Deaf And Hard-of-hearing Students Research Articles

Development of a Graphic Design Learning Module for the Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing (DHH) Students Based on Technology and Learning Style in Malaysian TVET institutions.

Graphic Design is used in many industries and involves both the knowledge and skills in creating artefacts. Many Deaf and hard-of-hearing (DHH) students, especially in the Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) institutions are attracted in pursuing studies in this field, perhaps due to the visual nature of the course. However, learning graphic design is challenging for DHH students due to the technologies and teaching approach applied in these institutions. A module which was designed with experts, was implemented in a selected polytechnic which offered the graphic design course for the deaf and non-deaf students. The module used videos and other resources for the different learning styles, as well as a discussion platform on Padlet, and quizzes. An exploratory implementation study on 15 DHH students who volunteered to use the module was conducted. The students’ interactions were monitored and the results of their pre and post-tests during the implementation of the module was analysed to determine if the module was effective for learning. The findings indicate that students could use the module based on their learning styles and were active interacting on Padlet. The results of the pre and post-tests show a significant increase in scores, indicating the effectiveness of the module. Hence, the module has the potential to improve understanding in graphic design among DHH students. The findings have implications on the design of modules for DHH and special needs students. This is in line with TVET aspiration, which is to provide equal access to quality education for all. Further investigation should be done to determine whether the module could be used for other programs involving special needs students.

Teaching With Picture Books on Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Students'Creativity.

Studies have shown that teaching with picture books can help improve creativity development of deaf and hard-of-hearing (DHH) students. A quasi-experimental research design was applied in this study. Deaf and hard-of-hearing students in grades 3-6 from two cities, B and T, were selected as the samples in a pilot study. The Evaluation of Potential Creativity (EPoC) test tool (Ver. A) was applied to measure creativity through student performance on individual tests of divergent and integrative thinking. Following thirty 40-min lessons over 10weeks, the EPoC test tool (Ver. B) was used to measure student creativity in the experimental and control groups. The results showed the following: (1) the performance of DHH students was better on graphic divergence than on verbal divergence, (2) performance on the divergent dimensions of creativity was significantly higher for DHH students from the experimental group than the control group, and (3) there was no difference in integrative thinking between the two groups in the posttest. In practice, teachers could use picture books in their lesson plans to improve the creativity of DHH students that results from divergent thinking. Future research should focus on the development of creativity in DHH students through integrative thinking with a longer teaching intervention.

The Experiences of and Teaching Strategies for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Foreign Language Learners: A Systematic Review of the Literature

Although foreign language (FL) educational experiences for students with disabilities including deaf and hard of hearing (DHH) students, are becoming more common, there is little research available on this topic. The purpose of the present review was to identify research examining DHH students' FL learning experiences and teaching strategies used in the FL class to facilitate language learning. The search showed that few studies have explored this area, and even fewer have met quality standards. Among the existing studies, the results revealed that communication methods in FL class instruction that do not meet the communicative needs of DHH students can hinder learning and lead to demotivation. Conversely, the presence of individualized learning goals and an emphasis on reading and writing, over speaking and listening, appear to support FL learning. Finally, the use of technology is a promising tool for FL instruction.

Transfer of writing skills across genres among deaf and hard of hearing elementary writers

Thirty-seven deaf and hard of hearing (DHH) students in grades four through six participated in a year of Strategic and Interactive Writing Instruction, an approach to writing instruction designed to be responsive to DHH students’ unique language experiences and profiles. The current study investigated the transfer of writing skills between genres by analyzing participants’ recount, information report, and persuasive writing samples at four time points: at the beginning of the academic year, immediately before genre-focused instruction, at the end of 9 weeks of instruction in a genre, and 9 weeks after the conclusion of instruction in a genre. Results from the study demonstrate that DHH students transfer genre-specific writing skills between genres.

Sign Language in Light of Mathematics Education: An Exploration Within Semiotic and Embodiment Theories of Learning Mathematics.

Research rarely focuses on how deaf and hard of hearing (DHH) students address mathematical ideas. Complexities involved in using sign language (SL) in mathematics classrooms include not just challenges, but opportunities that accompany mathematics learning in this gestural-somatic medium. The authors consider DHH students primarily as learners of mathematics, and their SL use as a special case of language in the mathematics classroom. More specifically, using SL in teaching and learning mathematics is explored within semiotic and embodiment perspectives to gain a better understanding of how using SL affects the development, conceptualization, and representation of mathematical meaning. The theoretical discussion employs examples from the authors' work and research on geometry, arithmetic, and fraction concepts with Deaf German and Austrian learners and experts. The examples inform the context of mathematics teaching and learning more generally by illuminating SL features that distinguish mathematics learning for DHH learners.

