10 Do’s and Don’ts To Consider When Teaching Deaf/Hard of

Hearing Students Dr. Nanci A. Scheetz, CSC

Professor, VSU

Dr. Susan Easterbrooks

Professor, GSU

1. Do arrange your classroom to accommodate deaf or hard of hearing students

• When possible place chairs in a circle or semi circlecircle or semi circle. Many deaf or hard of hearing students use speechreading to help them understand what is said. They need to sit where they can see you and others in the class.

• If a student uses an interpreter the student needs to sit where he or she has an unobstructed viewunobstructed view of the interpreter.

• Let deaf students advocatestudents advocate for themselves and discuss with you where the best placethe best place is for them to sit.

Don’t set up your classroom where…

• The student is sitting next to a noisy areanext to a noisy area like a doorway or where an air conditioner or projector is located.

• You have your back to the window or another lightback to the window or another light source. This will make it difficult for the student to speechread you.

• You are talking while writing on a blackboardwriting on a blackboard as it will be impossible for the student to speechread you.

• At 15dB loss students can miss up to 10%miss up to 10% of the speech signal if the teacher is further away than 3 feet.

2. Do make your, assignments, directions, and lessons visual

• Write directions on the board before giving them orally

• Write all homework assignments on the board

• Post information about quizzes, test dates, special events, field trips, and schedule changes

• Present information visually as well as auditorily using webs, graphs, and diagrams.

Don’t begin teaching before the deaf or hard of hearing student has a chance to look

• Don’t be afraid to flash the lights to get everyone’s attention before you start.

• Don’t hesitate to assign a classmate to let the deaf or hard of hearing student know that you’re ready to begin.

• If you tell the students to look at something in their

books, don’t keep talking while they lookdon’t keep talking while they look.

3. Do make notes available to deaf and hard of hearing students

• Taking notes can be difficult if not impossible for d/hh students. If the student needs to watch you to get information, he/she cannot look down and take notes. You can select a student in class to be the notetaker.notetaker.

• Include as much information in your notes as possible.

• Include examples

• Use diagrams and illustrations to make points clearer.

Test on Tuesday

Don’t provide the student with incomplete or hard to read notes

• Don’t write notes with incomplete sentences

• Don’t crowd too much information in a small space

• Don’t omit new vocabulary or definitions

• Don’t omit examples or illustrations

4. Do set high expectations for D/HH students and ask higher order thinking questions

• Do ask questions that lead to discussion rather than those that require a yes/no answer

• Use “when”, “who”, “where”, “why”, and “howwhen”, “who”, “where”, “why”, and “how” questions.

• Take advantage of “wait time”. Give students enough time to generate a thoughtful response.

• Do schedule activities that promote critical thinkingcritical thinking skills

Don’t set low expectations for your Deaf/Hard of Hearing Students

• Do not have students just memorize rules and facts and then practice them over and over again.

• Don’t assume because of the language differences that deaf and hard of hearing students are not capable of engaging in higher order thinking skills

• Don’t limit your teaching to direct instruction, engage the students in interactive learning experiences.

5. Do include deaf and hard of hearing

students in group activities• When conducting group discussions identify the

student whowho wants to speak before letting them talk

• Repeat commentsRepeat comments a hearing student makes if you think the d/hh student missed it

• When you see students who are d/hh wanting to say something be sure to allow timeallow time for their comments

Don’t make group activities a nightmare for

students who are deaf and hard of hearing

• Don’t let more than one student talk at a timeone student talk at a time

• Don’t forget to let students who are d/hh know when the topic of the discussion changestopic of the discussion changes. This will make it easier for them to follow.

• Don’t hesitate to write major pointswrite major points of discussion on the board as the discussion unfolds and continues.

6. Do provide your students with test taking strategies

• Teach them how to:

– prepare for tests– decode test questions– pace themselves during a test– use reading strategies to understand test questions– deal with questions that use the word except– examine the wording closely in true/false questions– deal with test anxiety

Do not assume students who are deaf/hard of

hearing know how to study for tests

• Some students have not been exposed to

test taking strategies and do not know how to analyze questions.

• Some students do not know how to use textbooks, notes, and other material to prepare for tests.

7. Do develop an effective behavior

management plan

• Do expect students who are deaf and hard of hearing to adhere to the same classroom rulessame classroom rules and expectations that you have for all students.

• Recognize that many students who are deaf and hard of hearing come from small, self contained classrooms where they are used to getting a lot of individual attention – oftentimes they are not used not used to waiting for a responseto waiting for a response.

Don’t treat students who are deaf and hard of

hearing differently

• Don’t hesitate to discipline a student who has a hearing loss.

Don’t assume the student who is d/hh is understanding the implicit meaning of what is being said. Nonverbal clues are frequently missed by d/hh students.

• Don’t assume a d/hh student knows why

he/she is being punished. You may need to be explicit.

8. Do collaborate with the Teacher of the Deaf

• Collaboration takes time but can be extremely valuable

• Teachers of the deaf want to:Teachers of the deaf want to:

– Answer any questions that you might have

– Provide you with support

– Help you solve problems

– Be team players

– Provide you with beneficial resources

Don’t be afraid to ask questions

• Teachers of the deaf are trained in instructional strategies specifically for this population and they are eager to share them

• Teachers of the deaf are familiar with a variety of resources specifically designed to enhance classroom activities for students who are deaf and hard of hearing

9. Do include Deaf culture in your

curriculum • Teaching about Deaf cultureDeaf culture will promote a

notion of community in your classroom.

• Introduce learners to famous

Deaf scientists, Olympians,

actors, poets, and playwrights.

• Invite Deaf leaders in the community in to talk with your students

Linda Bove from Sesame Street

Don’t be afraid to ask for help in this area

• Deaf culture provides one more avenue to make your classroom multiculturalmulticultural

• There are excellent resourcesresources to assist you with this topic

• Deaf culture helps students establish another group that they can identifyidentify with

10. Do develop evaluations that test instructional content

• Allow test items to be signed to students and allow students to sign their responses

• Provide extra time, when needed for students to complete exams

• Modify the number of test items.

• Modify vocabulary used in test items to match student abilities

• Use projects as well as portfolios in place of written examinations

Don’t hesitate to adapt classroom assessments

• Don’t hesitate to use:– Protocols– Projects– Portfolios to determine student mastery of

content material

10 Things to Remember

1. Do arrange your classroom so all students have clear access to communication.

2. Make learning visual.

3. Make notes available for students who are deaf or hard of hearing

4. Ask higher order thinking questions

5. Include all students in group activities

Additional things to remember

6. Provide your students with test taking strategies.

7. Develop an effective behavior management plan

8. Collaborate with the teacher of the deaf

9. Include Deaf culture in your curriculum

10. Develop evaluations that test instructional content.

References

• Bullard, C. (2003). The itinerant teacher’s

handbook. Hillsboro, OR: Butte

Publications, Inc.

• Moores, D. & Martin, D. (2006). Deaf

learners developments in curriculum and

instruction. Washington, DC: Gallaudet

University Press.