JOURNAL

JOURNAL:

Inclusive Practices

Jillian Scammell

Role of a T.oD.

10.10.2015

ToDs Perspective on mainstream

Based on Powers & Hydes` recommendations I believe more emphasis needs to be given to colloration and supporting the teacher with understanding more the needs of the Deaf student.

I have a very varied experience within the classrooms I visit.

In classroom 1 I have an eleven year old boy with a cochlear implant, a technologicalyl progressive teacher who treats him pretty much like any of the other students. His first language is NZSL but he converses with his peers fluently in English. This year I have supported him with his writing skills and alerted the teacher to the grammatical differences between English and NZSL which manifest in his writing structure.. The teacher is happy for me to withdraw him from his regular activities. but doesn`t see the point in learning sign language or including it in her activities. To be fair she has a high percentage of students with special needs in her class.

7.10.2015

McKee and Smith`s (2003) survey on DHH students in the mainstream from a ToDs perspective gave a list of contradictive factors resulting in an overall dissatisfaon with their eduactional outcomes.

Lack of training for Mainstream teachers topped the list of factors inpacting on this (p18).

Incentive and funding for getting mainstream teachers 'up to scratch' on deaf education seems highly unlikely, given the many balls which are being juggled in pedagogy and practice however Luckner suggests that collaboration between the teachers, support workers and families could do much to meet the needs of the students.

Given that DHH students will probably be 'mainstreamed' into the forseeable future due to assistive hearing and classroom technology, solutions such as sharing expertise and resources will need to be considered more, I believe.

According to a questionaire in Australia investigating the practice and characteristics of Teachers of the Deaf (ToDs) Power & Hyde(2002) revealed that the main activity of ToDs was direct teaching, one on one, of communication and curriculum support and in this case the student was often withdrawn from the class and classroom activities. Much less emphasis was on consultation and collaboration with the classroom teacher and other professionals..

The authors suggest two main variations to the present inclusive model, namely; a greater emphasis on collaboration, resulting in an increased understanding by the teacher of deafness and its communicative, social and personal elements. and the other; respect for an individual or group characteristics in order to preserve or foster a sense of identity and competence (p 95). They also suggest promoting this understanding wider and facilitating cultural exchanges between Deaf and the school and wider community.

As an itinerant teacher of the deaf , it is ideal, I believe, to forge a productive relationship with the family of the deaf students whom we are working with.

The image on the previous page is a great checklist for considering the nature of the relationship. Having been identified as one of the most important requirements of a ToD, collaboration is crucial, in the child receiving broad and well-informed support (McKee & Smith, 2003). Given that the family knows the child best and spends the most time with them, their information is imperative in informing a personalised plan for the child`s learning and well-being needs (Deaf Child Worldwide, 2003)

In general the trend seems to be pushing toward collaboration; considering relationship as a primary tool in the resource kit.

In another of my classrooms I support a ten year old girl who comes from an outside NZ ethnicity, where disability is not easily accepted. She doesn`t wear her hearing aides at home and was often turning up at school without them. I have a great relationship with her teacher, who is open to learning and accomodating this student`s needs. I suggested I teach the teacher some classroom/instructional signs that she could accompany her verbal instructions with but the student doesn`t sign either and didn`t want to be seen to be different from her peers. We agreed that I would teach the entire class sign language and about Deaf culture (as far as I knew) and the class are really proud of their acquisitions of some sign. Recently the class conducted a school assembly in NZSL. My student has become comfortable with her deafness and will change her hearing aide batteries in front of the class. She and the class support her to manage her FM receiver to ensure she is part of what is going on. She is part of her peer social group.

In the third of my classes I have a nine year old boy with a profound hearing loss, with a cochlear implant and using a FM system. His family are learning sign language to support communication with him but they mostly use oral language at home. This student is socially isolated from his peers, behind in his literacy and emotionally immature. The teacher often ignores or overlooks him. The student is very dis-engaged from his teacher, peers and learning and will often physically remove himself from the group. The teacher is frustrated with him and blames his dependency on moddle-coddling of his parents.

