I had a teacher ask me what could be done to better include the student with hearing loss into the classroom discussions. After observing the classroom I was able to give a good answer with very little modifications needed to be made...
The class sat on a large square rug during the lesson. The students were sitting in rows, and it was difficult for the DHH student to participate in classroom discussion because she sat in the front row and could not understand the students speaking behind her. Maybe you've experienced that in with your DHH students in your own classroom discussions. Fortunately, there is a simple fix.
I let the teacher know the students should sit outside the rug along the perimeter. The student will have an unobstructed view of each student's face. The teacher can sit beside her and facilitate the discussion in near proximity to the student. It's important that the student has enough time in order to search out the speaker before he/she begins speaking. I let the teacher know it can easily be fixed with a beach ball. The teacher can toss the beach ball to a student and have the student wait 3 seconds before speaking.
Doing the above will include the student in discussions. The teacher can even take it further by repeating every question then answering it, ensuring the student's comprehension of what is said.
*Have students sit in a circle, semi-circle, or square/rectangle fashion...Just make sure each student has an unobstructed view of every other student.
*Institute a 3 second waiting period before students can speak.
*Require all students to raise their hand, or initiate their desire to speak, with a visual cue.
There's always more you can do, and many ways you can adapt your classroom to be conducive to the learning of DHH students! For more info, contact me at kkeasler@oconee.k12.sc.us
