Poor academic performance among deaf and hard of hearing students, particularly in science, is greatly attributable to inappropriate science materials that assume students can both hear and read. Furthermore, instructional delivery is often poor because teachers are inadequately trained in the communication needs of this population. This project will incorporate recent advances in technology with research-based teaching practices and programs to teach core earth content to deaf and hard-of- hearing students. This project addresses critical issues of hearing impaired instruction by: effectively presenting material to students with diverse ASL, English reading, and hearing abilities; organizing science content to facilitate mastery and higher order thinking; and efficiency overcoming significant technological problems common in current hearing-impaired products. In Phase I, we developed four prototype earth science lessons using a stand alone, turn-key system including videodisc, computer, monitor, keyboard, and headphones. These lessons were field tested and evaluated with ten middle school students having a wide range of ASL, English reading, and hearing abilities. In Phase II, we will a) complete a 50-lesson sequence that encompasses the full range of critical content in earth science and b) conduct a randomized control trial to evaluate the efficacy of the program.
This project will lead to the Phase II production of a middle school and high school earth science program for deaf and hard-of-hearing students. It will incorporate video material with ALS, text of different reading levels, and audio enhancement. It will be attractive to state, regional, and local schools with deaf and hard-of- hearing students, as well as to institutions which train teachers of the deaf and hard-of-hearing.
