Listening and learning challenges for deaf or hard of hearing students during different classroom scenarios: an itinerant teachers of the deaf perspective

Figures & data

Figure 1. Sentiment scores for lecture, guided-learning, and self-directed/independent learning scenarios.

Figure 2. Breakdown of the topics identified by a non-negative matrix factorization method for each scenario.

Table 1. Topics, distributions, and concepts.

Topic	Distribution	Concepts
Topic 1: Student-teacher interactions, student-teacher positioning.	Lecture > Guided and Self-directed/Independent	Teacher-student distance
		Teacher movement
		Confirmation of student understanding
		Teacher feedback
		Isolation
		Peer scaffolding
		Communication ease with the teacher and peers
Topic 2: Background noise, group interactions.	Guided > Lecture and Self-directed/Independent	Background noise
Topic 3: Fatigue and concentration.	Lecture > Guided and Self-directed/Independent	Fatigue
		Concentration
Topic 4: Small group activities, distractions.	Guided > Self-directed/Independent > Lecture	Engagement in discussions and learning
Topic 5: Hearing difficulties, distractions, speaking.	Guided > Lecture > Self-directed/Independent	Ability to hear and understand the teacher
		Ability to hear and understand responses from other students
		Turn taking
Topic 6: Classroom environment.	Similar across scenarios	Room acoustics/reverberation
Topic 7: Technology.	Guided and Lecture > Self-directed/Independent	Assistive devices
Topic 8: Self-directed learning styles.	Self-directed/Independent > Guided > Lecture	Independence
		Opportunity to develop social skills
Topic 9: Missing out on information, auditory and visual support needs.	Lecture > Guided and Self-directed/Independent	Miss spoken information
		Support provided to the student
Topic 10: Help - seeking clarifications, confidence issues.	Self-directed/Independent > Lecture and Guided	Confidence to speak up

Figure 3. Additional school scenarios that may be challenging for students.

Figure 4. Mean ratings for each statement split into positive and negative statements. Error bars show standard error of the mean. Ratings are as follows: −2 = strongly disagree, −1 = disagree, 0 = neutral, 1 = agree, 2 = strongly agree.

Table 2. Mean rating scores for statements in each scenario.

Scenario	Rating	Statement	Mean
Lecture	Strongly agree	Background noise affects listening and learning	1.9
		Room acoustics/reverberation affects listening and learning	1.9
		Teacher-student distance affects listening and learning	1.7
		Teacher movement affects listening and learning	1.6
	Agree	Assistive devices work well	1.4
		The student misses spoken information	1.4
		The student lacks confidence to speak up in this situation	1.4
		There is limited confirmation of student understanding	1.3
		There are fewer opportunities to develop social skills	1.2
		There is limited support provided to the student	0.9
		The student does not receive teacher feedback	0.9
		It is isolating for the student	0.8
		It is difficult for the student to concentrate	0.7
		The student can hear and understand the teacher	0.6
	Neutral	Independence is promoted	0.3
		The student is engaged in discussions and learning	−0.1
		There is opportunity for peer scaffolding	−0.3
		It is easy to communicate with the teacher and peers	−0.4
		There is positive turn taking	−0.4
	Disagree	The student can hear and understand responses from other students	−0.6
Guided	Strongly agree	Background noise affects listening and learning	1.9
		Room acoustics/reverberation affects listening and learning	1.9
		Teacher movement affects listening and learning	1.5
	Agree	The student misses spoken information	1.3
		Teacher-student distance affects listening and learning	1.2
		Assistive devices work well	1.1
		Independence is promoted	0.8
		There is opportunity for peer scaffolding	0.8
		It is difficult for the student to concentrate	0.7
		It is easy to communicate with the teacher and peers	0.7
		There is positive turn taking	0.5
		There is limited support provided to the student	0.5
		The student is engaged in discussions and learning	0.5
		The student lacks confidence to speak up in this situation	0.5
	Neutral	The student can hear and understand responses from other students	0.2
		There is limited confirmation of student understanding	0.2
		The student can hear and understand the teacher	0.2
		The student does not receive teacher feedback	0.0
		It is isolating for the student	0.0
	Disagree	There are fewer opportunities to develop social skills	−0.6
Self-directed/ Independent	Strongly agree	Background noise affects listening and learning	1.8
	Agree	Room acoustics/reverberation affects listening and learning	1.3
		Independence is promoted	1.2
		Teacher-student distance affects listening and learning	1.0
		Assistive devices work well	1.0
		It is isolating for the student	1.0
		There are fewer opportunities to develop social skills	1.0
		Teacher movement affects listening and learning	0.8
		The student misses spoken information	0.7
		There is limited support provided to the student	0.5
		The student lacks confidence to speak up in this situation	0.5
	Neutral	The student is engaged in discussions and learning	0.4
		It is difficult for the student to concentrate	0.4
		The student can hear and understand the teacher	0.4
		There is limited confirmation of student understanding	0.3
		It is easy to communicate with the teacher and peers	0.1
		There is positive turn taking	0.0
		The student does not receive teacher feedback	0.0
		The student can hear and understand responses from other students	−0.2
		There is opportunity for peer scaffolding	−0.2

Table 3. Friedman test results with post-hoc Wilcoxen signed rank test results.

Statement	Friedman test p value	Wilcoxen signed rank significance
Room acoustics/reverberation affects listening and learning	1	Ns
Teacher-student distance affects listening and learning	0.779	Ns
Background noise affects listening and learning	0.717	Ns
Teacher movement affects listening and learning	0.717	Ns
It is difficult for the student to concentrate	0.568	Ns
The student can hear and understand the teacher	0.446	Ns
The student is engaged in discussions and learning	0.296	Ns
Assistive devices work well	0.264	Ns
Independence is promoted	0.257	Ns
There are fewer opportunities to develop social skills	0.089	Ns
It is easy to communicate with the teacher and peers	0.042	Ns
The student lacks confidence to speak up in this situation	0.040	Ns
There is limited confirmation of student understanding	0.026	Ns
It is isolating for the student	0.026	Ns
There is opportunity for peer scaffolding	0.018	Ns
The student lacks confidence to speak up in this situation	0.016	Ns
There is limited support provided to the student	0.008	Ns
The student misses spoken information	0.008	Ns
The student does not receive teacher feedback	0.007	lecture > guided
There is positive turn taking	0.002	Ns