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Volume 17, Number 3, January-February 1999 The Teaming of General Educators and Teachers of the Deaf: Part I
Many deaf or hard of hearing students who previously attended residential schools or large day programs now attend public schools in their home communities. For example, Bowe (1988) reported that, in the 1977-78 school year, 33 percent of these students attended public schools. In 1991-92, 81 percent of all school-age deaf and hard of hearing students received services in public school settings. Although this is a dramatic change in itself, further modification within public school buildings has occurred as such that "contained" options, such as resource rooms or separate classes, are steadily being replaced by full-day placement in general education classrooms. Teachers of deaf and hard of hearing students must now meet job expectations created by an inclusive philosophy of education (Luckner & Miller, 1993). They have had to become advocates at team meetings and have had to identify their responsibilities in general education classrooms. To help them become effective team members, 12 teaming roles for these teachers and general educators are described. The first four roles are explained in this article: The remaining roles will be described in Part 2 (to appear in the March/April issue.)
While teachers of deaf or hard of hearing students frequently administer formal tests assessing the academic and linguistic skills of these children--especially if their primary mode of communication is sign language--it is the responsibility of both general and special educators to conduct specific subject/content assessments (e.g., criterion-referenced, CBA, pre/post tests, etc.). Although the special educator might write the tests, the general educator would probably determine how often the students are tested. Both teachers should take responsibility if students have not acquired expected competencies and are not progressing. For example, teachers of deaf and hard of hearing students might lead a team problem-solving session concerning curricular modifications that might help the students achieve competencies (Luetke-Stahlman, accepted). This might be a good approach because these teachers are usually more experienced with such adaptations and more knowledgeable of curricular resources or learning and/or study skill strategies that are available for deaf and hard of hearing students. These teachers might also work with individual students to identify, through task analysis, which behaviors the student is capable of demonstrating. The special educator could also model for the general educator how the task or skill might be re-taught or acquired in a more mediated manner (Luetke-Stahlman, 1998a).
The movement away from lecture and toward cooperative learning and small group instruction has been beneficial to deaf and hard of hearing students. Socialization, communication, and learning can increase when all students are provided increased opportunities to share what they are learning and discuss their ideas using new or more difficult vocabulary (Luetke-Stahlman, 1995). While general educators usually decide how to arrange learning experiences, the teacher of deaf or hard of hearing students can help plan and implement the activities. These teachers might prepare materials that help children organize information (e.g., graphic organizers; visualizations), add examples to the general educator's instructions, paraphrase or sequence directions, and provide question prompts (Luetke-Stahlman, 1998b). The teacher of deaf and hard of hearing students might assess a student's learning style so that team members can teach to that style when working individually or in small groups with these students. When both teachers notice study skill needs, it would probably be the teacher of deaf and hard of hearing students who would teach individuals. If a student is having difficulty with the amount of work required or leaves to receive special services, the teachers might agree to reduce the amount of class work required.
Once the lesson has started, the teachers can team to enhance instruction. For example, if an English literature class has been using the comics in the daily newspaper as inspiration for their own cartoons, the teachers might team in the following way:
Both the general educator and the teacher for deaf and hard of hearing students should monitor student progress, although it may be the latter who actually records and charts data. The teachers might ask frequent questions to assess the comprehension of a deaf or hard of hearing student. They also might attend to his or her contribution in cooperative groups to further assess the extent to which learning is occurring. The teachers should not hesitate to discuss modifications or placement options if they feel progress is minimal. Part II of this article will appear in the next issue of Perspectives. Eight additional teaming roles will be discussed. ReferencesBowe, F. (1988). Toward equality; Education of the deaf: A report to the President of the United States. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office. Luckner, J., & Miller, K. (1993). Itinerant teachers: Responsibilities, perceptions, preparations and students served. American Annals of the Deaf, 139(2), 111-118. Luetke-Stahlman, B. (accepted). Programmatic and curricular modifications for public school program serving deaf children. American Annals of the Deaf. Luetke-Stahlman, B. (1995). Classrooms, Communication, and Social Competence. Perspectives in Education and Deafness, 6(5), 2-4. Luetke-Stahlman, B. (1998a). Language Across the Curriculum when Students are Deaf or Hard of Hearing. Hillsboro, OR: Butte. Luetke-Stahlman, B. (1998b). Language Issues in Deaf Education. Hillsboro, OR: Butte. U.S. Department of Education. (1995). Sixteenth Annual Report to Congress on the Implementation of the Education of the Handicapped Act. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
in Education and Deafness
