QUANTIFICATION OF THE ECOBEHAVIORAL IMPACT OF A SOUNDFIELD LOUDSPEAKER SYSTEM IN ELEMENTARY CLASSROOMS

Although it is widely accepted that an increased signal-to-noise ratio [SNR] is preferable for young classroom learners, there is a paucity of data that illustrate the direct effect of enhanced audibility on ch ildren with normal hearing, and schools continue to accept less-than-i deal classroom listening environments for their students. Eight studen ts in kindergarten, first, or second grade were observed in acoustical ly similar classrooms while the application of soundfield amplificatio n was experimentally controlled. Observations of appropriate and inapp ropriate student behavior before, during, and after soundfield treatme nt were recorded by trained observers. A significant decrease in inapp ropriate behaviors came immediately after turning on the soundfield am plification. When the soundfield system was turned off, all of the stu dents revealed a significant increase in inappropriate behaviors. All eight students revealed an increase in appropriate task management imm ediately following the use of soundfield amplification. When the sound field treatment was removed, the effect achieved during treatment was maintained for all 8 students.