Section 4: Teaching to determine crossable gaps --
Page 2 of 16 Self-Study Guide | OUTLINE | INDEX | Section 1 | Section 2 | Section 3 | Section 4 |Section 5 | REVIEW |
USING HEARING
to determine when it is "clear to cross"
Know what to listen for and "tune in" to those sounds
Students can greatly improve their ability to hear approaching vehicles with experience -- as Daniel Kish says, people develop a knack for it when they listen intently on a regular basis.
For example, at my street-crossing workshops I've noticed that those who regularly listen for traffic to cross streets can hear the approaching vehicles much sooner than those who do not.
Suggestions:
- Have the student listen for approaching traffic, and record the detection-to-arrival times of the vehicles that are heard when it is quiet.
After listening intently for a while, the times of detection-to-arrival will probably get longer as the student learns to "tune into" the sound of the approaching traffic.
- Daniel Kish suggests that turning the head periodically can greatly improve the detection of minute sounds, especially against a noisy background such as wind or other traffic sounds.
Perhaps the reason this is effective is because it shifts or refreshes the sound, which attracts the brain's attention to it.
- Daniel Kish also suggests stepping back or forward, listening to find the best position to hear the vehicles -- this may also avoid or reduce any blocking of the sound of the vehicles.
NOTE: The APH program Crossings with No Traffic Control: Teaching Concepts and Skills to Deal with Them has stereophonic high-fidelity recordings of approaching vehicles.
Click here to see it being used remotely to help a student identify the sound of the vehicles earlier.