Abstract
Deaf and hard of hearing (DHH) persons are underrepresented in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). One of the major barriers to STEM careers is DHH students' extremely low college graduation rates. While social and literacy barriers play a critical role in this phenomenon, student autonomy has also been cited as a major contributor. DHH students have been characterized as dependent learners, a learning style possibly reinforced by reliance on adults for disproportionate amounts of information, as well as a tendency of deaf educators to teach in highly structured, explicit manners. Dependent learning styles can impede autonomy at the college level and also run counter to current conceptualizations of scientific inquiry. For DHH students to succeed in science, they must develop habits of mind consistent with those of practicing scientists and demonstrate high levels of inquiry. This study utilized frameworks of learning style and science inquiry to identify the salient features of autonomy and inquiry in deaf science classrooms with the goal of isolating pedagogical strategies to foster these skills. Applying a general inductive approach, this instrumental cross-case study looks at three earth science classrooms located in three high schools for deaf students. Videos of instructional periods were taken and analyzed for each classroom. Findings suggest that teacher facilitation of inquiry plays a major role in DHH students' apparent learning style and ability to negotiate scientific problem- solving. A model describing teacher facilitation of autonomy and inquiry is developed and recommendations for fostering inquiry and autonomy are identified.
Highlights
The purpose of this study is to explore the linkage between scientific inquiry teaching and the development of student autonomy and inquiry in Deaf and hard of hearing (DHH) classes guided by the following research questions: 1. How does teachers’ facilitation of inquiry-based science teaching promote students’ inquiry experiences in a deaf science class?
Research has suggested that DHH students tend to be dependent learners favoring teacher-centered classrooms (Lang, et al, 1999)
When looking at the qualities that authentic scientific inquiry fosters, such as curiosity, ability to deal with uncertainty, persistence, independence and interdependence, and ability to engage in debate and discourse, it becomes clear that the habits of mind of scientists engaging in inquiry encompass many of the skills necessary for DHH students to succeed in higher education
Summary
The purpose of this study is to explore the linkage between scientific inquiry teaching and the development of student autonomy and inquiry in DHH classes guided by the following research questions: 1. How does teachers’ facilitation of inquiry-based science teaching promote students’ inquiry experiences in a deaf science class?. This implies that teacher-dependent learners would benefit from explicit direction and guidance to foster learning (Grasha, 1996) This approach appears in conflict with the tenets of scientific inquiry, which are based on open exploration, student-driven questioning and determination of problems, and teacher as facilitator rather than information giver (Linn, Davis, & Bell, 2004). This begs the question of how students who are dependent learners can ever gain autonomy, a necessary skill needed for both success in science and in higher learning, if teachers teach to their dependent style. Failure to become independent or autonomous in information gathering or decision-making creates barriers for DHH students in higher education in general and in STEM careers due to the nature of scientific inquiry
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