Week 5

Several approaches and suggestions were mentioned by the authors, however challenges continue to impact educating students who are D/HH. In thinking of your classroom, what components of reading and writing do you feel are important to teach and how will you teach them?

Sound-letter correspondence is really important for the students to learn to sound out words and not only memorize the words at sight.  This needs to be taught as early as possible (i.e. preschool).

For older students who are reading to learn information, the students need to understand what they are reading.  Vocabulary and comprehension definitely need to be focused on, as well as connecting these areas to the child’s background information/previous knowledge.  

Sentence structure needs to be taught, particularly for the students to be able to write appropriately (i.e. tense, subject verb agreement, and sentence order). 

Week 4

Stages of Development v. Common Core Standards & Curriculum Scope and Sequence v. hierarchy of skills

 

Which do you think is important when teaching students with hearing loss? What will be your focus as the student expands and progresses in skill?

I think that the stages of development are more important to follow, particularly if/when the child is in danger of falling behind academically.  If the child is advanced, by all means the common core standards should be followed.  

I realize that the common core standards are what No Child Left Behind and the state-wide testing will be assessing—because of this, and because the other students will be expected to follow these standards, I would want to push my student to meet these goals, when it is feasible.  However, pushing a child for a goal that is currently much too far out of their reach can be frustrating and deteriorate the child’s self-confidence, as well as their relationship with the teacher.  It’s a fine line, and I think whichever is used should be based on the individual child and his/her current skills.

Week 3

Educational placement for students with hearing loss has been a long debate.  What are your thoughts about educating students within the “mainstream” versus in a centralized program/school?

There are definite pros and cons to both of these educational options.  I think mainstream is great, because it introduces the child to the larger hearing world, and hopefully they become confident and more than proficient in their interactions with hearing individuals.  A centralized program is good, because the deaf and hard of hearing students are around other similar individuals (with a hearing loss).  I think this, in itself, can give the child confidence—to have friends with that are like them (particularly with communication modality).  I’m not sure I could say I prefer one over the other or that one is “better” than another.  I think that really depends on the individual child and family, and their preferences and goals.    

How do you plan to take data?  Will you take data every day vs. once in a while?  When is it important to take data?

This is a hard question!  I think I would like to take data whenever possible, but I think daily is improbable.  It really depends on the type of class—if I’m in a one-on-one situation with a child, I think it will be much easier to remember how (s)he does on the different goals/activities.  If I have a classroom with multiple children, I think I would have to focus on one child at a time, or review it by video (which I imagine is not possible in many places).  I know that during the practicum in the MSU DHH preschool, I often had to watch the videos to keep accurate data on the students.  I think it’s important to take data on students at the beginning and end of each new goal or objective—that way you have a baseline and an ending result, showing the student’s growth.  How data is taken will likely depend on the age and ability of the student (particularly in reading and writing).  The more advanced the student is in reading and writing, and the older the student is, the more data can be collected from written samples/assignments.  For younger students, or those with less reading/writing skills, I think a lot of data will need to be collected from spoken/signed communications with the students (which the teacher will record in written form), and from interactions with the student (i.e. how (s)he follows directions, etc.).    

Week 2

When planning for assessment of a student with hearing loss, what considerations should you keep in mind?  Should you use only tests designed for this population?  Why or why not?

The student’s primary mode of communication should be considered, as well as the student’s residual hearing and use of amplification.  For example, if you are planning to assess a student who has a severe-profound hearing loss and does not use amplification, should he/she be given a test that is solely for the purpose of determining auditory skills?  I think that would (more than likely) be a waste of time and very frustrating, particularly for that student.  Accommodations should  be made for the student, especially in providing an interpreter if the student uses any type of manual communication.  Other accommodations, such as frequent breaks and things to make the test more visual (i.e. providing tactile representations, etc. if appropriate, only uncovering one question at a time to improve focus/attention, etc.) should be provided, as well.  

No, tests designed specifically for the deaf and hard of hearing population should not be the only assessments used.  There are not enough sufficient, up-to-date assessments designed for the deaf and hard of hearing population to rely solely on them.  Other assessments can and should be used, but accommodations should be provided (if needed) and any modifications/accommodations need to be recorded in the assessment report.

Communication with teachers and staff is a vital part of Deaf Education.  Do you think face-to-face is better or email?  Why and how do you plan to communicate with staff?

I think face-to-face communication is better, because it gives both people in the conversation the opportunity to ask any questions that come to mind, and make clarifications.  Things do not always come across in the intended way through emails—this is much less of an issue in person!  Face-to-face communication also helps build relationships, which I think is going to be hugely important in working with other teachers.  I will need to have good rapport and (at the very least) a comfortable and respectful working relationship with my colleagues.  However, my personal preference is email because it is very convenient—I can respond when I have time.  I imagine I will use a mixture of the two.  I want to establish relationships with other members of the staff through face-to-face communication and be approachable for them.  I do think email communication is convenient though, and do intend to use it when I feel it is appropriate.