Over the last 50+ years research has established that deaf and hard of hearing (DHH) children fall behind their age-matched hearing peers in math achievement, starting as early as 3 years of age. Assessments of math knowledge (counting, fractions, geometrical concepts, number reasoning, etc.) have revealed DHH children fall behind their hearing peers by approximately two years, with lags remaining throughout high school and adulthood, potentially limiting DHH children’s future pursuits in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematical (STEM). While many researchers have described these differences in mathematical performance of DHH children, few have attempted to explain why these differences exist. Given the demonstrated links between numeracy and academic, health, and financial outcomes, it is critical to identify the source of these difficulties in order to promote numeracy in DHH children. The purpose of this research is to inform our understanding of the role of language in the learning of numerical concepts while providing the groundwork for curriculum development that maximizes math learning in DHH children.
This research explores the role of language experience and abilities in the acquisition of symbolic and non-symbolic numerical concepts in deaf and hard of hearing children and their hearing peers. Through five behavioral studies with 400 participants, this work aims to characterize math abilities in DHH children relative to their hearing peers, and to explore whether limited language access or abilities may account for observed math difficulties. Series 1 will investigate the relationship between singular/plural language learning and numerical tracking abilities for small sets of objects in DHH and hearing toddlers (18-30 months). Series 2 will explore the development of non-symbolic number abilities in DHH and hearing infants and children (7 months – 5 years old). Studies in series 3 address non-symbolic and symbolic proportional understanding in 6-12 year old DHH and hearing children. Findings from this work will inform current theories of math cognition, providing an in-depth characterization of the role that linguistic experience and abilities play in the development of numerical abilities throughout childhood. This project is co-funded by the Discovery Research preK-12 program (DRK-12), which seeks to enhance preK-12 teaching and learning of science, technology, engineering and mathematics through the research and development of new innovations and approaches.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
