IMPROVING CLASSROOM ACOUSTICS FOR ELEMENTARY

STUDENTS: SPECIFICALLY THOSE WITH HEARING LOSS

By: Jessica Beaty & Casey Gagliano
Missouri State University
Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders

ABSTRACT

CONCLUSIONS

A learning environment can vary from school to school,

classroom to classroom, and student to student. Maintaining
consistency between all of these is difficult but necessary
especially to students who are deaf or hard of hearing. The noise
in a deaf or hard of hearing students learning environment can
be one of the determiners to their success. The intent of the
current project was to assess classrooms at a rural Missouri
school by taking sound-level readings in different areas of the
classroom and with different scenarios. Once these
measurements were taken, the numbers were compared to the
American Speech-Language Hearing Association (ASHA) endorsed
standards and suggestions were made based on the findings. Five
locations were predetermined within each room for the readings
to be taken from. Readings were taken during six different
conditions: an unoccupied room, teacher speaking in unoccupied
room, twice in activities that were deemed loud, and twice in
activities that were deemed quiet. Results indicated that all
three classrooms measured did not meet the ASHA endorsed
standards. Modifications need to be made to the classrooms as a
whole to improve Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR); implementing
modifications to any area of the classroom will improve SNR for
the classroom as a whole.

Results from these measurements show that none of the three

classrooms meet the ASHA endorsed standards. Modifications to
each of the classrooms need to be made to provide the deaf/hard
of hearing students with the best listening environment. The
tables below show the average decibel level of each of the five
locations in the classrooms.

INTRODUCTION
A learning environment can vary from school to school,
classroom to classroom, and student to student. Maintaining
consistency between all of these is difficult but necessary especially
to students who are deaf or hard of hearing. The noise in a deaf or
hard of hearing students learning environment can be one of the
determiners to their success. When the background noise has an
intensity, or loudness, higher than the signal then the signal-tonoise ratio is said to be negative and provides an unfavorable
listening condition for students (Kent, 1997). The need for a
positive signal-to-noise ratio is crucial for children because of their
lack of language and life experiences and the naivety of their brains
and neural pathways. These factors affect their ability to cognitively
understand what is obtained auditorally (Cole & Flexer, 2011). The
U.S. Access Board and the Acoustical Society of America (ASA)
worked together to develop the Acoustical Performance Criteria,
Design Requirements and Guidelines for Schools. The standards
created are voluntary but are proved to create the best listening
environment for students. Background noise should not exceed
35dB nor have a reverberation time of 0.6 to 0.7 seconds (Hull,
2010).
The intent of the current project is to assess classrooms at a rural
Missouri school by taking sound-level readings in different areas of
the classroom and with different scenarios.
Once these
measurements are taken, the numbers will be compared to the
American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) endorsed
standards and suggestions will be made based on the findings. To
determine accurate levels in the classroom, measurements will be
taken at 5 or more locations (depending on the size of the room)
during different situations. Students will be present to provide the
usual noise for two activities that would be considered as loud
and then two more activities that are considered quiet. Readings
will also be taken while the classroom is empty and while the
instructor is speaking to no audience. Another portion of the
project is to write a grant and potentially be able to fund some of
the changes for the school. A reevaluation of the classroom may be
made by future colleagues to assess the implemented changes.

RESEARCH
QUESTIONS

Classroom 4-J Results

1. Is this classroom up to educational standards for students who

are deaf/hard of hearing as determined by the American
Speech-Language-Hearing Association?
2. If not, what are the problem areas in the classroom causing for
high sound level readings?
3. What can be suggested to the school to fix these problem
areas; both inexpensive and of high cost?
4. Which of these suggestions attainable for the school (i.e.
within their budget or within the means of the grant)?