The teacher will often encourage me to take him out of the programme but I can see that that only adds to his social isolation so I try to support him within the school programme as much as possible.

I have liased with the teacher, teacher-aide and SENCO to try and foster an understanding of the many issues involved with his social, emotional and learning lag and there is a shift in attitude and teaching methods but a little too late. He is changing to a Deaf hub in a mainstream school so he can socialise with other Deaf students and have some specialised teaching. The hardest part of this transaction has been getting the student and aide on board and knowing how to encourage socialisation .

• In light of McKee`s (2008) article and Sam`s (p 528) experience it is obvious that a change in teaching practice would best suit he and others in a similar position. Suggested steps for responding to Deaf learners` educational, social and cultural needs are as follows (p 533).

Hyde & Powers (2004) point out the fact that most deaf students who are placed in mainstream schooling have to rely on their residual hearing and oral communication whilst there is very little funding for interpreters and teacher aides , especially so at the Primary level (p 87).

https://www.google.com/search?safe=strict&site=imghp&tbm=isch&source=hp&biw=1366&bih=599&q=mat+in+classroom&oq=mat+in+classroom&gs_l=img.12...4065.7330.0.9942.16.14.0.0.0.0.594.2249.2-5j1j0j1.7.0.ekpsrh...0...1.1.64.img..13.3.742.clC6g3SPDIM#imgrc=HzBMhr31MIffxM%3A

http://masseyuniversity.mrooms.net/file.php/88/2013_-_Domain_5/New_2013_Readings/Family_Friendly_Complete.pdf

In my experience as a Resource Teacher of the Deaf (RTD) this year this is certainly true and there is no facility for Deaf students to communicate in NZSL if that was their preferred choice. My sign language is sketchy and by the simple fact that I am with each student on an average of four hours per week I can offer very little exposure or support through this communication mode. Neither can the teacher or other staff communicate in NZSL..

There is also a common misperception when the student has a cochlear implant they can hear just like any hearing child and are often treated accordingly.

• For parents, upon discovering their child is Deaf, relevant and unprejudiced information needs to inform their choice of language mode and schooling option in light of their effects on cognitive functioning, socialisation and identity. Opportunities for learning NZSL need to be provided.
• It is important for children to be able to socialise in their natural language and if NZSL is their choice of language being isolated through mainstreaming is not going to provide fluency of social interaction. Therefore consideration of this aspect need be taken into account when choosing schooling.
• A bilingual environment (English/NZSl will ensure Deaf students have better access to communication and teaching material in a language they can access.
• Training of more Deaf teachers, teacher aids, itinerant teachers and other professionals will ensure more role models for Deaf students, a better chance at developing a Deaf identity and that a Deaf perspective informs educational practice.
• Furthermore McKee suggests a development of bilingual/ bicultural partnerships which would deliver a more balanced perspective as well as presenting a wonderful working role model for both hearing and Deaf students in an educational setting.

One of the recommendations in encouraging family involvement (Deaf Child Worldwide, 2008) in their deaf childrens` lives is to consider them equal partners to the many service providers who offer support.

Best Practice for Teachers of the Deaf

3.10.2015

11.10.2015

Family Support for Deaf Children

Socialisation & Self-advocacy

5.10.2015

The Right to Sign: New Zealand Sign Language and Human Rights

9.10.2015

I wouldn`t have survived my first year in Deaf education without the support of the various teacher aids who acted as an intermediary for me in signing back and forth amongst myself and the students, who signed myths and legends with all the facial expressions worthy of great story-tellers and at times helped with discipline because they had already forged relationships with the students. The fact that these people are paid pittance really upsets me. They are so skilled and important.

In the mainstream this year a teacher aid was assigned to a deaf student who had lagged behind his peers in reading. Doggedly determined to get him decoding the words, she went over a word again and again, sounding it out whilst the student rubbed his eyes and hid under the desk- clearly not getting it and giving up.

