How Instructional Audio Amps Up Physical Education Classes
May 19, 2025 | Amber Reynolds, Summit View Elementary School
Portable instructional audio technology helps physical education teachers overcome critical barriers to listening
Key points:
- Research has shown a critical link between hearing clearly and learning
- Instructional audio can boost confidence in the classroom
- How I build relationships with students using instructional audio
- For more on classroom edtech, visit eSN’s Digital Learning hub
Effective communication is essential for physical education teachers to engage and teach K-12 students. P.E. teachers work with diverse groups, often with varying language backgrounds and ability levels, in both indoor and outdoor settings.
Clear verbal and nonverbal communication build trust and respect, making students feel heard and helping them more effectively develop motor skills. It also supports in class management and delivering clearer instruction. While communication challenges can arise for physical education teachers, technology like mobile instructional audio systems can increase communication, boosting motivation, performance, and overall classroom connection for all students.
Instructional audio refers to wireless audio systems that evenly distribute a speaker’s voice throughout a space via an amplifier and speaker, making it easier for students to hear and comprehend a teacher’s instruction. This technology was introduced more than 30 years ago to provide low-volume, highly intelligible speech throughout a classroom. Some instructional audio systems, such as the Lightspeed Mobile PA, are portable, all-in-one systems providing flexibility for both indoor and outdoor use. These “grab and go” units include wireless microphones that teachers and students use to amplify their voices as they move about a room. Some models also include Bluetooth technology that connects to other devices, including laptops and mobile phones, and others can wirelessly connect to compatible speakers or other mobile systems to expand coverage for larger spaces as needed.
During their instruction, physical education teachers frequently turn their bodies and voices away from students, making it difficult for students to hear what they’re saying. At the same time, ambient noise from scuffling feet, bouncing balls, or chatter from other students can quickly muffle and fatigue a teacher’s voice. Just as students rely on a teacher’s voice in a traditional classroom for success, the same is true in physical education classes, whether in the gym or on the field.
Research over the past 40 years has highlighted the critical link between hearing clearly and learning. Children need to hear at least 90 percent of what is said by their teachers to fully absorb the information, and young students, particularly those aged 6 to 9, often struggle to distinguish voices amid background noise. In educational settings–especially in physical education, where noise from activity and movement can overwhelm instruction–amplifying a teacher’s voice by 5 to 15 decibels above ambient noise helps capture students’ attention by minimizing competing sounds and movements.
The benefits extend beyond students. Researchers Joseph J. Smaldino and Carol Flexer found that amplifying teachers’ voices with instructional audio systems improves vocal endurance, reduces fatigue, and enhances voice clarity. These systems can also decrease teacher absenteeism due to voice and throat problems by 8 to 13 percent.
Physical education teachers can overcome many communication barriers by using instructional audio. In one school, a physical education teacher had found that adding music to activities like jump rope, square dancing, and basketball lessons motivated the children and encouraged them to move more; however, it could be difficult to communicate with students over the music. For a year, she piloted a mobile instructional audio unit in her K-6 classes, aiming to make classes as accessible and inclusive for her students as possible. In doing so, she was able to connect her phone to a portable instructional audio system via Bluetooth and stream music over the speaker. This enabled her to continue playing music without interruption, allowing her to seamlessly continue her lesson.
Instructional audio also allowed the teacher a better means to facilitate two-way communication. By sharing her wireless microphone with other students, the teacher was able to help her students engage more deeply in lessons and ensure they could be heard by their peers. She reported that it also helped a hard-of-hearing kindergarten student understand her better, without shouting or straining her voice. The portable devices also allow teachers to maintain clear communication with their students if they split their class into groups.
Yet not all instructional audio technology includes the same features or functions in the same way. When considering which instructional audio units to implement, it’s important for physical education teachers to consider which features are most important
Adopting a system that uses Bluetooth technology allows teachers to leverage other technology, including wireless microphones and phones, laptops, or devices that play audio and video. This pairs well with systems that include a “voice priority” feature, which lets teachers automatically speak and be heard over music or other audio.
Lightweight, portable units that can be quickly moved and used in different spaces both in- and outdoors to ensure teachers’ voices can be heard during all lessons and classes. Units that include portable microphones allow teachers to move freely about the gym or field, exercise with students, and give them the opportunity to speak to their classmates.
Instructional audio units are valuable not only for physical education courses but also for a variety of other school settings. Educators can use them to make announcements at games, in lunchrooms, or in lines, among other applications. Highlighting these potential uses can help principals and school leaders recognize the versatility and relevance of these portable units across different areas of the school.
Physical education develops students’ motor skills and shapes physical activity and fitness behaviors. It’s not feasible for learning spaces to be 100 percent free of noise or distractions, yet students must understand what their physical education teachers are saying. Portable instructional audio technology can transform teaching and learning, helping physical education teachers can overcome critical barriers to listening and supercharge their lessons.