Visual Phonics is an instructional program to provide print awareness, alphabet knowledge, and sound-letter correspondence for children with hearing loss who experience difficulty developing a foundation of phonemic awareness skills. Its purpose is "to clarify the sound symbol relationship between spoken English and print" (Waddy-Smith & Wilson,…

The study focused on the development of the concept of fractions in a group of 11- and 12-year-old students who were deaf or hard of hearing. The approach implemented in the study relied extensively on the use of games with very little formal instruction. It emphasized the development of appropriate language to facilitate an understanding of the…

The authors compared evaluations by parents and teachers of the communicative abilities of deaf children. Such comparisons between parents' and professionals' assessments of the language development of children who are deaf can provide useful information on which to base ecologically valid intervention approaches. A secondary interest of the…

A qualitative case study examined beliefs and practices of itinerant teachers of deaf and hard of hearing students concerning literacy development, the match between these teachers' beliefs and practices, and the impact of itinerant settings. Five itinerant teachers and 15 students participated. Hearing losses were mild to profound. The research…

Presents an annotated bibliography of 14 children's books featuring children with hearing impairment. Also offers suggestions for related learning activities in inclusive classrooms to enhance experiences with the books. (DB)

Because reading levels of hearing-impaired students computed on reading tests developed for hearing students may vary considerably depending on the test used, this article summarizes the research in this area and suggest ways parents can evaluate their child's rate of progress in reading in ways other than using reading levels. (Author/DB)

Examined are the kinds of questions teachers asked and the kinds of revisions 22 deaf high-school seniors made in the process of revising drafts of narratives. Asking students to provide more information and to rephrase specific language resulted in revised drafts which were rated better than their first drafts. (Author/JDD)

Twenty-eight college students with normal hearing, naive to sign language, were trained on 30 American Sign Language signs using computer-assisted instruction or a videotaped presentation. Results indicated significantly higher scores under the videotaped condition when sign learning and retention were probed 3 and 10 days after training.…

Strategies to facilitate the language development of children with deafness or hearing impairments are presented, including capitalizing on the linguistic opportunities provided in particular environments; rearranging environments; responding to indications that children have comprehended messages and are open to risk communication; and…

This paper discusses two approaches to designing and studying integrated media applications, relating each to current theories of learning and thinking. After a discussion of the "curriculum embellishment" and "break-the-mold" approaches, alternatives to decontextualized curricula are examined in the context of new and revised goals for learning.…

This paper offers a rationale for the use of conversational approaches to teach language to deaf students, encourages teachers to reexamine how they teach and how they structure their classrooms and curriculums, and describes activities that teachers can use to encourage conversation in their classrooms. (Author/JDD)

This article discusses the importance of questions as a means for hearing-impaired students to acquire and clarify information and develop independent learning processes. The article also discusses the difficulties faced by hearing-impaired students in comprehending question forms (especially WH-question forms) and offers strategies for diagnosing…

This paper defines the concept of structured processing as an activity that encourages students to reflect, describe, analyze, and communicate that which was recently experienced. The paper explores structured processing, outlines a cognitive processing hierarchy, and suggests methods for designing and leading processing activities for…

Twenty-eight hearing college students were trained on 30 signs from American Sign Language that had been classified as iconic, opaque, or abstract. Students learned and retained iconic signs better than opaque or abstract. A videotaped presentation mode produced greater consistency in scores than computer-assisted instruction. (Author/JDD)

Twenty hearing-impaired adolescents were taught idiomatic expressions using captioned videotape presentations followed by classroom discussion, or by extended classroom discussions. Improvement in understanding idioms was significantly greater under the videotape method. (Author/JDD)