These excerpts are from the public school foundation and its paired teacher development. They demonstrate the teaching approach, with the original learner scope retained. The specialist course previews below are separate materials.
Preview: Who needs to hear what?
Turn a school event request into a clear sound brief.
Learn
Live sound reinforcement helps a real audience hear a real event as it happens. Success is not the biggest meter reading. At an assembly, people need understandable words; at a performance, they need the featured part and a useful musical balance. The room already contains sound from voices, instruments and the audience. The PA adds to that sound. Your crew has four jobs: console operator, stage communicator, audience observer and recorder. Rotate them so everyone learns. A teacher or designated qualified adult authorizes equipment use and has the stop decision. Anyone may ask to stop if something feels wrong.
Listen and notice
Listen to a classmate read: “Welcome to our school showcase. Please keep the center aisle clear.” Listen from two approved classroom positions without amplification. Record the words you understood, not a judgment about the speaker’s voice. Compare observations before proposing equipment.
Try it · supervised practice
- Use this brief: 30 seated classmates, one presenter, one keyboard performance and one recorded music cue in a classroom. No public audience yet.
- Write the three messages or sounds the audience must hear. Identify performer, audience and crew needs separately.
- Assign the four rotating jobs and name the supervising adult. Agree on a visible stop signal and a spoken stop word.
- Draw the audience area and identify one place where hearing might be harder. Propose an observation to test that prediction.
If equipment is shared
Use an unamplified reading and a printed room map. Observation is legitimate evidence here; students need not disclose hearing conditions. Offer the script and visual instructions.
Go further
Rewrite the brief for a drama scene: what changes when performers move?
Classroom timing
5 minutes: retrieve the previous idea and read the goal. 10 minutes: explain and demonstrate. 25 minutes: rotate practice roles and repeat the test. 10 minutes: compare evidence, answer the check and receive feedback. Keep playback brief and allow quiet planning between tests.
Evidence
One-page event brief, crew rotation, stop signal and two listening observations.
Preview: Launch a supervised school sound crew
Define an age-appropriate course scope, supervision plan and accessible classroom routine.
Study
- This course prepares students aged 13–17 to operate a small teacher-approved audio system for a classroom event. It does not prepare minors to rig suspended equipment, distribute mains power, repair electronics or manage unsupervised public events. Start with one presenter and one musical source. Growth comes from more reliable reasoning and operation before more equipment.
- Teach the stop response before opening outputs. Establish who can mute, who authorizes restart, how concerns are reported and how the room returns to quiet work. Consult school procedures, the venue lead and equipment manuals. Sound exposure depends on level and duration; console meters and phone apps alone cannot certify safe listening conditions. Plan short, conservative checks, quiet breaks and an appropriate adult monitoring method. Do not use an entertainment-venue maximum as a classroom target.
- Make written scripts, visual cues and non-audio descriptions available. Students should not need to disclose hearing diagnoses publicly. Preserve essential practical decisions while adapting evidence, roles and handling with the school’s support team.
Demonstration script
- Say: “Our job is to help the audience hear the event. Anyone may call stop.” Show the approved mute with quiet playback, then show the silent version of the same drill.
- Ask: “Which actions belong to students, and which go to an adult?” Sort connector labeling, mains repair, level adjustment and elevated-speaker movement.
- Invite a learner to explain the stop/restart sequence. Correct one omission and have them repeat it.
Practice and teach back
- Write your class size, room, equipment, supervision and quiet-break plan. Identify the adult responsible for mains and speaker placement.
- Deliver a three-minute opening demonstration to a colleague or practice partner. Use the real approved controls for your own stop drill.
- Obtain feedback on clarity and accessibility; revise the opening and record actual participation.
Student lessons you will teach
- LSR-L01 · Who needs to hear what?. Goal: Turn a school event request into a clear sound brief. Practice: Use this brief: 30 seated classmates, one presenter, one keyboard performance and one recorded music cue in a classroom. No public audience yet. Write the three messages or sounds the audience must hear. Identify performer, audience and crew needs separately. Assign the four rotating jobs and name the supervising adult. Agree on a visible stop signal and a spoken stop word. Draw the audience area and identify one place where hearing might be harder. Propose an observation to test that prediction.
- LSR-L02 · The stop button is part of the job. Goal: Recognize when to mute, pause and ask the teacher. Practice: Sort these cards into student task, adult task or stop-and-report: label an unplugged mic cable; repair a cracked mains plug; move a raised speaker; lower a fader; report a burning smell; plan a clear aisle. Rehearse the stop signal with outputs muted. Point to the approved mute without changing unrelated controls. Inspect a disconnected training cable and its connector exterior. Tag a photographed or teacher-marked fault; never create a damaged cable. Write the adult handoff: what you observed, where, what you stopped and who was told.
- LSR-L03 · A stage plot people can use. Goal: Make a room plan with clear access and useful listening positions. Practice: Draw the classroom event from L01. Mark exits and aisles before equipment. Add presenter, keyboard, playback station, console and teacher-positioned loudspeaker. Use symbols and a legend. Number the sources and draw audio routes. Keep power planning as an adult responsibility on the map. Exchange maps with a partner. Ask them to trace the route to an exit and locate input 2. Revise any ambiguity.
Fictional classroom case
Fictional learner Sam correctly labels cables and names the adult supervisor, but says a loudness app proves the class can turn the PA up as much as it wants. Sam also proposes removing an earth pin to stop hum. Apply the L02 criteria: task ownership, stop procedure, fault reporting. Which can be accepted and which need a retest?
Participation plan
10 minutes study, 10 minutes demonstration preparation, 20 minutes practical rehearsal and teach-back, 10 minutes case scoring, 10 minutes revision and evidence record. Log actual active time and pauses. Final portfolio review is included in module 8.
Evidence
Your supervision and stop plan, a witnessed stop drill, and a scored response to Sam's unsafe earth-pin proposal.