In April, Graham Park Middle School held their first STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) Exploration Day. A day dedicated to connecting local STEM professionals with seventh-grade students and fueling their interest in STEM fields.
Dr. Amy Goodwine was happy to help students gain hands-on experience in audiology by showing the students how to test each other’s hearing and heed the signs of hearing loss. Dr. Goodwine also demonstrated video otoscopy- an instrument with a miniaturized camera which allows an audiologist to examine a patient’s ear canal and tympanic membrane (ear drum) by projecting an image onto a computer monitor.
One of Starkey’s newest hearing aids, the Made-for-iPhone Halo hearing aids, allow you to stream phone calls, music and more, directly from your iPhone to your hearing aids. Dr. Goodwine helped the students ‘fit’ each other with Halo hearing aids while another classmate talked to them on a connected iPhone in the hallway.
The students instantly connected with the technological aspects of audiology. They thoroughly enjoyed demoing the Halo hearing aids with the iPhone and a number of them even told Dr. Goodwine they wanted hearing aids and they didn’t know they could be so cool.
Of course, being an audiologist means obtaining your doctorate. Dr. Goodwine explained that math and science skills are very important in the field of audiology and that students should focus on these skills and getting good grades.
Read more about how Graham Park Middle School puts meaning into Math and Science at first STEM Exploration Day in Triangle, Virginia.