Classroom microphones, specifically Remote Microphone Technology (RMT), transmit the teacher's voice to ear-level receivers worn by the student, where the teacher’s voice sounds like it is just 20 centimeters from the student’s ear.
In this study published in the Science of Learning, researchers from the University of Melbourne explored the effectiveness of RMT for children ages 6 to 12 years old with inattention and associated listening difficulties in a classroom setting. After three school terms, they found that RMT reduced listening effort by making the teacher's voice sound closer, cutting through distracting classroom noise, minimizing mental fatigue and allowing children to focus longer. Microphone use also improved auditory attention by boosting speech clarity and listening comprehension, which helped to keep inattentive students engaged in the lesson. They also found that microphone use decreased ADHD symptoms, as evidenced by lower self-reported and observed hyperactivity and inattention symptoms during active use. Over three school terms (30 weeks), the RMT group showed greater improvements in academic progress, most notably in reading fluency, and improved quality of life.
The researchers suggest that these findings support RMT as a valuable intervention for inattentive children with listening difficulties in educational settings. By wirelessly transmitting the teacher's voice directly to a receiver, RMT effectively overcomes distance, background noise, and echoes. It significantly improves speech clarity and auditory attention, directly benefiting students with attention-related listening difficulties.
StepUp Note
This research documented the significant advantages of auditory processing skills for struggling learners in a classroom environment. Classroom noise affects learning effort. Learning effort affects attention. Attention affects learning. Any tools which can improve auditory processing, especially in the early learning grades, will improve learning overall. StepUp to Learn uses “quiet movements” to create a “listening advantage” especially for exercises where children need to hear sounds in words.
Note by Nancy W Rowe, MS, CCC/A