My research area focuses on deaf literacy. My essential question is something like, "How do deaf children become literate after only communicating manually?" Some ideas for essential questions are:

1. How do hearing children become literate?

2. What are the roles of the teacher and the SLP in this situation?

3. What can parents do to help?

4.What is the outcome for the education of deaf chidren if they are illiterate?

5. What is the hardest thing about becoming literate, according to a deaf person who only communicated manually before?

6. What techniques are used to teach spelling?

7. Is there a delay in the acquisition of literacy skills (spelling/reading/writing) in deaf children, as compared to hearing children?

8. If so (to #7), when do deaf children eventually "catch up," if at all?

So…learning story…..of course, as most people have said, I go back to high school because really, before then, learning is just a blur to me (elementary and middle school and stuff). I think that, at my high school, I got lucky because I had a lot of good teachers. I guess when I say good teachers I mean they who are excited and enthusiastic about teaching and seeing us learn. A good attitude about being in class is definitely contagious and not only makes the time pass more quickly, but makes learning and classroom experiences “stick.” It’s hard to think about specific instances when learning occurred, but I think math and science classes lend themselves the best to that type of recollection. I remember my chemistry teacher, Sue Ellen Compton, who, by all others’ accounts was a total witch. Everyone knew she graded really tough, she seemed almost furious when she asked a question that was clearly answerable to her and expected you to be completely focused on chemistry. I remember being fired up at her several times, challenged to “outsmart” the system of fear that had driven so many of her students to frustration and defeat. I wasn’t afraid to ask questions or speak up to her, and throughout the semester, my feelings for her, that class, and learning in general changed. I saw her as a person who wasn’t angry, but was passionate about what she knew and was desperate for others to understand. I saw her class as a chance to use as a resource one of the brightest women I had met, and I viewed learning as a game, almost; outsmart whatever is challenging you and staring you down and in the end, you will reap the benefits more times than you ever thought you would. So many times since I finished those classes, my classmates and I have been thankful for Mrs. Compton, not only because she taught us how many atoms are in a mole or how to do conversions but because she showed us that, when a fire is lit under us, we can step it up, meet our goals, and be thankful for what we learned in the process.

I know I talked about it a few times already, but my main area of interest is with Hearing Impaired children and how they learn to spell, read and write. I guess all of those would fall under the umbrella term of "literacy."

My essential question could be, "How can you teach a congenitally deaf child to be literate?"

I already know that many deaf children and adults are not literate, but fully rely on manual communication as their main mode of communication. I also know that it takes a lot of practice, patience, and creativity when it comes to teaching this population how to read, write and spell. I dont' know for sure how they compare to literacy of their hearing peers, but I would imagine that their skills are less developed.

What I don't know is how many methods there are to achieving literacy for deaf students (adults and children), and where you would even begin. I also don't know the prognosis for them once they begin therapy or school. and I don't know (and maybe no one will ever know) what the interaction is like in their brains, connecting a gesture and its visual image to black and white letters on a piece of paper (how is meaning reassigned to words instead of a gesture)?

Allison