Hi all,
I can recommend a few options that may accommodate the student's needs without needing extra vetting for potential cheating.
1) Sound Masking using white noise / other generic background noise
This would do the job of blocking out any external background noise. Here are a few websites that can provide an endless stream of white noise and/or other ambient noises for study purposes:
- http://asoftmurmur.com/ (ambient sounds available include rain, thunder, waves, wind, fire, birds, crickets, coffee shop, singing bowl and white noise)
- https://rainymood.com/ (rain, can be mixed with music e.g. classical piano music)
- http://soundrown.com/ (coffee shop, rain, waves, fire, birds, night, train, fountain, white noise, playground)
2) Music
Some people find that white noise/other generic background noise can be just as distracting as the natural background noises of the exam room. In my experience, students with ADHD who struggle with concentration often need something more stimulating and usually prefer something with a 'beat' that helps them maintain momentum and a sense of time passing, and your student may similarly find that using 'noise' alone to block out external distractions may not help with concentration as much as 'music' does. If this is the case, I would recommend offering the student a selection of soundtracks from videogames, which are designed to provide a stimulating background that doesn't affect concentration. For example:
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M3hFN8UrBPw (hour long game soundtrack)
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MkzeOmkOUHM (90 minute game soundtrack)
I am not personally familiar with it, but I know that there is a body of research that suggests that music paced at around 60 beats per minute also maximises productivity, so unfamiliar classical (instrumental) music of this pace could also be an option here.
3) 'Muzak'/Background soundscapes
This is the name for music that is primarily intended to be passively listened to, in order to supplement the main focus of an audience. I would recommend Music for Airports by Brian Eno which was designed to put passengers at ease in an often stressful situation. You can get the album from amazon or find it on youtube here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vNwYtllyt3Q .
This may all seem fairly foreign and I am conscious that it is a rather niche area of interest! I don't have much expertise other than a joint honours degree in Music and Education with a focus on inclusion, and personal experience of supporting students with ADHD. However, this is an adjustment that I feel is relatively easy to provide (and thus very reasonable) and which can make a big difference for some students in exam conditions, so I hope the information I've provided here might be useful to that end.
Best,
Poppy Ellis Logan (she/her/hers)
City and Hackney Mind
8-10 Tudor Road
London
E9 7SN
-----Original Message-----
From: Discussion list for disabled students and their support staff. [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of DIS-FORUM automatic digest system
Sent: 05 March 2017 00:01
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Subject: DIS-FORUM Digest - 3 Mar 2017 to 4 Mar 2017 (#2017-35)
There are 3 messages totaling 475 lines in this issue.
Topics of the day:
1. Reasonable Adjustments Advice (3)
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Date: Sat, 4 Mar 2017 13:03:07 GMT
From: Lucia Evans <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: Reasonable Adjustments Advice
Hi All,
We have a student on our Part time course who is diagnosed as dyslexic and has requested to be able to listen to music using headphones during written exams to help 'block out the noise of the room'. His diagnostic assessment does state that he struggles with concentration and that environmental noise could cause a distraction so a separate exam room is recommended. We have agreed a separate room however if we allowed him to listen to music we would have it pre uploaded onto the laptop we provide for exams and someone would have to listen to it all to ensure there was no cheating happening which would be very resource intensive.
Is this something which anyone else has come across and would colleagues count this as reasonable? It has been suggested that we provide the student with ear plugs to minimise any noise distraction instead of the music option which seems to be a better solution, but I would be interested to hear what others thought.
Thanks
Lucia
Lucia Evans
Student Support Manager
The British School of Osteopathy
email: [log in to unmask]
0207 089 5334
Visit our web site at http://www.bso.ac.uk for latest news and information, and to find out about our range of courses and patient services. Europe's oldest school of osteopathy, the British School of Osteopathy (BSO) educates osteopaths, promotes research and treats patients. It delivers over 35,000 patient appointments each year, in the UK's largest osteopathic clinic, providing affordable and accessible osteopathic treatment to the South East London community and beyond.
An Exempt Charity under the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE).
