An interesting article has been published about the research that has been carried out at the National Technical Institute for the Deaf in America (NTID), part of the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT).
Their research looks at and challenges the assumptions involved in teaching Deaf children, with thousands of Deaf children being tested across the world. One finding is that children who signed at a young age generally outperformed those who did not.
Extract (read the full article here).
Research at NTID is shifting the way deaf students are being educated. Recent research suggests that even with qualified interpreters in the mainstreamed classroom, educators need to understand deaf children learn differently, are more visual, and often process information differently than their hearing peers.
Research Findings at NTID
A popular assumption in education for many years was that deaf students are the same as hearing students except that they simply don’t hear. But research at RIT’s National Technical Institute for the Deaf is contradicting that belief, and consequently altering the way deaf students are being taught.
“We’re changing the face of deaf education around the world,” says Dr. Marc Marschark, professor and director of NTID’s Center for Education Research Partnerships (CERP). “You can’t teach deaf kids as though they are hearing kids who can’t hear. It’s not about ears and it’s not about speech versus sign language. It’s about finding their strengths and needs. The historical approach to deaf education simply doesn’t work well enough to get deaf students where they need to be.”
Read the full article: http://www.rit.edu/showcase/index.php?id=86
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Barbara
July 19, 2016
This is an important contribution to the development of education policy and practice – for all pupils. It’s widely acknowledged in mainstream that children learn in a variety of ways and have different strengths and weaknesses but in addressing the needs of deaf children these very same principles are often ignored. The research hits the nail on head with the findings that show that treating deaf pupils the same as if they are hearing pupils that can’t hear is a terrible mistake. I’m just so sorry that huge numbers of deaf people have lost out and continue to miss out on opportunities because of these misguided policies.