Pedagogical Suggestions to Foster Fraction Learning.

Fractions and the understanding of fraction concepts affect later conceptualization of advanced mathematics and affect how people live their everyday lives. Research shows that many deaf or hard of hearing (DHH) students have not mastered fraction skills even by the time they enter college. In the present article, the author looks at literature related to the teaching of fractions in general education and deaf education settings. On the basis of this literature, the author then provides pedagogical suggestions, including highlighting mathematical relationships, using problem-solving approaches, and promoting discussion in order to achieve conceptual and procedural understanding. New questions for future research are generated regarding the teaching of fractions and DHH learners' development of fraction concepts.

Tutoring deaf students in higher education: a comparison of baccalaureate and sub-baccalaureate student perceptions.

Seventy-three deaf college students completed a survey examining perceptions about tutoring outcomes and emphases, characteristics of tutors, and responsibilities associated with learning through tutoring. The comparisons revealed that while baccalaureate and sub-baccalaureate students have many similar perceptions about tutoring, there are also some striking differences. In particular, as compared to the sub-baccalaureate students, baccalaureate students have a stronger preference for focusing on course content and for working with tutors who actively involve them during the tutoring sessions. In addition, baccalaureate students prefer to decide the focus of the tutoring themselves while sub-baccalaureate students tend to leave the decision to the tutor. The results of the analyses with three scales measuring perceptions of tutoring dimensions are summarized and recommendations for the selection and preparation of tutors, as well as for future research, are provided.

Deaf college students' comprehension of relational language in arithmetic compare problems.

In this study of deaf college students' performance solving compare word problems, relational statements were either consistent or inconsistent with the arithmetic operation required for the solutions. The results support the consistency hypothesis Lewis and Mayer (1987) proposed based on research with hearing students. That is, deaf students were more likely to miscomprehend a relational statement and commit a reversal error when the required arithmetic operation was inconsistent with the statement's relational term (e.g., having to add when the relational term was less than). Also, the reversal error effect with inconsistent word problems was magnified when the relational statement was a marked term (e.g., a negative adjective such as less than) rather than an unmarked term (e.g., a positive adjective such as more than). Reading ability levels of deaf students influenced their performance in a number of ways. As predicted, there was a decrease in goal-monitoring errors, multiple errors, and the number of problems left blank as the reading levels of students increased. Contrary to expectations, higher reading skills did not affect the frequency of reversal errors.