Do children with reading delay benefit from the use of personal FM systems in the classroom?

Abstract

Abstract

FM systems have been used to compensate for poor signal-to-noise ratios in classrooms. This study evaluates benefits of a 6-week trial of personal FM systems used during the school day for children with reading delay aged 6–11 years, using a randomized control design. Teachers and children completed the LIFE-UK questionnaire. Test-retest reliability of the LIFE-UK children's version was confirmed in a separate group of 18 children from the same school. The 23 children in the FM group had significantly improved teacher ratings, and the children's ratings of classroom listening for difficult situations were significantly better after the trial. These changes did not occur for the 23 control-group children. Most children (92%) commented positively about the FM after the trial. It is likely that a longer FM trial or a specific reading intervention combined with FM will be required for the benefits of enhanced listening to affect performance on standardized reading tests.

Sumario

Los sistemas FM han sido utilizados para compensar las tasas pobres de señal-ruido en el salón de clases. Este estudio evalúa los beneficios de un ensayo de 6 semanas usando sistemas personales FM durante el día escolar en niños con retardo en la lectura, en edades de 6 a 11 años, usando un diseño de control aleatorio. Tantos los niños como los maestros llenaron un cuestionario LIFE-UK. La confiabilidad test-retest de la versión infantil del LIFE-UK fue confirmada en un grupo separado de 18 niños de la misma escuela. Los 23 niños del grupo FM lograron apreciaciones significativamente mejoradas de sus maestros, y la apreciación de los propios niños sobre su audición en clase para situaciones difíciles fue significativamente mejor después del ensayo. Estos cambios no ocurrieron para el grupo control de 23 niños. La mayoría de los niños (92%) comentaron positivamente después del estudio acerca del sistema FM. Es posible que una prueba más larga con un sistema FM o una intervención específica en cuanto a la lectura combinada con un sistema FM se requiera para que los beneficios de una lectura mejorada afecten el desempeño en pruebas estandarizadas de lectura.

Key Words:

• Personal FM
• Classroom acoustics
• LIFE-UK, questionnaire
• Reading delay
• Listening
• Teacher ratings
• Literacy

Acknowledgements

The authors thank Phonak NZ Ltd for supplying the EduLinks and Campus S transmitters for this research.

Declaration of interest: The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper.

Appendix–LIFE-UK Questionnaire Items

Notes: (1) Reproduced with permission (David Canning, personal communication, 28 June 2008); (2) See http://www.hear2learn.com/ for complete versions of the questionnaires.

A. Questions from LIFE-UK questionnaire student version

For each of 13 listening environments listed below the child is asked to rate his or her listening difficulty using the following scale:

How well can you hear the teacher's words?

1. There is traffic outside the classroom.

2. It is a quiet day, and there is no noise from outside the classroom.

3. The class have just finished an activity and are tidying up. The teacher says something to the class.

4. The teacher is talking but you cannot see her face.

5. The teacher is talking but there are children making a noise outside your classroom.

6. The teacher is talking. Some other children in the class are tidying up their things, moving pencils, paper, chairs, walking around, and whispering.

7. The teacher has asked a question to the whole class. Someone is giving an answer.

8. The teacher is talking to the class and the overhead projector is on. (Note alteration to this original wording described in the text.)

9. The teacher is talking and moving around the room.

10. The teacher is giving a test to the class.

11. There are two teachers in the class. They are both talking. One of the teachers is talking to you from the front of the class. You need to listen to this teacher.

12. You are all working in groups.

13. You are in assembly.

B. Questions from LIFE-UK questionnaire teacher pre-FM Version (teacher appraisal of listening)

For each of the items listed below the teacher is instructed to circle the score that best describes the child's behavior on a 5-point scale ranging from Very Good to Satisfactory to Very Poor.

1. Following class directions

2. Following individual directions

3. Overall attention span

4. On-task behavior

5. Rate of learning (speed of following instruction)

6. Involvement in class discussions (volunteers more, makes appropriate contributions)

7. Contributes when working in a group

8. Paying attention to multimedia (e.g. video, OHP)

9. Willingness to answer questions

10. Answering questions in an appropriate and relevant manner

11. Amount of repair behavior (this refers to asking questions, to teacher or peer, in order to clarify what is required)

Items 12 and 13 in the pre-FM questionnaire ask teachers to rate noise levels during whole class and group activities.

C. Questions from LIFE-UK questionnaire teacher post-FM version (teacher appraisal of impact on listening)

For each of the items listed below the teacher is instructed to circle the score that best describes the child's behavior following the use of the amplification system on a scale ranging from Improvement to No Change to Deterioration.

1. Following class directions

2. Following individual directions

3. Overall attention span

4. On-task behavior

5. Rate of learning (quicker to comprehend instructions)

6. Involvement in class discussions (volunteers more, makes appropriate contributions)

7. Contributes when working in a group

8. Paying attention to multimedia (e.g. video, OHP)

9. Willingness to answer questions

10. Answering questions in an appropriate and relevant manner

Frequency of repair behavior (this refers to the frequency of asking questions, of teacher or peer, in order to clarify what is required)

Items 12 and 13 in the post-FM questionnaire ask teachers to re-evaluate noise levels during whole class and group activities. Item 14 provides an overall rating of FM benefit: “Based on my knowledge and observations I believe that the amplification system is beneficial to the student's overall, attention, listening and learning in the classroom.”