Teaching and the Curriculum

Abstract

We have discussed how the education of deaf children depends on their characteristics as well as on the characteristics of parents, teachers, and school programs that serve those children. We have summarized a variety of studies that have implications for parents, teachers, and educational administrators with regard to fostering communication skills, cognitive growth, and social interaction by deaf children. The available evidence supports the need for strong early intervention programs that provide the experiential diversity critical for development across the life span and for achievement in a variety of educational settings. Chapter 8 dealt with the specific educational challenges confronting deaf students in reading and writing. The message there was that English literacy needs to be considered broadly, as it affects both learning and success in a variety of areas, both academic and nonacademic. In chapter 8, we also discussed implications for curriculum materials and particular teaching emphases. Now, we turn to some best practices for teaching and curriculum development in content areas such as science, mathematics, and social studies and show how information in the previous chapters comes together in the dayto-day activities of students and teachers. As we have seen, available research findings indicate the need to exercise caution when deaf learners are placed in inclusive academic environments. Deaf students have specific needs that may not be met adequately if it is assumed that, aside from communication differences, deaf students and hearing students are the same. This is not a point to be raised only with regard to mainstream classrooms; it is a complex issue that needs to be addressed throughout the educational system. To set the stage for the remainder of this chapter, let us review some salient points which emerged from earlier chapters and were seen as key in understanding the teaching and learning of deaf students: • Deaf students have different experiences that may influence how they view and interact with the world. • A diversity of both object-oriented and person-oriented experiences is crucial to normal development. • Deaf students depend more on visual information, but they also may be more prone to distraction than hearing peers in the visual domain.