Location Teacher
Voice
Alone
(dB)

One
Two
Three
Four
Five

56.5
59
65
56.5
58

Average
noise
level of
all
activities
(db)
58.25
59.5
59
57.125
57.875

Classroom 4-M Results

Difference
in noise
levels (dB)
(teacheractivity)

Meets
ASHA
standards?
(difference
>15dB)

Location Teacher
Voice
Alone
(dB)

-1.75
-0.5
6
-0.625
0.125

NO
NO
NO
NO
NO

One
Two
Three
Four
Five

61
66.5
59
60
61.5

Average
noise
level of
all
activities
(db)
61.625
61.625
65.5
62.875
61.25

Deaf Education Classroom

Difference
in noise
levels (dB)
(teacheractivity)

Meets
ASHA
standards?
(difference
>15dB)

Location Teacher
Voice
Alone
(dB)

-0.625
4.875
-6.5
-2.875
0.25

NO
NO
NO
NO
NO

One
Two
Three
Four
Five

61.5
65.5
65
61.5
67

Average
noise
level of
all
activities
(db)
60
65
65.375
61.625
64

Difference
in noise
levels (dB)
(teacheractivity)

Meets
ASHA
standards?
(difference
>15dB)

1.5
0.5
-0.375
-0.125
3

NO
NO
NO
NO
NO

REFERENCES
American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. (2005). Acoustics in educational settings: position
statement [Position Statement]. Available from www.asha.org/policy.

PROCEDURE

Bednar, A. L. (2005). Practical tips for the classroom teacher. Volta Voices, July/August, 41-44.
Berg, F. S., Blair, J. C., & Benson, P. V. (1996). Classroom acoustics: The problem, impact, and
solution. Language, speech, and hearing services in schools, 27, 16-21.
Cole, E., & Flexer, C. (2011). Children with hearing loss developing listening and talking. (2 ed., pp.
120-123). San Diego, CA: Plural Publishing.
Crandell, C. C., & Smaldino, J. J. (2000). Classroom acoustics for children with normal hearing and
with hearing impairment. Language, speech, and hearing services in schools, 31, 362-370.
Doctors, S. (2007). How to identify a program of excellence. In S. Schwartz (Ed.), Choices in
Deafness (3rd ed., pp. 316-317). Bethesda, MA: Woodbine House.

The target sample was a regular education teacher, a deaf

educator, an interpreter, and a group of 4th grade students ranging
in age 8-10 years old. The sample size was based on the two
different locations. Regular education classroom size was
estimated to be around 25 students. The deaf education room
had an average of 3 participants in the room at any given time,
which might vary based on the time of day, or the
student(s)/professional(s) present. The classroom(s) were from a
practicum site for the Education of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing
program at Missouri State University. The actual measurement of
sound-level took no more than an hour for all classrooms
involved. Five locations were predetermined within each room for
the readings to be taken from. Readings were taken during six
different conditions: an unoccupied room, teacher speaking in
unoccupied room, twice in activities that were deemed loud,
and twice in activities that were deemed quiet. See the
diagrams to the right for specifics about the classrooms. A soundlevel meter reader from Radio Shack was used to collect the data.

Hull, Raymond H., H. R. H. (2010). Introduction to aural rehabilitation. Abingdon: Plural

Publishing.978
Kent, R. (1997). The Speech Sciences. San Diego: Singular Publishing Group, Inc.
Classroom 4-J

Larson, J. B., & Blair, J. C. (2008). The effect of classroom amplification on the signal-to-noise ratio in
classrooms while class is in session. Language, speech, and hearing services in schools, 39, 451460.
McCormick, L., Loeb, D., & Schiefelbusch, R. (2003).Supporting children with communication
difficulties in inclusive settings. (2nd ed., pp. 86-91). Boston, MA: Pearson Education Company.
Nelson, P. B., & Blaeser, S. B. (2010). Classroom Acoustics: What Possibly Could Be New?. ASHA
Leader, 15(11), 16-19.
Neuman, A. C., Wroblewski, M., Hajicek, J., & Rubinstein, A. (2012). Measuring speech recognition in
children with cochlear implants in a virtual classroom. Journal of speech, language, and hearing
research, 55, 532-540.

Classroom 4-M

Reference.com. In (2012). Dictionary.com LLC. Retrieved from http://dictionary.reference.com/

Scheetz, N. A. (2001). Orientation to Deafness. (2nd ed., pp. 84-85). Needham Heights, MA: Allyn &
Bacon.
Schwartz, S. (2007). Choices in deafness, a parents\' guide to communication options. (3rd ed.).
Bethesda, MD: Woodbine House, Inc.
Smaldino, J. (2008). Five Strategies to Promote Good Classroom Acoustics. ASHA Leader, 13(13), 1417.
Speech. (n.d.). In Merriam-Websters online dictionary. Retrieved from http://www.merriamwebster.com/dictionary/speech

Deaf Education Classroom