Accessible Audiology Education, Part 3: Impact of Hearing Loss on Motivation and Self-Efficacy of AuD Students

Accessible Audiology Education, Part 3: Impact of Hearing Loss on Motivation and Self-Efficacy of AuD Students

The Impact of Pragmatic Delays for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Students in Mainstream Classrooms.

Increasingly, across the globe, deaf and hard of hearing (DHH) students are educated in mainstream schools using spoken language for communication. Classroom interactions require the use of sophisticated pragmatic language skills. Pragmatic skills can be delayed in DHH students and create challenges for the social and emotional adjustment of DHH students at school. School-aged DHH children may present to pediatric health care providers with concerns about communicating effectively and forming friendships with hearing school peers. This review of pragmatic research between school-aged DHH students and their typically hearing peers reveals that this group of students displays some well-developed pragmatic skills such as turn taking, questioning, seeking general clarifications, and using a range of turn types. In it, we identify key areas in which DHH students experience significant challenges in both the social use of language and expository interactions (involving descriptions or explanations) that characterize classroom communication. DHH students tend to dominate interactions and have challenges with being contingent on their partners' contributions. In addition, many DHH students display some difficulty with sequencing instructions and may use referents poorly, making it difficult for peers to follow their instructions and fully grasp their meaning. The conversation model is presented in this article as a guide for pediatric health care providers, clinicians, educators, and parents and/or caregivers to understand these pragmatic challenges. The model guides medical and education practitioners with the development of targeted intervention that will support these students' ability to interact with others, learn more effectively, and develop friendships.

Intervention Outcomes, Anxiety, Self-Esteem, and Self-Efficacy With DHH Students in Universities.

This article reports the impact of an online spiritual counseling (OSC) program in mitigating anxiety and building self-esteem and academic self-efficacy among deaf and hard-of-hearing (DHH) students in universities. Compared to online relaxation sessions, the OSC was more effective. Male DHH students and those whose parents were highly qualified exhibited less anxiety and higher self-esteem and self-efficacy at pretest (T1). Post-test (T2) male students having better educated parents responded better to the OSC. T2 anxiety was lower and self-esteem and academic self-efficacy was higher for liberal arts students and having stay-at-home parents compared with science and commerce students and whose parents worked outside home. Self-esteem was also positively moderated by better economic class and presence of siblings. Intervention compliance in terms of regular attendance and self-practice mediated the relationship between sociodemographic predictors and outcomes. Results support the biopsychosocial model and encourage the implementation of the OSC with DHH university students.

Co-constructing Belonging: ‘Voluntary Separation’ in Deaf and Immigrant Education in Japan

ABSTRACT This article explores educational integration and the ways in which ‘difference’ is accommodated in the mainstream Japanese education system by drawing upon two distinct cases of marginalised students: deaf and hard-of-hearing (DHH) students and immigrant students. One form of accommodation to aid the integration of these two groups into mainstream classrooms is ‘special support classes’ such as providing Japanese as a Second Language classes to recent immigrant students and speech training and academic support to DHH students. While ‘integration’ and, more recently, ‘inclusion’ practices are usually placed in a binary system with segregation in the form of separate schools or ‘schools within a school’, we argue that these separate educational spaces have important roles, meanings, and functions for marginalised students who re-imagine them as spaces of belonging (ibasho). Belonging is co-constructed in these physically and metaphorically separate spaces rather than in ‘mainstream’ ones in which they are academically integrated but socially isolated. By analysing the official role of support classes in ‘integrating’ students in mainstream settings, we explore the co-constructed meaning given to such spaces of ‘voluntary separation’ by marginalised students in the Japanese education system.

The Effects of a Vocabulary Intervention on Teaching Multiple-Meaning Words to Students Who Are d/Deaf and Hard of Hearing

Building vocabulary knowledge, especially breadth and depth of word meanings, is a crucial step in assisting students to read and comprehend print independently. A large body of research has documented the low reading achievement levels of a number of Deaf and hard-of-hearing (DHH) students. The goal of the present study was to examine the effects of a vocabulary intervention to teach 24 multiple-meaning words to fourth-grade DHH students in Saudi Arabia by utilizing a single-case experimental design (multiple probe design across participants). A total of 5 students with a profound hearing loss participated in the study. About 3 of 5 received the intervention, whereas two other students served as an additional control component and were administered the pretest and posttest only. The data showed that there was a significant improvement in the recognition and comprehension scores of students who received the intervention. In contrast, students who did not receive the intervention showed no significant improvement on the posttest.

Factors Related to Personal Resiliency in Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Adolescents.

