Listening conditions in classrooms: It’s a jungle out there
Teachers compete with the sound of heating and cooling systems in classrooms, the sound of computer keyboards, the sound of students and external noise such as air and road traffic - even the groundsperson mowing the lawns. This creates what is known as the sound floor.
So, try and visualise this. The noise floor is usually quite high, and is consistent throughout different areas in the room. That is, there is background noise everywhere. But, traditionally, the signal we need to be well and truly over and above this noise - the voice - is not delivered everywhere. Nor are the new sounds of teaching - computer audio, DVD/VCR, MP3. The voice is strongest at it’s source - the teacher - meaning children seated the furthest away get a weak signal.
Audiologists agree; brains (via the ears) need to be given every chance of hearing the sounds of teaching over and above this sound floor. In fact, they need to be 15 decibels above the noise floor to achieve the required signal-to-noise ratio. And, this 15 decibel margin needs to be offered to all students irrespective of where they are seated.
Teacher welfare: Capturing voices is a key to better teaching
Requiring teachers to speak for prolonged periods at a volume above your natural volume is harmful. Teachers have won compensation because it has been established that employers did not maintain a healthy and safe workplace. And, speaking in a natural, eloquent way is more comfortable to students and gives the teacher the ability to present, not bellow.
Distribution: a cornerstone of better learning
When these sound of teaching are distributed evenly throughout the room, the impact is dramatic. One Australian study concluded that students in a classroom with such a system operating, achieved literacy and numeracy scores one third higher than a classroom that did have a system. This improvement was achieved in one term.
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Visit LightSPEED's site - great research material and technical information.
'Listen to ABC Radio National 'Life Matters' interview with Professor Carol Flexer about the value of classroom sound enhancement to improvements in literacy and numeracy' - (15MB MP3 file)
Read Margaret Cook's 2007 'The Age' article explaining classroom sound enhancement - (PDF file)
