Language and the Deaf
description
Transcript of Language and the Deaf
Language and the Deaf
Jessica ScottBoston University, March 28, 2012
DE 576, Session 10
Food for thought
“It is interesting to see that DEAF people can function in the hearing world very well, while hearing people cannot function well in the DEAF world.” Gil Eastman, Gallaudet Theater Arts
Agenda Discussion Review of Vygotsky’s major ideas Vygotsky and reading Progressive Reading Break CI Corner Applying book clubs Housekeeping
Agenda Discussion
Review of Vygotsky’s major ideas Vygotsky and reading Progressive Reading Break CI Corner Applying book clubs Housekeeping
Discussion
What do you like/dislike about the ideas of book clubs?
What are the advantages of using peers in book clubs as “more knowledgeable others”? What are the disadvantages?
How do you see book clubs working in Deaf Ed classrooms? Are there any changes you would
make?
Discussion
What do you think about children using art to respond to text? Bonny did an excellent job analyzing
student art on the wiki! Vygotsky identifies collaborative
groups as important for development. Some of you have noted the small class sizes in many Deaf Ed classrooms – how might we get past this to support collaboration among our students? (with diverse peers)
Discussion Board Interlude
I do, however, remember hating group work. This is something I have been struggling with when reading this Vygotsky book. When I was in grade school I never wanted to work with the other students because I knew how I wanted the assignment to go. I also always wanted to figure things out for myself. I wonder about students like me. Did I become that way because my teachers were not leading our groups in the right way, or are there some people who can actually work alone and still learn?
Discussion Board Interlude
If there are enough number of students in a classroom, teacher would be easy to make diversity groups to do the activities. However, most of classrooms of Deaf schools have small number of students. So teacher might be difficult to divide into groups since some students feel that they often work with the same students.
Often, Deaf classrooms have a small number of students. With that being said what about designating a specific time a few times a week and have 2 or 3 classes meet together and have book club? That could allow students to branch out and discuss ideas with different students.
Agenda Discussion Review of Vygotsky’s major ideas
Vygotsky and reading Progressive Reading Break CI Corner Applying book clubs Housekeeping
ZPD
Zone of proximal development Where a student can be successful in
a challenging task with the support of a more knowledgeable other (teacher or peer)
Social Transaction
The importance of interacting with others around new ideas in order to learn
Learning both from one another, from texts, and from our own thoughts
Mediation Model
Agenda Discussion Review of Vygotsky’s major ideas Vygotsky and reading
Progressive Reading Break CI Corner Applying book clubs Housekeeping
Semiotic Mediation
Understanding how we use signs and symbols to communicate with one another
Developing this skill can improve higher order thinking
Taught through: Reading (recognizing written
symbols for communication) Writing (using written symbols or
drawings to communicate) Discussion (using language to
communicate)
Other research
Signed conversations between students and teachers provides scaffolding necessary to navigate signs and symbols used in print and ASL (Gioia, 2001)
Deaf students benefit from instruction from teachers that is within their ZPD (Luetke-Stahlman, Hayes & Nielsen, 1996)
Supporting signed language among Deaf children seems to support their understanding of written language (Williams, 1994)
Internalization
We start learning through social processes (interpsychological) – we express our ideas and thoughts to others
Learners need feedback from others to help them to reassess, refine, and strengthen their constructed meanings.
Learning eventually becomes an inner discussion (intrapsychological) – we think to ourselves
Moving from the social to the inner processes is internalization
Internalization and Collaboration
Participation in discussions means two things for students. They are for them to: --express their developing ideas
related to texts for others to respond to
--see the teacher and peers respond to texts, revealing alternative constructed meanings and struggles they may have in communicating their ideas.
Pair Discussion
In groups of 2-3: Reread the scenario on page 59 What do you think has gone wrong
here? Why is the teacher unsuccessful? What ideas do you have to help the
book club lesson run more smoothly?
Activity Theory
Assumptions: Development is dynamic – it’s about
the changes we make We work best toward goals Activities must have
meaning/purpose Mental activities cannot be
separated from interpersonal interactions
Thinking dependant on actions, context and goal
Biology AND culture influence activity
Development varies for activities – we all have unique goals!