The teacher had assigned the student to her because she had to move on with the other students but the teacher aid has NO training around deaf education, which isn`t unexpected given it was a mainstream classroom.

This is not an uncommon scenario today and as ToDs one of the first jobs I think is liasing with the teacher/teacher aids and SENCOs and getting on the same page. Otherwise while we are trying to instill good habits the old ones are being reinforced in our absence.

Deaf Child Worldwide (2008) presents a chapter on The Importance of Families (for deaf children) in which the key message is that families are pivotal in whether the child has access to the myriad of support which is 'out'there. Whether or not the family takes advantage of the information, services and support will directly affect the help a child will recive in acquiring, language, education, identity and a sense of belonging (p 8).

"One of the aims of early intervention is to establish and maintain a language programme, meeting the needs and preferences of the family and child. The goal to achieve a strong foundation in communication on which language skills can be developed for future academic learning" (p56).

As a teacher of the Deaf it is our responsibility I believe to both, pass on best practices to other staff and professionals working with Deaf students and to advocate for the students where necessary to ensure they can reach their social and academic goals.

What do you believe as the most important qualities of a Teacher of the Deaf? What challenges do you personally face in developing and enhancing these qualities?

Don`t underestimate the importance of self-advocacy. Students can meet with their prospective teachers at the start of the year to inform them of their hearing loss and any accommodations necessary.

Building positive teacher-student relationships is important for successful learning outcomes.

Teachers need to give students opportunities for social success, positive feedback and reinforcement to build confidence and self-image.

It is the responsibilty of educators to support students with hearing loss and the school counselor can play a role too by listening, empathising and problem-solving.

Antia (2002) & Powers (2002) in deciphering the nuances of both inclusive programming and the culture of inclusion further say it is not in the mainstreaming of deaf students, nor necessarily through access to the curriculum but rather in the sense of belonging where inclusiveness resonates. Therefore it is a value-based concept rather than a set of learning criteria (p 85).

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Garay`s (2003) summarises ideas for Deaf students, taking into account their perspectives, in preparing for life after school,

Most of the students interviewed felt they were unprepared and would have benefitted from learning the art of self-advocacy, how to make effective decisions and had had opportunities to make important decisions about their learning and future careers (p 46).

Hyde & Powers in presenting the findings of different inclusive practices declare that in light of "mainstreaming" Deaf students may be less sure of their identities, and thier competencies; maybe more isolated and socially excluded than in specialist education centres (p 85).

Marschark (2001) suggests that inclusive education must include all deaf students in all facets of the classroom and school life, including communication, curriculum engagement and the various social aspects of school and community (p 85) whilst Bagga-Gupta (2001) purports that bilingual education in seperate Deaf schools can also be inclusive if the students have access to the same curriculum as their mainstream hearing peers (p 85).

Despite the above statement, access to a fully supported New Zealand Sign Language(NZSL) option is severely limited. This is due to many reasons;; firstly that a medical oral/aural context dominates the choice sector, and until recently cohlear implant programmes discriminated against using NZSL incase it interfere with speech development (p 59). Secondly there is very little available for teaching NZSL to families who prefer this option as a language mode and often involves enrolling in a community education class.. There is also a shortage of proficient/fluent professional ad para-professional users of NZSL who can support in the classroom and provide full language models. for Deaf children.

Families can become empowered when they make choices and advocate for their deaf child.. Becoming aware of the child`s rights (as under theUnited Nations) as equal citizens of a country is a good starting point for many actions on behalf of the child`s right to choose and feel included in society (p 14).

Families can act as resources and support for each other and other families, irrespective of whether service providers are involved or not however service providers need to consider families as equal partners in meeting the needs of deaf children (p 18).

