Deaf and hearing children's picture naming Impact of age of acquisition and language modality on representational gesture

Stefanini, Bello, Caselli, Iverson, & Volterra (2009) reported that Italian 24-36 month old children use a high proportion of representational gestures to accompany their spoken responses when labelling pictures. The two studies reported here used the same naming task with (1) typically developing 24-46-month-old hearing children acquiring English and (2) 24-63-month-old deaf children of deaf and hearing parents acquiring British Sign Language (BSL) and spoken English. In Study 1 children scored within the range of correct spoken responses previously reported, but produced very few representational gestures. However, when they did gesture, they expressed the same action meanings as reported in previous research. The action bias was also observed in deaf children of hearing parents in Study 2, who labelled pictures with signs, spoken words and gestures. The deaf group with deaf parents used BSL almost exclusively with few additional gestures. The function of representational gestures in spoken and signed vocabulary development is considered in relation to differences between native and non-native sign language acquisition

A Spanish Sign Language (LSE) Adaptation of the Communicative Development Inventories

This article presents the adaptation of the MacArthur Communicative Development Inventory (CDI; Fenson et al., 1993, 1994) to Spanish Sign Language (LSE). Data were collected from 55 participants (32 boys and 23 girls; 17 deaf signers, 38 hearing signers) who, evaluated by their caregivers every four months, presented a total of 170 records. The parents reported the signs that the children could understand or produce between 8-36 months. Results suggested that the CDI adapted to LSE is a valid and reliable instrument. Signing children could understand more signs than they produced at this early developmental stage. There were no significant differences between boys and girls, or between deaf and hearing children. The development of LSE is similar to other sign languages, although with a lower production of signs in the early stages, perhaps due to the bilingualism of most of the children of our study.Se presenta la adaptación a la lengua de signos española (LSE) del Inventario de Desarrollo Comunicativo MacArthur (CDI; Fenson et al., 1993, 1994). Se recogieron datos de 55 participantes (32 niños y 23 niñas; 17 niños y niñas sordos signantes y 38 oyentes signantes), que, evaluados cada cuatro meses por sus cuidadores, representaron un total de 170 registros. Los padres y madres informaron de los signos que los niños podían producir o comprender entre los 8 y 36 meses. Los resultados sugieren que el CDI adaptado a la LSE es un instrumento válido y fiable. Los niños signantes podían entender más signos que producir en esta etapa del desarrollo temprano. No hubo diferencias significativas entre niños y niñas o entre niños sordos y oyentes. El desarrollo de la LSE es similar a otras lenguas de signos, aunque con una menor producción de signos en las etapas iniciales, quizás debido al bilingüismo de la mayoría de los niños del estudio.Consejería de Innovación, Ciencia y Empresa, Junta de Andalucía (España), Proyectos de Excelencia (P11-SEJ-7417)

Spartan Daily, March 8, 1999

Volume 112, Issue 28https://scholarworks.sjsu.edu/spartandaily/9385/thumbnail.jp

Contours of Inclusion: Inclusive Arts Teaching and Learning

The purpose of this publication is to share models and case examples of the process of inclusive arts curriculum design and evaluation. The first section explains the conceptual and curriculum frameworks that were used in the analysis and generation of the featured case studies (i.e. Understanding by Design, Differentiated Instruction, and Universal Design for Learning). Data for the cases studies was collected from three urban sites (i.e. Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Boston) and included participant observations, student and teacher interviews, curriculum documentation, digital documentation of student learning, and transcripts from discussion forum and teleconference discussions from a professional learning community.The initial case studies by Glass and Barnum use the curricular frameworks to analyze and understand what inclusive practices look like in two case studies of arts-in-education programs that included students with disabilities. The second set of precedent case studies by Kronenberg and Blair, and Jenkins and Agois Hurel uses the frameworks to explain their process of including students by providing flexible arts learning options to support student learning of content standards. Both sets of case studies illuminate curricular design decisions and instructional strategies that supported the active engagement and learning of students with disabilities in educational settings shared with their peers. The second set of cases also illustrate the reflective process of using frameworks like Universal Design for Learning (UDL) to guide curricular design, responsive instructional differentiation, and the use of the arts as a rich, meaningful, and engaging option to support learning. Appended are curriculum design and evaluation tools. (Individual chapters contain references.

Spartan Daily, April 16, 2007

Volume 128, Issue 41https://scholarworks.sjsu.edu/spartandaily/10355/thumbnail.jp

Deaf/hard Of Hearing Preschool Students’ Acquisition Of Language Through Dyadic And Triadic Communication Contexts

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness and efficiency of using dyadic communication with a teacher of the deaf (ToD) and a Deaf/Hard of Hearing (D/HH) student compared to a triadic communication with a general education teacher, sign language interpreter, and D/HH student. Four participants in a self-contained D/HH early childhood classroom participated in both comparison groups using dyadic and triadic communication to acquire vocabulary language skills for communication while playing a preschool game. An adapted alternating treatment design (AATD) for single case research was used to rapidly alternate comparison groups using equivalent games and counterbalanced across participants. Interobserver agreement was used for data and procedural reliability. Results revealed the dyadic condition to be optimal for both receptive and expressive vocabulary acquisition for efficiency and effectiveness. Stakeholders gave information regarding perceptions of the study through a social validation survey. Additional findings and recommendations for future research are discussed

Spartan Daily, April 26, 1999

Volume 112, Issue 56https://scholarworks.sjsu.edu/spartandaily/9413/thumbnail.jp

Serious and Adventure Video Games as Tools in the Deaf Education of Children

Deaf education is characterized by specific challenges and needs. Studies showed, that deaf and hard-of-hearing children experience special difficulties in two fields – in learning a national verbal language, and in problem-solving. At the same time, video games are popularized in schools. However, in the education of deaf children, the use of games is hampered by accessibility issues. The main purpose of this master’s thesis will be to verify whether video games could prove to be a proper additional method of teaching in the case of deaf and hard-of hearing children, and what features should an educational video game have to meet the availability conditions. The research will be done on both serious and adventure games and will show which genre works better for developing which skills. Particular attention will be given to design guidelines for deaf-accessible games. Two research methods will be used for the purposes of this work. Qualitative research and discourse analysis of games. The qualitative research will consist of an open-ended questions survey among English-speaking and Polish-speaking teachers who work with deaf children, in order to get to know their attitudes towards games, main obstacles, and needs. The discourse analysis will be focused on two serious games, Prodigy and Wordwall, and on one adventure ASL-accessible game Deafverse. Based on the research, it will be explored, how, through using video games, modern education can meet the challenges of young deaf students and make learning more absorbing and effective.Master's Thesis in Digital CultureDIKULT350MAHF-DIKU