Science and Social Studies

Science and Social Studies:

What are some ways you can teach the vocabulary presented within science and social studies: 
For the text books you can conduct a chapter tour. Which is not only a great opportunity to explore the vocabulary for the unit but it is also fantastic to highlight and pre-teach the main subject areas and activities throughout the chapter. Interlanguage is another strategy to help build the language and vocabulary for the unit. With this you have the children explain what it is they are doing or the process you are talking about, and then you discuss it with them and model the correct language and terms for them. You can work on this verbally and in writing. Additionally you can work on vocabulary with true false cards, agree and disagree cards, etc.

How can you prepare to teach both of these subject areas:
I think the most important things you can do involve prepping with the classroom teacher ahead of time to gather materials and understand the concepts being taught. Next I think it is important to make any modifications needed for the student and think of additional strategies to use in the event that the student struggles to grasp the concept.

When addressing similarities and differences we often stay at the basic or simplistic Lebel of this strategy. How will you plan to move students beyond identifying simple same/differences to creating metaphors and creating analogies?
To do this I think it is important to build on the language needed to move on to metaphors and analogies. I think you need to explore the things that you are comparing. Like in an analogy for instance you are saying one thing is connected to another just like something else is connected to something else. The child needs to have the language and understanding of all parts. Using a lot of visuals and making it meaningful for the child is very important also. Lastly, practice and repetition. Those are always the keys when working with our students. Once they understand the function of the task at hand, practice practice practice.

The authors noted the lag in development of mathematics concepts is due to delays in language development, lack of exposure to life based problem solving and inadequate preservice teacher preparation in the area of mathematics. Do you agree?

I agree with the authors. Much of what we do is centered around language delay because children with hearing loss have missed out on language and incidental learning in the time before they receive amplification. You really need to have a good language base before you can start into more complex things like math. You also have to really pay attention to the language you use when you are teaching math. Specific phrases and vocabulary need to be learned and used so the concept being taught can be understood. I know from previous experience that if you switch up phrases between math operations the students can get confused. You have to be very clear and very careful about the language that you use especially with something as complex as math. As we have discussed in class math is something that goes from concrete to very abstract. That makes the language use all the more important.

I can't say much about teacher preparation programs. I feel as though our program prepares us pretty well, but I don't know about any other programs. I would like to have more instruction on strategies across subject areas but I feel like our program does well to prepare us! 

CAEBER

The Center for ASL/English Bilingual Education and Research is a fantastic program that hosts four courses over a summer session for two teachers, one hearing and one Deaf, to come and train to be, "on-site ASL/English Bilingual Professional Development (AEBPD) mentors at their respective schools/programs serving students who are deaf or hard of hearing, including students with cochlear implants."

I feel like this is an amazing program that really shows an effort to help teachers who work with students who are Deaf or hard of hearing in their language. Just yesterday I had my midterm evaluation at my practicum site and that is one of the things that I was told to work on. I need to make sure that my signing is truly, conceptually accurate. And that is something that I really appreciate coming from my supervisors because the language is one of the main reasons I was so attracted to this field so I am very glad that they are continuing to push me in that area of my teaching.

These techniques can be incorporated in almost any classroom. And really it should not just stop at the deaf educator and the deaf ed. classroom, the people that participate in the CAEBER program train to be able to help other professionals in the school to use both ASL and English effectively and I think that should be spread district wide. I think something that we could do to help our districts work on this is have a professional development session focused on the two languages and how to use them, as well as attend any workshops on the subject as possible.

As far as my classroom specifically I fell that it is very important for students who use sign language to have a basic understanding of both languages. Those who are strong ASL users will benefit from using English for reading and writing, and those who are very English focused will benefit from ASL for the visual component as well as the cultural ties to the language.

Overall I am really excited to hear that there are programs like this out there! Sometimes I fear that my sign skills will dwindle over time but it is fantastic to hear there are programs out there helping us to keep at it!

When thinking of your classroom, what components of reading and writing do you feel are important to teach and how will you teach them? 