Applying activity theory
Academic discourse Depersonalization – books in the
classrooms are often objective in nature – third person
Boundedness – You are bound to what can be found in the text
Conscious Reflection – Metacognition and metalinguistic awareness
Systematicity – text based relationships (cause and effect, chronological, compare/contrast…)
Literacy as Activity
Literacy is a purposeful activity where people express themselves and their perspectives
When we teach students to read, we should move beyond recognizing vocabulary and individual words, and remember that the activity of literacy has its basis in communication
Activity of Literacy
Modeling Interpretation
Teacher models reading in the child’s ZPD
Teacher shows the student how to use strategies
Cons: Too much modeling might not give the child enough independent practice
Text-mediation Interpretation
Students engage in dialogue with texts and peers
Can think about the text, or related ideas/events
Cons: Less opportunity for students to see strategies as modeled by others
Supporting student collaboration
To really learn, students need to interact with others around a concept or idea
Students can learn as much (if not more!) through peer collaboration as through teacher dialogue
Collaborative groups help students interact together – students have varying abilities These should including writing,
reading, and using language
Supporting student collaboration
Children often feel good about collaboration, which can be motivating
Literature study (book clubs), progressive reading, learning teams, jigsaw and discussion groups all support collaboration
Other research
Shared reading, involving interaction between students and adults, has been found to improve literacy abilities among DHH students (oral and signing) (Roberts et al., 2005, Senechal, LeFrebre, Hudson & Lawson, 1996)
Young signing Deaf children benefit from interacting with one another during writing (Williams, 1999)
What do you think?
How can semiotic mediation, internalization, and activity theory apply to Deaf children?
What modifications would you make to these ideas (if any)?
What do you like? What do you dislike?
Agenda Discussion Review of Vygotsky’s major ideas Vygotsky and reading Progressive Reading
Break CI Corner Applying book clubs Housekeeping
In groups of 3
You will receive (the same) excerpts from a pro-oral education article
Read the article Your group will begin to write a response – choose
any point made in the article that you would like to respond to.
In 8 minutes you will switch tables, read what that team had written, and continue their piece
In 5 minutes, we will do this again! We will then take a minute to pass around and
read the final products
Reflection
What did you think about this way of including reading, writing, and group interactions?
What are the benefits for students? What do you like about it? What do you think would be
challenging?
Agenda Discussion Review of Vygotsky’s major ideas Vygotsky and reading Progressive Reading Break
CI Corner Applying book clubs Housekeeping
Break!
Agenda Discussion Review of Vygotsky’s major ideas Vygotsky and reading Progressive Reading Break CI Corner
Applying book clubs Housekeeping
CI Corner
Dissertation Abstract: Speech and sign perception in deaf children with cochlear implants Giezen, 2011 University of Amsterdam Dissertation
What did they do?
Looked at 15 5-6 year old children with CI’s who were educated using either signed language or spoken language Compared them with 41 typically hearing peers
(20 children, 21 young adults) Asked students to:
Categorize sounds Learn new words
What did they find?
Emphasize that CIs do not restore normal hearing
Students with CIs did a good job of categorizing sounds
Children with better sign vocabulary tended to have better speech perception
Although people often think otherwise, students who learned sign language were also successful speech users Sign did not inhibit speech In fact, signed vocabulary seemed to
support spoken vocabulary
What do you think?
Agenda Discussion Review of Vygotsky’s major ideas Vygotsky and reading Progressive Reading Break CI Corner Applying book clubs
Housekeeping
Book clubs
The text explores the use of book clubs as a way of promoting literacy as well as interaction
Today you will be in book clubs to read and discuss a children’s book
Procedures
You will get your books Read them silently
You will also receive the book critique graphic organizer from your text Fill this out when you finish reading
Then you will meet with your book club, others who read the same book as you
Discussion rules
Share what you thought about the book
Make sure everyone gets a turn When you disagree, do so respectfully
(I do not agree with that, because…) Stay on topic Pay attention to one another and learn
from your differing perspectives
Ideas for discussion
Information from your book critique Whether you made any connection to
the story Whether it reminded you of other
stories you have read What you liked about the story What you disliked about the story
Reflecting
What did you think about the book club experience?
How could you see it playing out in a classroom?
What did you like? Dislike?
Summing up
Book clubs and similar activities can go a long way toward making literacy development interactive
Students should be free to respond to reading in a variety of ways
The end result of social mediation in literacy activities is to help students develop concrete understandings and internalize what they have learned
Agenda Discussion Review of Vygotsky’s major ideas Vygotsky and reading Progressive Reading Break CI Corner Applying book clubs Housekeeping
Housekeeping
Anyone have annotated bibliographies?
Remember, your final paper proposal is due in 2 weeks (April 11) It can be handed in any time
between now and then Also, don’t forget the ASL storytelling
event tonight at Wellesley (6:30)
One more guest speaker
On April 25 Erika Guarino, who is Deaf and a
graduate of this program Formerly taught at The Learning
Center, currently a self-contained high school teacher in the EDCO program To round out our itinerant and
residential school teachers Do come prepared with any questions
you may have about working in such a setting
Next week
We will be talking about content area literacy and Vygotsky
As well as finishing up Rethinking the Education of Deaf Students
It is our last week with no student discussion leader
See you next week!!