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Tips for ToDs

10.10.2015

Communicating with a student with hearing loss

The students expressed disappointments, regrets and frustrations under the mantle of not knowing what transition meant, not being aware of the services available, not knowing that credits in high school were important for their future, not knowing what the rules are, all the decisions being made FOR them, being passive observers at the meetings, not feeling well prepared to go for their goals (p 47).

After reading Hyde and Powers (2004) article Inclusion of deaf students: An examination of definitions of inclusion in relation to findings of a recent Australian study of deaf students in regular class and reflecting on my own role a an itinerant teacher of the Deaf I am convinced that more emphasis needs to placed on consultation and collaboration with the class teachers and school and other professionals..

According to Garay, Deaf students should be at the core of their own transition planning; they should experience opportunities in which they can "take charge of important life decisions in a manner reinforced by their teachers and parents." In turn she says the students will feel empowered and transfer these skills into planning and problem-solving throughout their lives (p 45).

Transition guidelines for teachers:

• Inform the students about planning for transition: what does it mean?
• Teach them how to participate- how can they influence the decisions? Do they know their own strengths and weaknesses. Prepare them for meetings.
• Create opportunities for them to practice - what questions should they ask? When and what is appropriate?
• Give them time to porocess and respond to what is being said.
• Teach them to make eye contact -so they`re not always focussed on the interpreter and miss other communication.
• Encourage them to participate by sharing their opinions.
• Teach them how to pay attention - so they can consider what is being said and options.
• Teach them how to make the most of the interpreters- they can ask for clarification or to stop so they can respond where they feel necessary.
• Ask them questions to help decipher interests and direction: "a) related to their abilities and limitations, b) to help them understand about their strengths and weaknesses, c) that help them demonstrate their knowledge about locating and using community resources, d) that help determine their communication needs (requesting interpreters, getting tele-communication devices and strategies for enhancing better communication with those who may not fully understand their language or preferred mode of communicating)" (Garay 2003, p 48)

Luckner (2006) offers a comprehensive guide for itinerant teachers of the deaf in developing skills in the various requirements of the job. He rightly points out that the main need for collaboration tends to outweigh the main activity of one on one student instruction. It makes so much sense to me that if we all (teacher, ToD, support workers, students and families offer our experience and observation of the DHH student that their highly individualised needs will more likely be met. An itinerant teacher will have on average about four hours a week with the student which is like a drop in the bucket but if when the ToD is not there the teacher aid, for example, can carry on in the best vein decided by all then a steady stream of consistent high quality input will ensue greater reward for the student in their educational journey.

Despite a team of professional and para-professionals pouring time and effort into a DHH student`s educational activities Luckner stresses the importance of planning for opportunities to encourage and promote self-determination and self-advocacy which will inform the student`s journey through their schooling years, and on into the future.

Inclusive Practice

The Commisssion supprts the Ministry of Education`s statement: " to be successful deaf students will have strengthened identity, language and achievement outcomes including gaining NZSL and oral language skills early.” (p 72).

Teachers should avoid having conversations in noisy places and make sure they have the student`s visual and auditory attention before speaking. as well as facing the student and maintaining eye contact. Using visual cues can help too.

The acoustic environment needs consideration too.: keeping student noise down, using sound absorbing materials, seating deaf students away from unavoidable noise sources and moving closer when speaking. Using an FM or other remote microphone systems can help stream voice or other sound sources directly to a learner`s hearing aids or cochlear.

When using video and audio sources provide closed captioning and transcripts.

During testing, instructions and questions should be written, in a quiet environment, extra time given where necessary and avoiding tests on material which has only been verbally presented.

The Deaf Education Review (2010) which resulted in the vision for special education: Success for All: Every School-Every Child targeted that 80% of all schools would provide inclusive education by 2014 (p 69). Despite this wonderful initiative the support for Deaf students in main stream classrooms is limited and for parents who choose NZSL for their children, there are very few bilingual options available.