Hearing loss is a risk factor for a child's appropriate psychosocial development but is not a risk factor for the development of resiliency. Thus, the aim of this research was to determine the level of resiliency, as well as its relation to internal and external factors, in deaf and hard-of-hearing (DHH) adolescents. The sample included 55 DHH students, 12-14years of age. Resiliency Scales for Children & Adolescents was used in this research. The obtained results showed that DHH students perceived their resiliency in the average range, except in subscales: Self-efficacy (within Sense of Mastery Scale), Social Support (within Sense of Relatedness Scale), Impairment (within Emotional Reactivity Scale) in which the results were within a higher range, and Recovery (within Emotional Reactivity Scale) in which the results were in a lower range.

DHH Students' Phoneme Repetition Awareness in Sentence Reading.

To examine deaf and hard-of-hearing (DHH) students' awareness of phoneme repetition in Chinese sentence reading, two experiments were conducted in the self-paced, moving-window reading paradigm. The materials comprised sentences in which Chinese characters that sequentially followed each other shared similar spelling initials and finals in Experiments 1 and 2, respectively. In comparison to hearing participants, DHH participants were more likely to find it more time-consuming to read sentences with, as opposed to without, phoneme repetitions. However, their difficulty in phonological processing seemed to be linked to their weakness at syntactic skilfulness, thus having a negative influence on their reading performance. It is concluded that Chinese DHH college students have developed a phoneme repetition awareness which is different from how hearing college students are aware of phoneme repetitions in Chinese sentence reading. It is implicated that DHH students are able to develop their own skills of phonological information processing in sentence reading as a result of many practices.

Teachers’ perspectives on the education of deaf and hard of hearing students in India: A study of Anushruti

Deaf and Hard of Hearing (DHH) students represent a group of people whose specific educational needs have remained unaddressed in the Indian educational system. This fieldwork-based study was conducted at Anushruti Academy for the Deaf (AAD), a school for DHH students located in the city of Roorkee in India. It relies on observations of these children in classroom settings and in-depth interviews with their teachers to foreground the major debates concerning various aspects of their education. Issues of language and speech acquisition, methods of teaching, dialectical relationship of students to technology and experiences of stigma are used to bring forth their lived experiences. The study underscores the need for establishing a linkage between a unifying language and academic content development. This will enhance DHH students’ access to different academic disciplines and enable them to transcend elementary levels of achievements.

Communicating about science and engineering practices and the nature of science: An exploration of American Sign Language resources

AbstractScience classrooms have been demonstrated to be educational contexts with unique and challenging language demands. Enhanced cognitive and linguistic demands arising from an emphasis on the science and engineering practices (SEPs) and the nature of science (NOS) in the Next Generation Science Standards warrant consideration of how to support students with different language abilities. Deaf and Hard of Hearing (DHH) students must negotiate multiple languages in the science classroom, including academic science vocabulary, written English, and spoken American Sign Language (ASL). However, science‐specific ASL vocabulary is rather limited, and current development efforts mostly focus on developing signs for more traditional content vocabulary. Yet, effective science instruction for DHH students must also provide them opportunities to engage in and communicate about the NOS and the functions of the SEPs. The current study explores the availability of such ASL resources across a body of science‐specific resources available for teachers of DHH students. Reviewing a body of publicly available resources, researchers identified a small list of 21 ASL signs that are common across multiple resources. These signs, and the larger data set, were reviewed to identify trends and patterns across them and how well they communicate scientific meanings for NOS and the SEPs. Issues that emerged and classroom implications are discussed.

Science in Silence: How Educators of the Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Teach Science

Science learning is inextricably tied to two aspects of students’ lives: literacy and culture. While English Learners (ELs) who speak a non-English native language are typically the focus in this line of scholarly inquiry, deaf and hard-of-hearing (DHH) students occupy a distinct space in this conversation. For DHH learners, literacy levels can be hindered by an early dependence on a more survival-based language learning model that postpones basic scientific inquiry. The vocabulary for curiosity is limited, which in turn affects the educational culture. DHH learners have a unique culture that demands an appropriate science curriculum, which thus far has not been explored or attempted for either DHH learners or their educators. Data collected consisted of interviews with teachers of DHH students, as well as observational data collected from a high-minority urban K-8 school for DHH students. The analysis revealed that, first, many of the teachers had limited preparation to teach science content. Second, DHH teachers used inconsistent instructional strategies ranging from drawing pictures to building models. Third, the modifications provided to DHH science learners were mostly limited to visual support and repetition. Implications for teacher education programs include instruction focused on specific supports for DHH students and co-teaching methods, and deeper investigation of inquiry-based science practices. Implications for classroom practices include providing hands-on, inquiry-based instruction, working closely with parents, and developing students’ and teachers’ understanding of scientific inquiry.

Deaf and Hard of Hearing Students' Understanding of Causal and Adversative Connectives in Sentence Reading.