Registered in England & Wales.Company Number 146343 for a full DISCLAIMER in regard to this email see http://opac.bso.ac.uk/Infoshare/BSO-ALL/disclaimer.htm
------------------------------
Date: Sat, 4 Mar 2017 13:06:33 +0000
From: Penny Georgiou <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: Re: Reasonable Adjustments Advice
Hello Lucia,
Perhaps, he could name the performers and you provide the specific copies that he listens to...
Kind regards,
Penny
On 4 Mar 2017 13:03, "Lucia Evans" <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
Hi All,
We have a student on our Part time course who is diagnosed as dyslexic and has requested to be able to listen to music using headphones during written exams to help 'block out the noise of the room'. His diagnostic assessment does state that he struggles with concentration and that environmental noise could cause a distraction so a separate exam room is recommended. We have agreed a separate room however if we allowed him to listen to music we would have it pre uploaded onto the laptop we provide for exams and someone would have to listen to it all to ensure there was no cheating happening which would be very resource intensive.
Is this something which anyone else has come across and would colleagues count this as reasonable? It has been suggested that we provide the student with ear plugs to minimise any noise distraction instead of the music option which seems to be a better solution, but I would be interested to hear what others thought.
Thanks
Lucia
Lucia Evans
Student Support Manager
The British School of Osteopathy
email: [log in to unmask]
0207 089 5334
Visit our web site at http://www.bso.ac.uk for latest news and information, and to find out about our range of courses and patient services. Europe's oldest school of osteopathy, the British School of Osteopathy (BSO) educates osteopaths, promotes research and treats patients. It delivers over 35,000 patient appointments each year, in the UK's largest osteopathic clinic, providing affordable and accessible osteopathic treatment to the South East London community and beyond.
An Exempt Charity under the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE).
Registered in England & Wales.Company Number 146343 for a full DISCLAIMER in regard to this email see http://opac.bso.ac.uk/ Infoshare/BSO-ALL/disclaimer.htm
------------------------------
Date: Sat, 4 Mar 2017 17:05:52 +0000
From: Claire Wickham <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: Re: Reasonable Adjustments Advice
He could give you the tracks and you could create a play list on Spotify?
BW
Claire
Sent from my Sony Xperia™ smartphone
---- Penny Georgiou wrote ----
>Hello Lucia,
>
>Perhaps, he could name the performers and you provide the specific
>copies that he listens to...
>
>Kind regards,
>
>Penny
>
>
>On 4 Mar 2017 13:03, "Lucia Evans" <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>
>Hi All,
>
>We have a student on our Part time course who is diagnosed as dyslexic
>and has requested to be able to listen to music using headphones during
>written exams to help 'block out the noise of the room'. His diagnostic
>assessment does state that he struggles with concentration and that
>environmental noise could cause a distraction so a separate exam room
>is recommended. We have agreed a separate room however if we allowed
>him to listen to music we would have it pre uploaded onto the laptop we
>provide for exams and someone would have to listen to it all to ensure
>there was no cheating happening which would be very resource intensive.
>
>Is this something which anyone else has come across and would
>colleagues count this as reasonable? It has been suggested that we
>provide the student with ear plugs to minimise any noise distraction
>instead of the music option which seems to be a better solution, but I
>would be interested to hear what others thought.
>
>Thanks
>Lucia
>
>Lucia Evans
>Student Support Manager
>
>The British School of Osteopathy
>email: [log in to unmask]
>0207 089 5334
>
>
>
>
>Visit our web site at http://www.bso.ac.uk for latest news and
>information, and to find out about our range of courses and patient
>services. Europe's oldest school of osteopathy, the British School of
>Osteopathy (BSO) educates osteopaths, promotes research and treats
>patients. It delivers over 35,000 patient appointments each year, in
>the UK's largest osteopathic clinic, providing affordable and
>accessible osteopathic treatment to the South East London community and beyond.
>
>An Exempt Charity under the Higher Education Funding Council for
>England (HEFCE).
>Registered in England & Wales.Company Number 146343 for a full
>DISCLAIMER in regard to this email see http://opac.bso.ac.uk/
>Infoshare/BSO-ALL/disclai
------------------------------
End of DIS-FORUM Digest - 3 Mar 2017 to 4 Mar 2017 (#2017-35)
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