By Kourtnie Hunter, DMS ELA & Collaborative Teacher I recently learned something about myself that completely explained part of my personality. I have always struggled with listening, no matter who or what was being talked about, no matter how important the conversation, I’ve been someone who cannot listen.
As I went through school, I was complimented often on my ability to achieve academically, but behind the mask, I was always the student who heard directions and then went, "uh, what?!" when it was time to work. I couldn’t recall what had just been told to me. As I got older, the problem seemed to escalate, and I found myself struggling to listen to anyone or anything at all-- I began to lose my ability to interact with others in meaningful ways, and I found I couldn’t even listen to my favorite TV shows anymore. My frustration with myself grew to the point that I felt I was broken somehow. What was wrong with me? During meetings, I struggled to follow along and work with others, and I found myself often leaving a place thinking what just happened? What did I miss? One day I was on Tik Tok, and I noticed several videos with closed captions on, and for the first time, I HEARD what the silly videos were telling me. My ears had suddenly turned on! They were hearing and listening for the first time in years, which was weird because captions are read, not heard, but that’s what made the entire difference for me. Closed captions. I had another ah-ha moment at a meeting at the beginning of the school year where we had to read off example situations from classrooms to complete an activity. I led my group through reading the situations out loud (typically I am passive about reading aloud to others), and again, I could HEAR what they were saying even though the words were silently printed on a piece of paper. I found the activity enjoyable and easy to comprehend. So, how does this all connect to me in my classroom? I am a visual learner, and I realized I could increase my auditory learning skills by pairing them with my visual learning strengths. Once I had two senses working together, my world opened up! I realized I could do the same for students in my classroom, so I wanted to offer some tips on bringing together auditory and visual learning skills:
8 Comments
Dana Bockman
9/3/2021 06:01:52 am
Thank you for sharing this, Kourtnie! This resonated with me, because I often feel just like you do. I have left workshops and meetings often having no idea what was said, unless I take exceptional notes. Lectures in college were torture. While watching movies, I am always asking, "what did she say?" and often utilize the subtitles when watching TV on my own (the rest of the family can't stand having them on). Having something read aloud to me without having the written words in front of me leaves me feeling clueless. I imagine there are many students like you and I in our classrooms. These tips are so important. Thanks again for sharing!
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Sarah Elsbernd
9/3/2021 06:09:52 am
Thank you for this post, Kourtnie! These are some easy accommodations for students with IEPs and 504s and truly something that all students can benefit from whether they have a written plan or not. Thank you for sharing your experiences!
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Stephanie Radlof
9/3/2021 06:26:53 am
Thank you for sharing this! I can relate so well! I'm a visual learner but I always need to have the directions written out for me to follow. If I'm in a meeting, or listening to podcasts that I enjoy and learning new things I struggle to relay what I've learned to other people or where to find things unless I've taken really good notes. Just like with math...I can listen to how the problem is solved but to try to do a problem right afterwards is almost impossible for me unless I have an example problem to look at and have taken good notes. I've noticed when I have visited my son, he and his wife often have the closed captions on while they watch whatever it is they're watching. I never made the connection that maybe this helps them retain what they are hearing until now with your blog! Thank you again for sharing!
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Lizabeth Fox
9/3/2021 06:27:00 am
Thanks for sharing your story and some practical tips to help students deepen their understanding of the material. (On a personal note, my husband and I have decided we need to learn how to access closed captioning when we watch Ted Lasso. Sometimes the accents get in our way of understanding what was said!)
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Amanda Maki
9/3/2021 06:32:56 am
Yes!! I am a visual learner as well. I'm so visual that I put my glasses on in the night if I hear a sound so I can hear it better. I just have to see! I also found out that I watch people's mouths for the visual input as a coping strategy, which made masks very difficult for me. I literally felt like I couldn't hear correctly, though it had nothing to do with whether that persons voice sounded muffled.
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Toni
9/3/2021 09:01:21 am
Great share! I'm also a visual learner. Love all the resources out there for us to use for our students. This was a great reminder to use the closed caption when working with students that can't grasp things fast.
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Kelly Farley
9/3/2021 09:33:32 am
Thank you for the tips to use in the classroom! I appreciate you sharing your story and offering some ideas. All of the tips you offered are super easy to incorporate into every day instruction. One of the things I admire most about you is how hard you work to do what is best for all students!
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Jennifer DeLaRosa
9/4/2021 12:37:16 pm
I love the idea of having directions in print (in their hands) at the same time I am verbalizing them. This is also one more way to present as much text as we can to improve their reading. Thanks for the post, Kourtnie!
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