Alternative Assessment &

Explicit Strategy Instruction

The Fitzgerald Report suggested that more NZSL fluent people be employed in early intervention in order to be able to provide 1.5 hours NZSL support per week in family homes. Also Deaf people could be trained as tutors and consultants (p 63).

Other possible solutions include, providing greater access to the curriculum through the use of interpreters and utilising internet mediums such as Skype and other video-conferencing for learning NZSL and connecting children who are Deaf with each other (p 78).

Other actions a teacher of deaf learners can take is to provide written notes and write important concepts,and instructions on the board. Allowing the students to choose preferred seating so they can access both teacher and fellow classmates, taking into consideration noise and light too is necessary.

In regard to group discussion the teacher should repeat questions and paraphrase students` remarks whilst encouraging them to speak louder. It`s also a good idea to identify the speaker.

Historically people who are Deaf have been thought of as lesser intelligent than their hearing peers. Contrary to that, Rosenstein found through reserch in 1961, that Deaf people have just as much potential for higher-order thinking as hearing people and from that Furth (1964) drew the conclusion therefore that the problem does not lie with the Deaf learners but rather with the testing Martin (03.50).

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Along with these considerations when teachig a deaf learner remember to articulate clearly. and explain , repeat and review the main points and objectives.

To stop this stigma in its cyclical track recommendations for alternative testing and explicit teaching in the classroom are put forth by David Martin (Engaging Deaf Learners in the Mainstream Classroom. Deaf Learners and Successful Cognitive Achievement 2011).

Multiple-choice tests do not provide context in their short-questions and will present similar answers which are not easily distinguishable for a deaf learner who has probably only one definition for any given term (Martin 14.40)

As above, many terms are ambiguous and can be interpreted contextually different - remember a deaf learner has missed out on a lot of incidental learning which expands on prior knowledge (15.18).

Idioms may be used and be interpreted literally rather than in the context intended in which case deaf learners are disadvantaged in tests in which questions contain figures of speech (16.05).

Is an interpreter available for all users of sign language? For surely a student has a right to understand what is required in any given test (16.41)

http://masseyuniversity.mrooms.net/mod/book/view.php?id=3745

6.10 2015

Martin suggests that educators think about alternative ways of assessing students in order to ascertain a truer picture of a deaf learner`s cognitive abilities.

One such way is the interactive or oral (or sign language if that is the student`s chosen mode of communication) interview.

Another is observation and a third by way of a potfolio which offers a broad overview of a student`s work (17.18).

https://www.google.com/search?safe=strict&site=imghp&tbm=isch&source=hp&biw=1366&bih=599&q=assessment&oq=assess&gs_l=img.1.0.0l10.8312.9318.0.11393.6.6.0.0.0.0.302.529.2-1j1.2.0.ekpsrh...

Martin (2011) points out that the present curriculum-based standards (in the U.S.) gives some reference to cognitive skill but does not provide for explicit cognitive instruction which implies a lot of learning takes place in implicit learning but this does not necessarily serve our Deaf learners ((10:49). He goes on further to say that all learners would benefit from explicit instruction but especially Deaf students , furthermore teachers need to be trained in order to fulfill this.

General assessment as is played out in the school system presently does not take into account the different cognitive skills of the deaf learner. Martin (Engaging Deaf Learners in the Mainstream Classroom., 2011) elucidates aspects of testing which are not deaf-friendly.

Methodology to address this, recommended by Martin, involves three steps, Namely: the teacher becomes the mediator between the information and the learner and will employ questioning and probing rather than telling in order to draw out understanding of the material/subject.

Secondly, in teaching the learners to think about thinking, with the goal to encourage independent thinking.

The third is to make a connection between the thinking strategy and the real world or curriculum subject (14.09)..

In response to the questions asked by teachers in regard finding time for Martin`s suggested interventions he replies with a suggested strategy to teach cognitive strategies across a wide range of curriculum areas and to teach them explicitly as part of area content ( 18.43) He gives examples of analysing, comparing, organising and categorising: skills that can be taught in any subject area.

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