Harry Knoors

The introduction of pediatric cochlear implants more than 30 years ago has changed the lives of deaf children and their families and the field of deaf education, early intervention, and research. However, discussions about cochlear implantation have sometimes come with unrealistic expectations or strong objections. Expectations have sometimes been exaggerated, predicting for example almost full restoration of hearing. At the same time, cochlear implantation has been met by fierce criticism from many deaf people, but also by some professionals and researchers, who feel that cochlear implantation leads to a devaluation of sign language and deaf culture. Although the extremes in the debate concerning the benefits and risks of pediatric cochlear implantation have decreased over the years, nuances in popular, professional, and scientific discourse are sometimes missing. This book provides a comprehensive and balanced look at the prospects of growing up with cochlear implants, primarily based on the results of empirical research. The authors explore the results of implantation on child development , the limitations and risks, the upbringing of children with an implant, and factors that can make implantation and upbringing complex and controversial, such as additional disabilities of the child or growing up in a multilingual and multicultural environment, whether or not with the use of sign language within or in relation to the deaf community.

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.