Deaf and hard of hearing (DHH) students tend to experience delayed development of grammatical skills in written language. However, much remains unknown about the mechanism behind this phenomenon. In the present study, the researchers used a self-paced moving-window reading task to investigate DHH students' understanding of causal and adversative connectives in Chinese. The students were similar to a hearing control group in their comprehension of the relationship between the clauses in a causal sentence. However, the DHH students were more likely than their hearing peers to find it harder to understand adversative connectives than causal connectives. More studies are needed to reveal how DHH students deal with other syntactic structures that are particularly difficult for them to learn. Educators should pay close attention to creating learning environments in which DHH students can acquire those syntactic structures in the process of using language.

Stavovi I motivacija gluvih I nagluvih učenika za učenje

The aim of this paper was to determine the attitudes and motivation for reading/writing and studying of deaf and hard of hearing (DHH) students and the relation of those attitudes and motivation to success at school. The sample included 47 DHH students, of both genders, 14 to 18 years of age. The Scale for examining interests and aspiration of students (Suzić, 2003) was used. The Scale consists of eight subscales with 20 statements/indicators of attitudes for activities: studying, sports, music, TV, entertainment, reading/ writing, love and dating, and social work. Ten statements refer to involvement in aforementioned activities and another ten refer to possibilities provided by those activities. Attitudes to reading/writing and studying were assessed and the correlation between those attitudes and the general school success was established. Data was processed by descriptive analysis, and Spearman's correlation coefcient was calculated. The result was a moderate correlation between DHH students' attitudes to reading/writing (ρ=0.61) and studying (ρ=0.55) and their general school success, and a moderately strong correlation between the perceived possibilities offered by these activities (reading/writing - ρ=0.46 and studying - ρ=0.36) and the general school success, at a significance level of p<0.05. According to survey results, it has been established that DHH students who understood the significance of reading, writing and studying better had more positive attitudes, were more involved in these activities, and thought they provided them with better possibilities. Furthermore, their motivation for studying was higher, as confirmed by their higher academic achievement.

Brief Report: What You See Is What You Get? Sign Language in the Mathematics Classroom

This Brief Report addresses the fundamental role that sign language plays in the mathematics classroom of deaf and hard-of-hearing (DHH) students. Selected findings are gathered from an ongoing study of signs and gestures used by DHH students and their teachers when encountering and communicating mathematical ideas at a German special-needs school that focuses on hearing and communication. The focus rests primarily on iconic aspects of mathematical ideas as reflected in the gestural–somatic modality of sign language. A categorization of iconicity in mathematical signs as used by the students is presented and used to reconstruct a case of meaning making in a Grade 5 geometry classroom. Insights gained from these observations lead beyond the DHH mathematics classroom by providing new perspectives on the interplay between language and communication, individual experience, and shared conceptualization.

Perspectives of Deaf and Hard of Hearing Viewers of Captions.

Educational rights and other rights enumerated in federal law support deaf and hard of hearing (DHH) viewers' access to captions in visual electronic media, yet uncaptioned and inadequately captioned media still exist. To determine what is satisfactory in captioned media and what could be improved to ensure access, data were gathered from focus group discussions with 20 DHH students who shared their perspectives on captions. The focus group analysis indicates that major topics of concern for DHH viewers include advocacy for captions and caption formatting preferences; the need for direct access to real-time videos, online videos, and other media; how captions influence and benefit DHH and hearing viewers; and captions' importance in public, educational, and other social/cultural spaces. The author concludes that DHH viewers' perspectives can help educators and advocates strengthen access to captions in education and society.

Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Learners in Emergency Medicine.

Approximately 23% of Americans over age 12 have some level of hearing loss.1 Emergency departments can reduce healthcare barriers for deaf and hard-of-hearing (DHoH) patients through improved patient-physician communication. DHoH students, once they become physicians, may provide one mechanism for reducing existing healthcare disparities and communication barriers for DHoH patients, and may be more adept with patients facing other communication barriers. A renewed interest in disability access and a commitment to social justice has increased efforts toward the inclusion of individuals with disabilities in medical education and training. Despite this increased interest and a growing number of DHoH students entering medical education, DHoH students continue to be dissuaded from specialty careers such as emergency medicine (EM) over concerns regarding effective communication and ability. Given the academic medicine communities’ commitment to diversity, a recounting of the successful inclusion of DHoH students in EM can benefit medical education and practice.In this account, the authors reflect on the successful experiences of a visiting DHoH medical student in an academic EM rotation at a Level I trauma hospital that serves a diverse population, and they identify the potential challenges for DHoH students in an EM setting, offer solutions including reasonable accommodations, and provide commentary on the legal requirements for providing full and equal access for DHoH students. We secured permission from the student to share the contents of this article prior to publication.