Noise Canceling Headphones: Individual Behavior Supports for Music Class

I have a new addition to my classroom that has been a game-changer already: noise canceling headphones. If you are an elementary music teacher I highly recommend adding these to your classroom! Here are the specific headphones my school got, the storage method I found that I am in love with, and tips for implementing them effectively in your classroom so they provide support for students who need it without creating a major distraction for everyone else.

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What to Buy

The last few years I've had a few students who have noise-canceling headphones that they bring with them for when they need them at school, and it always seems like they leave them in their homeroom or forget them at home on the one day that they really could have used them. After experiencing this situation in my classroom with a new student at the beginning of the school year I went to my principal and asked if I could get a couple of headphones to keep in my classroom for when students forget to bring them with them, and she agreed! I talked to the special education teacher in my building and she recommended these headphones as a kind that seems to be comfortable and effective for most students. I was actually surprised at how cheap they are- I think I would have gotten them sooner if I had known! So far they seem to work well. I've had students of various ages and sizes use them and they all seem to find them pretty comfortable and effective.

Storage

Honestly though, the thing I've been most excited about is this hook for hanging headphones on the side of a desk/ table. I was looking around to figure out the best way to store the headphones in my classroom where they would be out of the way but also easily accessible, thinking I would get some kind of hook on the wall or something, and stumbled across these by accident. They are perfect (and, again, shockingly cheap)! The handle swivels so they can hang under the desk but students can spin it around to get them off the hook more easily. 

For my classroom this has been the perfect storage solution because I can keep 2 headphones on one hanger at the front of my classroom where I have a small table to put my laptop on when I'm teaching etc, and another one hanging from my teacher desk at the back of the classroom next to my calming corner area (the headphones come in a set of 3).

Appropriate Use

I think, as with anything like this, the key to making sure the headphones are used appropriately is in the presentation. At first I thought I would just keep the headphones tucked in the closet in case one of the students who normally brings them forgets their own, but I realized I probably have other students who get overstimulated in music and PE (which they always have back to back) and might need them during music class even though they don't need them the rest of the day, so I showed them to all of my students in every single class. 

I explained that the headphones were not for blocking out the lesson completely, but for lowering the volume for anyone who "the noise is hurting their brain". That explanation seemed to make sense for everyone 1st - 6th grade, I think in part because we have had a handful of students in self-contained classes who will start screaming and running away when an assembly gets too loud, for example, so they are familiar with what that looks like. 

In the 2 weeks or so since I introduced them to my students, there have definitely been classes where there are more students using them than maybe really and truly need them. That's fine. Any time there is something new, some students are going to want to test it out to see what it's like and discover for themselves whether it's something they want to use or not. Most of them have used them for a few minutes and then put them back, and seem satisfied. I've also found out that there are definitely students who, if they had had access to the headphones sooner, might have avoided some meltdowns the last few years. I can physically see their face and shoulders relax when they put them on. I can see how, long-term, this is going to be a game-changer for ability to be successful and feel comfortable in my classroom, and that has been huge.

But does it prevent students from hearing the things they do need to hear, like my instruction? So far, for the ones that are using them and really need them, no. And the students who put them on to try them out, realizing they can't hear everything else as well seems to be what prompts them to decide to take them off. After watching students use them the last few weeks I feel like I can tell which ones the headphones are really helping. They become so much more focused and attuned to my teaching and actually seem to hear me, without me speaking any louder, much better. It's truly very striking to see.

If you don't have any noise-cancelling headphones in your music classroom yet, I highly recommend asking your school about getting some! In my experience they are low-cost and easy to implement, don't seem to create the distraction that I feared they might, and have been very helpful for a lot more students than I initially anticipated. I think with more time with them my students and I will learn better when it's best to use them and when it isn't as well.

I am always looking for practical, manageable ways to provide individual supports for students in the elementary music classroom where we have to juggle hundreds of students and cycle through so many different classes back to back every day! Here are some of my other favorite individual support strategies for various needs and situations if you are looking for more ideas: