Parental training and involvement in sexuality education for students who are deaf

The study examined whether schools for the deaf were providing services to assist parents in communicating with their children about sexuality (including sexual signs) and whether parents were involved in the sexuality education curriculum within their child's school. The Sexuality Curriculum Questionnaire for Educators of Students Who Are Deaf (Getch & Gabriel, 1998) was completed by 71 educators teaching sexuality curricula in schools for the deaf across the United States. Results indicated that parents were more likely to be involved in approval and development of their children's sexuality education than to receive assistance with sexuality education from the schools. Although the level of parental participation in curriculum development and approval is encouraging, the number of parents actually participating in curriculum development and approval remains low.     

A rationale and recommendations for sexuality education in schools for students who are deaf

The authors evaluate and advocate the need for comprehensive sexuality education that meets the unique needs of youth who are deaf or hard of hearing, while calling for the expansion of teacher preparation in this critical area. Effective comprehensive sexuality education is designed to prepare young people to become more comfortable with, and informed about, their sexuality. Teachers and parents are key adults in this process. However, the responsibility for preparing teachers to handle sexuality education lies with both the postsecondary teacher preparation program and the administrative team at the individual school; their willingness to provide comprehensive training, current resources, and continued support are crucial to the success of any comprehensive sexuality program. In the individual school, effective guidance of youth who are deaf or hard of hearing in making appropriate decisions about their sexuality is built upon a team that includes not only school staff, but also parents and deaf adults in the community.     

Diversity in deafness: Assessing students who are deaf or hard of hearing

The purpose of this article is to support members of a student's multidisciplinary team to identify complex factors involved in providing valid classroom-based assessment data, including issues surrounding technology-based assessment for students who are deaf or hard of hearing (DHH). The diversity of this population creates unique challenges in creating guidelines for assessment. An overview of the diversity of DHH students is used to provide a framework for examining current assessment practices, including both effective and ineffective practices. Cognitive and linguistic learning differences and diverse language learning experiences in the population are discussed as they relate to assessment protocols. Paralleling technology-based learning experiences with comparable technology-based assessment experiences is also presented. Recommendations for planning for accessible and meaningful assessment include the use of innovative technologies to align instruction and assessment.     

Physical education for deaf students

An ideal physical education program would be one that focuses on aspects leading to lifelong participation in and enjoyment of physical activity accompanied by appropriate fitness levels. Often, physical education classes are the only physical activity that many children receive throughout the day, and without them, an even greater number of children, including those who are deaf, would be prone to aspects associated with sedentary lifestyles. Schools need to involve their students in daily physical education classes. The emphasis of such a program should be placed on promoting physical fitness and developing skills that lead to a lifelong enjoyment of physical activity and healthy lifestyles. This paper reviews the literature on the state of physical fitness among deaf students and describes an exemplary physical education program that was implemented at a school for deaf children.     

Applying critical thinking skills to character education and values clarification with students who are deaf or hard of hearing

Students who are deaf or hard of hearing must learn to think critically. Character education (CE) refers to the effort to teach basic values and moral reasoning (Doyle & Ponder, 1977). Values clarification (VC) is the process of examining one's basic values and moral reasoning (Rokeach, 1973). Character education and values clarification as subject matter foster the development of critical thinking (CT), a tool used both to develop and to modify values and moral reasoning. These three areas mutually support one another. The development of a set of values and their underlying moral reasoning is the foundation for thinking critically about values. The authors examine the components of critical thinking, character education, and values clarification, summarize the literature, and provide a template for appropriate lesson plans. They also describe strategies that promote the development of critical thinking, character education, and values clarification.     

Three suggested teaching strategies for students who are deaf or hard of hearing

This paper addresses current issues in deaf education including poor academic progress and employment outcomes of individuals who are deaf and hard of hearing (D/HH) as well as provides suggestions for improving overall academic achievement of this population. Specifically, three instructional strategies are recommended for teachers: choral responding, response cards, and peer tutoring. These three strategies have been shown to increase active student responding in classrooms for children who are typically developing and children who have disabilities. For international deaf students in countries that may rely on volunteers who lack basic requisite skills these general education teaching strategies are easy to use even by novice teachers. Recommendations are tendered for how teachers can include these simple teaching strategies in classrooms serving students who are D/HH.     

Implementing a successful writing program in public schools for students who are deaf.

A 2-year project to improve the writing skills of children who are deaf included instruction for teachers in the process approach to teaching writing. The project encompassed 10 public school programs for students who are deaf and included 325 students in Grades 4-10 and 52 teachers. The project included specific training goals for teachers, a self-report procedure for the teachers, and a data-collection and analysis phase to assess short-term effects on students' writing. Teacher self-reports indicated widespread involvement in the project, and pretest and posttest results showed dramatic improvement in students' writing--particularly in grammatical skills. Scoring systems for students' papers are included.     

Assessing resilience in students who are deaf or blind: Supplementing standardized achievement testing

Although testing accommodations for standardized assessments are available for students with disabilities, interpretation remains challenging. The authors explored resilience to see if it could contribute to the interpretation of academic success for students who are deaf or hard of hearing or blind or have low vision. High school students (30 deaf, 11 blind) responded to the Resiliency Scales and a school-specific resilience survey. Student ratings were within 1 SD of those who were not deaf or blind; resilience was positively correlated with academic success (grade point average). Resilience information may contribute to the interpretation of academic success in students who are deaf or blind and may provide insight into potential interventions. This is the first time students who are deaf or blind have been assessed on a published measure of resilience. Results defy stereotypes and affirm that individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing or blind or have low vision have more in common with the hearing and seeing world than is often recognized.     

The signed reading fluency of students who are deaf/hard of hearing

Reading fluency in deaf children whose primary mode of communication is visual, whether English-like or American Sign Language, is difficult to measure since most measures of fluency require a child to read aloud. This article opens the discussion of a new construct, namely, signed reading fluency (i.e., rendering of printed text in a visually fluent manner) in children with hearing loss whose primary means of expressive language includes some form of sign. Further, it describes the development of an assessment rubric to measure signed reading fluency. A comparison of fluency scores and scores on tests of vocabulary and text comprehension of 29 middle school students who attended a school for the deaf indicated that signed reading fluency, as defined and measured by this instrument, correlates highly both with word and passage comprehension.     

Using verbal protocols to identify the reading strategies of students who are deaf

The purpose of this study was to identify the reading strategies used by students who are deaf by investigating their self-reported thinking during reading. The participants were 10 elementary students attending a residential state school for the deaf. After each page of reading a short story, the participants were asked to think aloud (or think visibly, in the case of sign language). Analysis of these verbal reports indicated that the participants constructed meaning, monitored comprehension and activated strategies to improve comprehension, and evaluated, but did not demonstrate, each reading strategy within these three classifications. They engaged in a considerably greater variety of reading strategies for constructing meaning than for the other two classifications.     

Comparing practical knowledge storage of deaf and hearing teachers of students who are deaf or hard of hearing

Especially in the education of students who are deaf or hard of hearing, teachers' practical knowledge storage is almost never measured. The Survey of Practical Knowledge was used to compare the practical knowledge storage of deaf and hearing teachers of these students. Surveyed were 48 deaf and 115 hearing individuals at the preservice and in-service experience levels. Practical knowledge storage was defined as images, rules of practice, and practical principles. Results indicate that deaf teachers tend to view students as equals but are more likely to emphasize control over classroom behavior than hearing teachers. Hearing teachers tend to stress efforts to engage students in subject matter by providing variety and relating it to life experiences. Given the trend toward high-stakes testing of teachers, further research is encouraged on role differences between deaf and hearing teachers working with students who are deaf or hard of hearing.     

Views from the field: program directors' perceptions of teacher education and the education of students who are deaf or hard of hearing

Arandom sample of directors of programs for the deaf in North America were surveyed to get their views about the skills that teacher education programs need to be teaching future teachers of students who are deaf or hard of hearing. The directors were queried about literacy practices, classroom management strategies, and communication strategies used in their programs, and were encouraged to comment freely on the questionnaire items presented to them. Program directors predicted a need for more itinerant and resource teachers. The survey also revealed that programs for the deaf are highly behaviorist (i.e., You do this and you'll get that) in the way they induce students to learn and in how they manage student behavior.     

Considerations in educating deaf and hard-of-hearing students in inclusive settings

This article provides an overview of key issues pertinent to an inclusive approach to the education of deaf students in order to establish a context for interpreting and integrating the articles in this issue. It discusses definitions of inclusion, integration, and mainstreaming from placement-related, philosophical, and pragmatic perspectives. The article provides demographic information pertinent to an inclusive approach. It also compares perspectives on inclusion in the general field of special education with those in the education of deaf and hard-of-hearing students. It considers the challenges of using an inclusive approach to achieve academic and social integration of students, as based on research on the learning and adjustment of deaf and hard-of-hearing students in regular classes. The article concludes with an overview of the topics addressed in the issue.     

Using technology to educate deaf and hard of hearing children in rural Alaskan general education settings

Teachers in Alaskan rural schools were surveyed on their use of instructional technology. The surveyed teachers included the entire population of certified elementary and secondary school classroom teachers of deaf and hard of hearing students in these schools. Respondents generally were older, more experienced, elementary level female teachers who were relatively well educated. Almost half of the respondents held special education certification; about 25% had an endorsement in deaf education. Data analysis indicates that educators who use instructional technology, either in curriculum or broad agenda formats, may be older, hold an advanced degree and secondary education certification, benefit from in-service training on site, are connected to the Internet, and actively use the technology available at their schools. Most of the surveyed educators identified lack of training in the use and integration of software as a barrier to increased classroom use of technology. Based on the study findings, recommendations are made concerning the training needs of teachers in rural Alaska.     

Math in motion: origami math for students who are deaf and hard of hearing

This article aims to provide an overview of the use of origami in teaching mathematics to deaf and hard-of-hearing students. The author posits that in both the general and special education settings, origami can be very useful for students who are deaf and hard of hearing as many of them need to see and feel to learn and are likely to be concrete learners. Suggestions about how to conduct an origami math lesson for deaf and hard-of-hearing students are included in this article.     

Healthy families of children who are deaf

Families provide the building blocks for the development of healthy, happy, competent children. The purpose of the present study was to identify and interview healthy families of children who were deaf. The researchers were interested in identifying factors that contribute to families' health as well as in collecting suggestions for other families with children who are deaf and for professionals in the field of deaf education. Nineteen families, all nominated by deaf education professionals, were interviewed. The interviews were transcribed and coded, and responses to each interview question were grouped under recurring themes. A summary of the results, limitations of the study, suggestions for future research, and recommendations for practice are provided.