Listening to learn: a quantitative study of listening comprehension in the elementary classroom

Abstract

By week 25 in utero, the ears have developed enough for a fetus to respond to vibroacoustic stimulation (Birnholz, 2017). At first, it is mostly the mother's comforting heartbeat and voice that the fetus hears. Fast forward five or six years, and the young child enters his kindergarten classroom where he is expected to apply a wide range of listening skills that extend well beyond hearing. These skills may or may not naturally develop in a learner (Campbell, 2011;Tutolo, 1979). Hearing and listening, at times, are used interchangeably; they are not the same skill. Hearing involves the reception of sounds and is only a preliminary step in the listening process (Brownell, 2013). Listening, on the other hand, is described as a highly complex process involving a linkage from the ear to the brain often requiring conscious effort and is not something we can assume will develop automatically (Brownell & Wolvin, 2010).Listening can be broken down into a variety of types, including, discriminative, comprehensive, critical, appreciative, and therapeutic, to name a few. This study includes a comprehensive examination of only one type of listening, comprehensive listening, which is used in lecture or presentation situations for the purposes of acquiring information. While there are myriad definitions of listening, this project defines listening as, "the process of receiving, attending to, and assigning meaning to aural and visual stimuli" (Wolvin & Coakley, 1996, p. 69). This project utilizes quantitative research methodology to measure the effects of learning listening strategies in the intermediate elementary classroom during lecture types of presentations intended to impart information to learners. Significance of the ResearchListening is an essential component of communication. Effective listening can afford us enriching relationships, more enjoyment from our surroundings, academic success, and improved