with classroom environments both from an acoustic and an educational perspective.
Poor acoustics in the pediatric population make listening a challenge. The DigiMaster is a wonderful solution to classroom amplification for children. The teacher’s voice can easily be enhanced, facilitating listening for normal hearing children and for children with hearing loss. The system is designed to increase the speaker’s voice if and when the background noise increases. Consequently, the speaker or teacher’s voice always remains above the background noise. The DigiMaster will radiate out to approximately 60 feet. The DigiMaster is portable and can easily be moved from room to room.
Classrooms can be quiet and fun—ideal for learning!
For more information about how we can help improve classroom listening, please contact our office at 212-472-1350 or email [email protected].