I feel like anything you can teach about reading and writing should be taught in  your classroom. I don't feel like there are any more important parts than others. I definitely want to assess where the child is on their reading level and make a plan for how to help them build their reading skills no matter where they are. You need to make sure that you are able to teach phonemic awareness, phonics, the alphabet, vocabulary and comprehension. All of these need to be worked on in a direct teaching way for children who have hearing loss so that they can effectively read on their grade level. I will use things like visual phonics, running records, re-reading,  leveled reading programs, and then all kinds of activities to help them build skills in comprehension, fluency, etc. You can also use reading to work on all kinds of other academic areas such as auditory memory/comprehension, speech, writing, note taking, and many many other things. Reading and writing are very intertwined just as we discussed in class. They are hard to separate and they are both so very important. They are also areas where our children with hearing loss often need extra instruction and practice so they are areas that we as deaf educators really need to work on. They are also very concrete academic areas that allow you to succeed in other academic areas and they are basic life skills that the children need to have for not only the progressive school grades but for transitioning into college, training programs and jobs. 

In teaching a lesson, when should you use cues, questions and advanced organizers? 

Cues I feel are going to be utilized more intentionally in the instruction and the guided practice because you want to help them build their knowledge but not do all of the work for them. The questions can be utilized throughout the entire lesson, but I feel they will be more useful in the independent practice and the introduction. Questions of all levels get things rolling, start getting them thinking, and allow you to find out what they know and what conclusions they can draw by themselves. Advanced organizers can be used throughout any lesson depending on what you are teaching and what the organizer is that you are using.

What adaptations might these need in working with students who have hearing loss?

Adaptations that may need to be made when working with children who have a hearing loss would be maybe the type or level of question, the level of difficulty or how busy an advanced organizer is, how strong or obvious your cues are etc. The main thing to keep in mind when working with children who have a hearing loss is that they have to learn everything directly. They don't hear things and learn and work through them like people with typical hearing can. So whatever you use or whatever you ask or hint toward, you need to make sure you are working on that child's level of functioning!

Homework:

My thoughts on homework are mixed. I feel like homework is a really great thing because it is the true independent practice. However, unless I have a classroom of my own or there is something specific we are working on that I want them to carry over to home or to practice at home I don't see myself adding to my student's workload. That doesn't really make sense because they are getting a lot of homework in other classes already.

Stages of development v. Common Core Standards v. 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 all of those are important when teaching any student whether they have a hearing loss or not. I know what you follow with some students may not be on grade level but you still need all of those to know what the child is supposed to be doing or learning and what you as the teacher is supposed to teach. The stages of development charts are great to get a general idea of what children of a specific age can do overall or should be able to do. The Common Core Standards are established as what teachers are supposed to teach the children and they should be able to do it by the end of the year. I know there is a lot of debate over that currently, but hey you have to give it to them for at least trying! I don't know what all is pointing at it failing, but I feel like the idea should not be thrown away. I guess we will see what happens! The other two I feel are more specific to what your district is teaching and those are of course always important. I feel that you should dip into all of these to teach and not just follow one or the other.
As a student expands and progresses in skill I feel that it is our job to move up with them. If they are mastering a skill for their present grade level then you start shooting for skills above their grade level.

Assessment and Communication

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? 

You should keep in mind a number of things when assessing a student with hearing loss. First you need to make sure that the test is age appropriate or appropriate for the student's level of functioning. You need to make sure that they have the language to understand what is being asked of them. (Are they strict American Sign Language users or do they understand the written language used in the assessment?) Then you need to look at what is being asked of them and decide if they will require any accommodations in order to access the information the same way as their typically hearing peers. Maybe there is a audio recording that you read aloud instead of play. Or maybe the child will need to have the test questions read to them or signed to them. There are so many things you need to think of so that the child has a fair opportunity to succeed on the test as their peers will.

I don't think you should only use tests designed for students with hearing loss. First of all it is good to see where they are compared to their hearing peers. That is the goal. Second, there are not many tests that are normed for deaf or hard of hearing kids.

Communicating 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 is better personally. I feel that there needs to be a working relationship between the deaf educator and other staff and teachers so that everyone is focused on doing the best for the students. Face to face allows for a more personable relationship, though you don't want to be in their room and in their face all of the time. If you have a quick question or something that can be completed through a quick email then that is fine. But if you are talking about how the child is doing, or what the lessons will be for the week, etc an email would not be the best way. I plan on communicating regularly with the other staff that work with my students through email and face to face communication. We will be doing push in and push out type lessons throughout and all of this requires cooperation from all teachers and staff working with the child. It is also important to keep communication open on a regular basis so that the skills being worked on and the behavior techniques are consistent across all settings for the child.