Now that we are experts at UDL, we are going to talk about
how students with disabilities can communicate and use computers to help.
Students that are hard of hearing can face many obstacles in
a typical classroom such as difficultly following lectures. Students may have hearing aids that work well
for one-on-one conversations but if the classroom has poor acoustics then the
students may have difficulty hearing everything said during lecture. To prevent this problem, we, as teachers, can
move around the classroom while lecturing and not talking while writing on the
board or looking down at a demonstration so students who lipread can always
read what we say.
With these little things in mind, it can help when having
hard of hearing students in the classroom.
I can use this information in my future classroom just by simply being
conscious of my students.
References:
Dell, A., Newton, D., & Petroff, J. (2012). Assistive Technology in the Classroom. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc.
Great suggestions Mia! Walking around the room seems like a great technique. I also feel as though looking up at your students is important for all learners, even though students with hearing disabilities benefit most by pairing instruction with the formation of the teacher's lips. Great post!
ReplyDeleteYes, Mia, I agree it makes it so difficult for hard of hearing students when the teacher's voice disappears toward the board. White boards and even projectors permit teachers to face their students - this also helps with classroom management since it prevents bad behaviors that can occur behind a teacher's back;-)
ReplyDeleteI agree with you as well! We, as teachers, need to be conscious of those little things to help hard of hearing students. Great suggestions!
ReplyDelete