Week 11

Socialization with Peers

Deaf or hard of hearing students often have difficulty socializing and making friends with their peers.  In order to help with this situation, I would make sure to address the issue at the beginning of the year.  I would want to inform the whole classroom about hearing losses - if the student wants.  I would let the student have the opportunity to talk about their hearing loss and maybe show their hearing aids, or CIs to the class.  I would share with the class some suggestions on how to best interact with the student.  This way the students are all aware of the student with a hearing loss needs and hopefully it will improve the socialization aspect.  In regards to making friends I would encourage the student to interact with other students as much as possible.  I would make sure the student with a hearing loss hears everything the students they are playing with are saying.  If the student does something that is not okay when socializing I would stop them and explain to them that it is not okay and what they need to do to fi it.  I would encourage the student to tell their peers when they need something repeated. 

Communication with Parents

Communicating with parents is very important.  What are some ways to communicate and is there a better way than another?  There are many ways in which a teacher can communicate with parents.  One way is by email.  In the beginning of the year the parent should receive the teachers email so they know they contact the teacher with comments, questions, or concerns.  Another way is through phone.   The teacher may give the parents the option of contacting them through their personal phone.  Another option with the phone is through texting. If the teacher and parent have a close relationship they may decide on texting because it is quick and easy.  Another possible way for communicating is by sending home information or notes with the student.  This should be used with caution because the parent may never go through the student's backpack or the student may do something with the note before the parent gets the chance to see it. 
When it comes to which option of communication is the best, it all depends on the people involved.  I think it should be established early on how the parent wants to be contacted.  For very important things I think there should always be an email sent so there is evidence of contact happening.  But overall I think it depends on how the people want to be contacted.

Week 10

Difficulty paying attention?? What can a teacher do for their student?

If a student is having trouble focusing in their regular education classroom there are many strategies that can be used to help with this problem.  It is important to look at all possible reasons for this to be happening.  Are they close enough to the teacher? Are they bored? Do they have the necessary background information to understand the concept being taught?  There are a variety of strategies that can address each of these questions.   The teacher may need to remove the student from the regular classroom and directly teach some background information to help with the concept being taught. One strategy that comes to mind are redirection.  Encourage the student to complete a task by getting their attention and redirecting it so they come back to the material.  The teacher can make it into a game so the student has some motivation.  Another strategy is just moving closer to the student to be nearby so a simple tap can help them see they need to start listening again.  Another strategy could be giving them a little extra something to do during the lesson.  This may include highlighting or writing things down multiple times to give them something to do.  A teacher will learn many things about their student as the school year progresses.  Knowing the students interests and learning styles will increase the strategies used to help them focus in the classroom.

 

Positive Behavior Supports

This program seems like it would be very beneficial for a school or district to implement.  The information from nasponline.com describes it as a function-based approach to eliminate challenging behaviors and replace them with prosocial skills. Its approach is to not just focus solely on the child and their behavior but to look at all aspects such as the task demands, curriculum, instructional pace, and individualized reinforcement. The website states that harsh punishment and zero tolerance has not been effective, thus this program is a possible solution.  This program is successful in promoting positive behavior. It uses different strategies to maintain appropriate social behavior. There are many facts that support this program and I believe it would be beneficial for all districts.

Week 9

Vocabulary

Science and Social Studies are two subjects with a lot of vocabulary. In order for students with a hearing loss to be successful with these subjects a lot of pre-teaching of vocabulary may need to happen. This can be done in a variety of ways.  One way that I believe is helpful for students is flashcards.  Flashcards can be very useful for students to have quick access to when looking for a definition and a great tool for reviewing and studying.  Another way a student can learn vocabulary is through graphic organizers.  Students can be responsible for completing an organizer on a specific vocabulary word which will help them gather information on the word.  For science there is a lot of vocabulary that can be covered by watching videos.  Videos help give these students a visual of what is happening and what something may look like.  There is also the option of making a model of the terms used in science for example, a model of a cell. Students can always be encouraged to use these words when writing to help enhance their understanding of the word. 

How will I prepare to teach science and social studies?

I will need to take a lot of preparation to teach these subject areas.  In order to effectively teach these subjects I will need to look at the material ahead of time.  It will be important to look up how to sign various words for the student to understand.  I want to be knowledgeable on the subject as much as possible so I will be able to answer any questions the students may have.  When it comes to vocabulary I will need to think about other ways I can explain it to the student in case they do not understand the definition in the books.

Similarities/Differences to Metaphors/Analogies

The most common way for students to organize similarities and differences among a topic is through a graphic organizer- Venn diagram.  This is a great strategy for student to have a visual on what is different between two things and what they have in common.  In order to take it to the next step, I believe students need to incorporate it into writing.  They need to be prompted with questions that encourage them to relate information to other things.  This is where the higher level critical thinking questions should be used.  It will take a lot of modeling and examples to get these students to think outside the box. 

Week 8

I agree with the authors and their views on the lag in the development of mathematics.  The authors noted difficulty with the concepts of mathematics due to delays in language, development, lack of exposure to life-based problem-solving, and inadequate pre-service teacher preparation in this area.  I agree that the difficulty is a direct result of the delay in language development.  Students who are deaf or hard of hearing have trouble understanding language in general. The language used in mathematics is even more complex and brand new to these students. There will obviously be a delay in learning the terminology involved in math because the students have to not only learn all of the different names for things but also apply them in order to solve a problem. 

 

I can also see how lack of exposure to life-based problem solving is a cause for the lag in development.  Students, who are deaf or hard of hearing, often miss incidental learning opportunities.  They cannot always over hear their teachers, peers, or parents working out a solution to their problems.  This can also be because these students are often given the solution rather than having them try to work it out on their own first. 

 

Finally, the authors mentioned inadequate teacher preparation.  I would like to disagree with the authors on this one, however I believe this could be true.  I think it depends on the teacher, however I know math is changing rapidly.  The way math is taught now is not how I learned it.  I know if I were to go into a classroom right now and had to teach math the way it is required now, I would not be able to do it unless I took the time to learn the new methods.  I think teachers need to be aware of what level of math they need to be at in order to successfully teach their students. 

Week 7

CAEBER

After researching the CAEBER on the Gallaudet website, I have learned that the goal of ASL-English bilingual education is language proficiency in both ASL and English.  It includes skills in “signacy”, “literacy”, and “oracy”.  What I found interesting is that it focuses on keeping each language separate.  This is so each one can be given the same attention.    The center provides educational leadership and supports the ASL-English bilingual professional development of K-12 teachers, mentors, and deaf education program instructors.  This is an excellent resource.

I think that using CAEBER would help with teaching on so many levels. Using this as a research would allow for teachers to be better qualified to teach English while using ASL, which is important because this is very well can be the primary language of our students. As a future deaf educator I need to be willing to adapt to the needs of my student.  The action framework and the mission are ideal for teachers wanting to provide the best education for their deaf or hard of hearing students.