My data seems inaccurate.

Understanding how LENA works can help you determine if the data is reflecting the classroom (even if surprising!) or if there may be something else going on. View the article "How LENA counts turns" for a general understanding of how LENA works.

 

For more specific questions, see the scenarios below. 

 

 

 

Quiet time data:

Each hourly bar shows any turns that happened at any time during that hour. Naptime can be tricky because kids may be quiet for a long time with zero turns, but the report might still show turns during those hours if they happened at the start or end of the nap.

Example:
A classroom had lunch from 11:45 to 12:15. After cleaning up, they started naptime. Most kids were asleep by 1:00, but one child needed a little help falling asleep, so a few turns showed up in the 1:00–2:00 hour. Later, one or two children woke up around 2:45, and the rest woke up closer to 3:30. This caused a few turns in the 2:00–3:00 hour and a bigger number of turns from 3:00–4:00. All children were picked up by 4:00.

So even though naptime was long and mostly quiet, the report still correctly shows the few turns that did happen.

Think of the device like a human ear.

Just like your hearing can be affected by things around you, the LENA device can also be affected by what’s happening in the classroom. Background noise, how close someone is, and how loudly they talk can all affect how well LENA picks up conversations. 

LENA is best at picking up “near and clear” talk between you and the children. It will not catch every word or every conversation that happens all day, and that’s normal.

Additionally, sometimes a device gets put on the wrong child, doesn't get turned on, or gets turned off early. These things happen-and they can affect your data!

If turns are lower than expected:

• Is the child talking a lot, but not having back-and-forth conversations with adults?

• Are the adults further away or turned away from the child?

• Is there a lot of background noise in the room?

• Was the device on and placed correctly in the vest?

If turns are higher than expected:

• How many kids were present at that hour? 

  LENA hourly averages can be affected by how many kids are present and how long each device is on.

• Is it the first or last hour of the day? 

  LENA reports an hourly average, but when less than an hour of audio is captured, it estimates the hourly rate based on the available turns. This can make the reported turns slightly higher or lower than expected.

• Was that child spending time with another adult during the day?

*You can always ask your co-teachers, center director, or coach to review your data with you for more support!*