In this invaluable guide, renowned authorities Marc Marschark and Peter Hauser highlight important new advances in scientific and educational research that can help parents and teachers of students with significant hearing loss. The authors stress that deaf children have strengths and needs that are sometimes dramatically different from those who can hear. Consequently, if deaf students are to have full academic access and optimal educational outcomes, it is essential that parents and teachers learn to recognize these differences and adjust their teaching methods to them. Marschark and Hauser explain how the fruits of research conducted over the last several years can markedly improve educational practices at home and in the classroom, and they offer innovative strategies that parents and teachers can use to promote learning in their children. The result is a lively, accessible volume that sheds light on what it means to be a deaf learner and that provides a wealth of advice on how we can best support their language development, social skills, and academic success.
Deaf children are not hearing children who can't hear, and having a deaf child is not analogous to having a hearing child who can't hear. Beyond any specific effects of hearing loss, deaf children are far more diverse than their hearing age-mates. A lack of access to language, limited incidental learning and social interactions, as well as the possibility of secondary disabilities, mean that deaf children face a variety of challenges in language, social, and academic domains. In recent years, technological innovations such as digital hearing aids and cochlear implants have improved hearing and the possibility of spoken language for many deaf learners, but parents, teachers, and other professionals are just now coming to recognize the cognitive, experiential, and social-emotional differences between deaf and hearing children. Sign languages and schools and programs for deaf learners thus remain an important part of the continuum of services needed for this population. Understanding the unique strengths and needs of deaf children is the key. Now in its third edition, Marc Marschark's Raising and Educating a Deaf Child, which has helped a countless number of families, offers a comprehensively clear, evidence-based guide to the choices, controversies, and decisions faced by parents and teachers of deaf children today.
Over the past decade there has been a significant increase in interest from educators and the general public about deafness, special education, and the development of children with special needs. The education of deaf children in the United States has been seen as a remarkable success story around the world, even while it continues to engender domestic debate. In Educating Deaf Students: From Research to Practice, Marc Marschark, Harry G. Lang, and John A. Albertini set aside the politics, rhetoric, and confusion that often accompany discussions of deaf education. Instead they offer an accessible evaluation of the research literature on the needs and strengths of deaf children and on the methods that have been used-successfully and unsuccessfully-to teach both deaf and hearing children. The authors lay out the common assumptions that have driven deaf education for many years, revealing some of them to be based on questionable methods, conclusions, or interpretations, while others have been lost in the cacophony of alternative educational philosophies. They accompany their historical consideration of how this came to pass with an evaluation of the legal and social conditions surrounding deaf education today. By evaluating what we know, what we do not know, and what we thought we knew about learning among deaf children, the authors provide parents, teachers, and administrators valuable new insights into educating deaf students and others with special needs.
Oxford Handbooks offer authoritative and up-to-date reviews of original research in a particular subject area. Specially commissioned chapters from leading figures in the discipline give critical examinations of the progress and direction of debates, as well as a foundation for future research. Oxford Handbooks provide scholars and graduate students with compelling new perspectives upon a wide range of subjects in the humanities, social sciences, and sciences. The adage "Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it" is a powerful one for parents, teachers, and other professionals involved with or interested in deaf individuals or the Deaf community. Myths grown from ignorance have long dogged the field, and faulty assumptions and overgeneralizations have persisted despite contrary evidence. A study of the history of deaf education reveals patterns that have affected educational policy and legislation for deaf people around the world; these patterns are related to several themes critical to the chapters of this volume. One such theme is the importance of parental involvement in raising and educating deaf children. Another relates to how Deaf people have taken an increasingly greater role in influencing their own futures and places in society. In published histories, we see the longstanding conflicts through the centuries that pertain to sign language and spoken communication philosophies, as well as the contributions of the individuals who advocated alternative strategies for teaching deaf children. More recently, investigators have recognized the need for a diverse approach to language and language learning. Advances in technology, cognitive science, linguistics, and the social sciences have alternately led and followed changes in theory and practice, resulting in a changing landscape for deaf and hard-of-hearing individuals and those connected to them. This second volume of the The Oxford Handbook of Deaf Studies, Language, and Education picks up where that first landmark volume left off, describing those advances and offering readers the opportunity to understand the current status of research in the field while recognizing the opportunities and challenges that lie ahead. In Volume 2, an international group of contributing experts provide state-of-the-art summaries intended for students, practitioners, and researchers. Not only does it describe where we are, it helps to chart courses for the future.
Debates about methods of supporting language development and academic skills of deaf or hard-of-hearing children have waxed and waned for more than 100 years: Will using sign language interfere with learning to use spoken language or does it offer optimal access to communication for deaf children? Does placement in classrooms with mostly hearing children enhance or impede academic and social-emotional development? Will cochlear implants or other assistive listening devices provide deaf children with sufficient input for age-appropriate reading abilities? Are traditional methods of classroom teaching effective for deaf and hard-of-hearing students? Although there is a wealth of evidence with regard to each of these issues, too often, decisions on how to best support deaf and hard-of-hearing children in developing language and academic skills are made based on incorrect or incomplete information. No matter how well-intentioned, decisions grounded in opinions, beliefs, or value judgments are insufficient to guide practice. Instead, we need to take advantage of relevant, emerging research concerning best practices and outcomes in educating deaf and hard-of-hearing learners. In this critical evaluation of what we know and what we do not know about educating deaf and hard-of-hearing students, the authors examine a wide range of educational settings and research methods that have guided deaf education in recent years--or should. The book provides a focus for future educational and research efforts, and aims to promote optimal support for deaf and hard-of-hearing learners of all ages. Co-authored by two of the most respected leaders in the field, this book summarizes and evaluates research findings across multiple disciplines pertaining to the raising and educating of deaf children, providing a comprehensive but concise record of the successes, failures, and unanswered questions in deaf education. A readily accessible and invaluable source for teachers, university students, and other professionals, Evidence-Based Practice in Educating Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Students encourages readers to reconsider assumptions and delve more deeply into what we really know about deaf and hard-of-hearing children, their patterns of development, and their lifelong learning.
Teaching Deaf Learners: Psychological and Developmental Foundations explores how deaf students (children and adolescents) learn and the conditions that support their reaching their full cognitive potential -- or not. Beginning with an introduction to teaching and learning of both deaf and hearing students, Knoors and Marschark take an ecological approach to deaf education, emphasizing the need to take into account characteristics of learners and of the educational context. Building on the evidence base with respect to developmental and psychological factors in teaching on learning, they describe characteristics of deaf learners which indicate that teaching deaf learners is not, or should not, be the same as teaching hearing learners. In this volume, Knoors and Marschark will explore factors that influence the teaching of deaf learners, including their language proficiencies, literacy and numeracy skills, cognitive abilities, and social-emotional factors. These issues are addressed in separate chapters, with a focus on the importance to all of them of communication and language. Separate chapters are devoted to the promise of multimedia enhanced education and the possible influences of contextual aspects of the classroom and the school on the learning of deaf students. The book concludes by pointing out the importance of appropriate education of teachers of deaf learners given the increasing diversity of those students and the contexts in which they are educated. It bridges the gap between research and practice in teaching, and outlines ways to improve teacher education.
