Four American Sign Language Learner Groups: Are They Really Different?

We investigated the receptive American Sign Language (ASL) skills of four separate groups using the 42-item ASL-Receptive Skills Test: Deaf high school-aged students who attended a residential school; deaf incoming college students who preferred signed language; deaf incoming college students who preferred spoken language; and typically hearing college-aged second language-second modality learners (M2L2) of ASL. Many deaf students learn ASL as a delayed first language due to a lack of sign language models within their home environments. In contrast, M2L2 students likely engage in some transfer between their first (spoken) and second (signed) language when learning ASL. All four groups scored similarly overall on the ASL-RST (~77% correct), and all four groups scored the lowest for number-distribution, spatial verbs location, size-and-shape-specifiers, and role shift. We present instructional implications that include incorporation of ASL standards and evidence-based instructional strategies for all four groups.

Interactive Storybook Reading Instruction for Preschoolers Who Are Deaf and Hard of Hearing: A Multiple Probe Across Behaviors Analysis.

Purpose: Interactive storybook reading (ISR) improves the picture labeling vocabulary of children who are deaf and hard of hearing (DHH). Vocabulary knowledge consistently predicts the later reading achievement of children who are DHH. In this study, ISR was modified to include teaching word meanings along with the vocabulary picture label. Method: A multiple probe across behaviors single-case experimental design was implemented to determine the effects of ISR with word meaning instruction on picture labeling and word meaning knowledge of 6 preschoolers who are DHH and use spoken English. The student and teacher participants engaged in ISR for 15-20 min a day, 4 days a week for 3 weeks. Results: A functional relation was established between ISR and the increase in the preschoolers' word labeling and meaning knowledge. The preschoolers' word knowledge was generalized and was maintained over time. Conclusions: ISR may be an effective vocabulary labeling and word meaning instructional strategy for young children who are DHH and use spoken English. Teachers and related service providers who work with this population may want to implement ISR with word meaning in 1-to-1 or small groups to individualize the target vocabulary and maximize the benefit. Future researchers should replicate this to expand its generalizability to other subpopulations of children who are DHH.

Morphology Instruction in the Science Classroom for Students Who Are Deaf: A Multiple Probe Across Content Analysis.

Deaf and hard-of-hearing (DHH) students have exhibited a morphological knowledge delay that begins in preschool and persists through college. Morphological knowledge is critical to vocabulary understanding and text comprehension in the science classroom. We investigated the effects of morphological instruction, commonly referred to as Word Detectives, on the morphological knowledge of college-age DHH students in a science course. We implemented a multiple probe across behaviors single-case experimental design study with nine student participants. The student participants attended the National Technical Institute for the Deaf. A functional relation was found between the morphological instruction and the student participants' improvement of morphological knowledge regarding the morphemes taught during instruction. These findings indicate that DHH students benefit from morphological instruction to build their vocabulary knowledge in content-area classrooms, such as science courses.

Numerical and Real-World Estimation Abilities of Deaf and Hearing College Students.

Various studies have examined possible loci of deaf learners' documented challenges with regard to reading, usually focusing on language-related factors. Deaf students also frequently struggle in mathematics and science, but fewer studies have examined possible reasons for those difficulties. The present study examined numerical and non-numerical (real-world) estimation skills among deaf and hearing college students, together with several cognitive abilities likely to underlie mathematics performance. Drawing on claims in the literature and some limited evidence from research involving deaf children, the study also considered the possibility that the use of sign language and/or the use of cochlear implants and spoken language might facilitate deaf college students' estimation skills and mathematics achievement more broadly. Results indicated relatively little impact of cochlear implant use or language modality on either estimation skills or overall mathematics ability. Predictors of those abilities differed for deaf and hearing learners. Results suggest the need to guard against overgeneralisations either within the diverse population of deaf learners or between deaf and hearing learners. They further emphasise the need for evidence-based practice in mathematics instruction appropriate for older deaf learners, rather than making assumptions from studies involving younger or narrowly-selected samples.

Effects of Morphographic Instruction on the Morphographic Analysis Skills of Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Students.

Deaf and hard-of-hearing (DHH) students have delayed morphographic knowledge that negatively affects their morphographic analysis and decoding abilities. Morphographic analysis instruction may improve DHH students' morphographic knowledge delay. The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of morphographic instruction on the morphographic analysis skills of reading-delayed, late-elementary DHH students. The research question was: What effect does morphographic instruction have on the morphographic analysis skills of DHH students who are reading below grade level? The study included 3 student participants and 1 teacher participant from a local school district. The researchers used a multiprobe multiple baseline across participants design. The intervention was implemented for 20 min a day, 5 days a week for 2-3 weeks. Visual analysis of the data revealed the requisite number of demonstrations of effect and replications. The intervention improved DHH students' ability to dissect words and determine affix meanings, which may in turn positively affect their decoding abilities. Implications of this study and future research are discussed.

The effect of enhanced storybook interaction on signing deaf children's vocabulary.

The link between vocabulary and later literacy is well documented in the research base. One way children gain vocabulary is through incidental learning. Deaf or hard-of-hearing children (D/HH) often struggle with incidental learning and require vocabulary intervention to increase their lexicon. An effective vocabulary intervention is storybook reading. When dialogic methods are added to storybook reading, the gains are greater than with traditional storybook reading. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of an enhanced storybook reading intervention, which included scripted questions and picture prompts, on the vocabulary of young signing D/HH children. We utilized a multiple baseline across content probe design. We discovered a functional relation between the storybook intervention and picture vocabulary identification for several participants. This outcome offers insight into appropriate interventions to increase vocabulary for signing D/HH children.