Teacher Strategies: Hearing Impairment
- Use captions
All students benefit from captions and especially those who are Deaf or have hearing impairment. To cater for these students it is important to use only captioned multimedia such as TV, DVDs and online video. Captions provide vital access to multimedia content.
- Make use of available technology
Many classrooms are now equipped with technologies such as interactive whiteboards (IWBs) and soundfield amplification systems. If you have access to these technologies or anything similar, ensure that you’ve been briefed on how to best use them to complement your teaching.
- Use visual stimulus
Students who have a hearing impairment require visual cues/ support in their learning to assist their understanding of content. Teachers can use visual stimuli such as providing lesson outlines, main points and any directions on IWB or display boards to help these students.
- Consider classroom arrangement
There are always variables as to where a student who has a hearing impairment should sit in the classroom. Ensure that these students are in a position where your face (and ideally the faces of other students if they are participating in class discussion) are clearly visible, and where the sound of your voice is least obstructed.
- Keep unnecessary noise to a minimum
Students who have a hearing impairment find it very difficult to concentrate when there is background noise. Blocking out some or all of this noise through closing doors or windows can be a simple and effective measure. Remember that even if your student or students use assistive hearing technology, they do not hear in the same way that their peers do. They will benefit from having unnecessary background noise to a minimum.
http://www.mediaaccess.org.au/latest_news/how-to/five-tips-for-teachers-of-students-with-hearing-impairment