The key to understanding why Cloisim classroom amplification systems
(also known as ‘soundfields’) work rests in recognizing that children are not smaller versions of their parents and teachers.
INTRODUCING THE PHONAK DYNAMIC
SOUNDFIELD SYSTEM
Until children are about 13 years old, the brain structures needed to help them effectively listen in less-than-ideal conditions aren’t
fully developed — with some
aspects not maturing until the
end of secondaryschool.
Because adults are so much
better at listening accurately in
noise and over a distance, the
impact of the acoustic
environment in classrooms is
almost always underestimated
by teachers, administrators,
and parents.
But there’s more. Unlike adults,
young students are developing
language skills and lack the
vocabulary needed to expertly
fill in the blanks when they
miss a new word or word ending.
Children are surprisingly
poor at using context
to reconstruct what
their ears have missed
— a task that adults
perform easily and
unconsciously.
Now place this child — with his or her underdeveloped listening capacity, vocabulary, and world experience — in a typical classroom. Many adults assume that’s the ideal place for learning. In auditory terms, nothing could be farther from the truth.
Research over the last decade has shown that kids farthest from the teacher can miss up to 40% of what’s being said. When it’s that hard to keep up, it’s no wonder they stop paying attention, cause disruption, and perform more poorly.
Consider seating arrangements. It’s no coincidence that the students who are most inattentive and prone to behaviour problems are often found in the back row or seated far away from the teacher. To understand 100% of speech sounds, children need to hear the teacher’s voice spoken 15 decibels louder than the background noise.
The listening environment in classrooms is almost always underestimated by teachers, administrators, and parents.
In a typical classroom, the teacher’s voice is barely 5 decibels louder than surrounding noise — so only those children closest to the teacher can get the most information with the least amount of effort.
At least 45% of the class day requires listening. In other words, teachers use kids’ ears as a pathway to their brains, especially in the lower grades where children are gaining basic skills. Even with good behavioural control of classrooms to minimize student-generated noise, a teacher can do little or nothing to reduce seating distance and background noise.
The limitations of childrens’ brains and coping skills, plus the obstacles of noise and distance from the teacher, combine to erode speech perception, attention, behavior, and overall classroom performance.
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