Hearing Loss Awareness in Grade 10-12 Classrooms
Website: http://www.openroad.net.au/access/dakit/hearing/hhandout14.htm
This website is a Disability Awareness Kit that has a variety of activities that help gain an understanding about hearing loss that can be used with students of all ages, but specifically I will focus on Activity #1 with Highschool students that are taking Biology 30 when they learn about the parts of the ear and how it functions.
With this activity, I would first introduce the ear in general to the class before starting the doing the activity (stated below). Doing this activity will get students to think about hearing loss in general as they discuss experiences with someone who has had hearing loss in their lives, to get them thinking about some of the ways that have already accommodated them. With the ear plugs, the students will get a chance to experience what it would be like to have some form of hearing loss. They would see how difficult it would be to hear and concentrate in class and some of the ways that allowed them to hearing better. With a discussion after, the teacher and students can discuss what it felt like and what the teacher did to make if harder or easier to hear what they were saying and how they could incorporate those strategies into the classroom with their classmates or into their home lives if someone they know does have hearing loss. This would get the students aware of what they could do to include/ accommodate someone who has hearing loss and get them to see that there is nothing wrong with having hearing loss, its just harder for them to hear.
This could then be tied into the curriculum when the teacher teaches about the cochlea and how that it the main hearing part of the ears and if the hair follicles are damaged due to loud or continuous sounds then it gets difficult to hear. It will also bring to the students attention just how they could be damaging their hearing right now with their music devices and encourage them to take better care of themselves.
This activity can incorporate honoring the diversity of hearing loss, tie into the curriculum and teach students how to take care of their ears. It has a lot it can teach.
Activity 1
What does it mean to have a hearing impairment?
W H AT W E V A L U E A B O U T O U R H E A R I N G
Ask participants to write down:
Ask participants to talk about any experiences they may have had with hearing impairment. Does a family member, relative, friend or work colleague have a hearing loss? Discuss how they perceive the hearing loss affecting the person's life.
P R A C T I C A L E X E R C I S E
It is very difficult to simulate a hearing loss. In most cases, a hearing loss doesn't simply mean that sounds are not loud enough. For most people, having a hearing loss means that sounds are distorted or unclear, and while a hearing aid may make speech louder, it usually will not make speech clearer.
Ear plugs will be used to give participants some understanding of what a mild hearing loss may be like, but the ear plugs will only reduce the volume of speech, not distort it.
You need:
This website is a Disability Awareness Kit that has a variety of activities that help gain an understanding about hearing loss that can be used with students of all ages, but specifically I will focus on Activity #1 with Highschool students that are taking Biology 30 when they learn about the parts of the ear and how it functions.
With this activity, I would first introduce the ear in general to the class before starting the doing the activity (stated below). Doing this activity will get students to think about hearing loss in general as they discuss experiences with someone who has had hearing loss in their lives, to get them thinking about some of the ways that have already accommodated them. With the ear plugs, the students will get a chance to experience what it would be like to have some form of hearing loss. They would see how difficult it would be to hear and concentrate in class and some of the ways that allowed them to hearing better. With a discussion after, the teacher and students can discuss what it felt like and what the teacher did to make if harder or easier to hear what they were saying and how they could incorporate those strategies into the classroom with their classmates or into their home lives if someone they know does have hearing loss. This would get the students aware of what they could do to include/ accommodate someone who has hearing loss and get them to see that there is nothing wrong with having hearing loss, its just harder for them to hear.
This could then be tied into the curriculum when the teacher teaches about the cochlea and how that it the main hearing part of the ears and if the hair follicles are damaged due to loud or continuous sounds then it gets difficult to hear. It will also bring to the students attention just how they could be damaging their hearing right now with their music devices and encourage them to take better care of themselves.
This activity can incorporate honoring the diversity of hearing loss, tie into the curriculum and teach students how to take care of their ears. It has a lot it can teach.
Activity 1
What does it mean to have a hearing impairment?
W H AT W E V A L U E A B O U T O U R H E A R I N G
Ask participants to write down:
- what sounds we value
- what we value about being able to hear
Ask participants to talk about any experiences they may have had with hearing impairment. Does a family member, relative, friend or work colleague have a hearing loss? Discuss how they perceive the hearing loss affecting the person's life.
P R A C T I C A L E X E R C I S E
It is very difficult to simulate a hearing loss. In most cases, a hearing loss doesn't simply mean that sounds are not loud enough. For most people, having a hearing loss means that sounds are distorted or unclear, and while a hearing aid may make speech louder, it usually will not make speech clearer.
Ear plugs will be used to give participants some understanding of what a mild hearing loss may be like, but the ear plugs will only reduce the volume of speech, not distort it.
You need:
- a pair of foam ear plugs for all participants
- one or more sets of personal stereos
- demonstrate how to insert earplugs
- the facilitator to read a long newspaper article or similar, reading rapidly and using a soft voice and unclear speech
- if personal stereos are available, participants use these to play background music or speech while trying to follow the facilitator
- remove ear plugs and discuss difficulties and feelings