Tips for the Teacher Suggestions for Working with Students who are d/Deaf or Hard-of-Hearing

Tips for the Teacher Learning Target: I will be able to support the learning and achievement of a student who is d/Deaf or hard-of-hearing by adapting the classroom environment, modifying teaching strategies, and collaborating with resource personnel and parents.

Environmental Recommendations Flexible, preferential seating Away from extraneous noise Visible face Daily routines and schedules We can support students who are d/Deaf or hard-of-hearing by make some adjustments to the classroom environment.

Flexible, Preferential Seating The student should be 5-10 feet away from the primary sound source with better ear facing teacher. If the teacher’s primary presentation area moves, the student should also move. However, avoid first row seating – the student would have to look straight up to speech read.

Away from Extraneous Noise Hall noise Street noise Pencil sharpeners Air conditioning/heating vents Example: background noise in a classroom The student should be seated away from hall/street noises, pencil sharpeners, air conditioning/heating vents, etc.

Visible Face Many students with hearing loss rely on visual cues from the speaker’s lips and face; therefore, students need to have access to these cues. Do not stand in front of windows when speaking – backlighting makes it difficult to see the speaker’s face. Avoid standing in shadow. Keep your hands away from your face when speaking. Always face the class when speaking.

Daily Routines and Schedules Post learning targets, schedules, and agendas Assignment board Mark transitions Post learning objectives and agendas/schedules in the same area daily. Write assignments in the same place daily. Mark transitions between activities with consistent cues or routines – attention signals, transitioning to different areas of the classroom, transitioning from whole class/small group/individual work, lining up, entering/exiting the classroom,

Teaching Modification Recommendations Gain attention Give effective directions Use visuals Facilitate participation: Large group Small group Independent In addition to making adaptations to the student’s environment, minor adaptations in the way we teach can have a large impact on a student’s ability to function successfully in any classroom. Small changes or considerations in each of these areas can be highly beneficial to students with hearing loss

Teaching Modification Recommendations Check comprehension Rephrase and restate Avoid divided attention Monitor effort

Gain Attention Gain attention first. Use an attention signal. Call student by name. Always gain the student’s attention before beginning instruction or giving directions. Use an attention signal (eyes on me in 5, eyes on me in 4…) or call the student by name. Tap student on shoulder or on student’s desk.

Give Effective Directions Remain in one place. Use visual cues. Keep them brief. Write down the steps. Try to remain in one place when giving directions – microphone directionality and difficulty tracking the speaker. Use visual cues to signal the steps of the directions (Use fingers to signal each step) Keep instructions brief Write the steps on the board, project, etc.

Use Visuals Use diagrams or illustrations. Write down directions. List vocabulary Post examples Model Use diagrams or illustrations to explain or describe new vocabulary terms. Write directions on the board. List key vocabulary on the board. Work an example together and post the example in the room. Model new skills to provide a clear demonstration of student expectations.

Facilitate Participation – large Group Support localization. Restate student responses or questions Students with hearing loss have difficulty identifying the location of a sound source. Call on students by name or indicate the location of the speaker before they begin speaking so that the student can turn and face him or her. Restate or rephrase what another student said. Even facing the speaking student, the student with hearing loss may have difficulty understanding the student due to background noise, speaking volume, etc.

Facilitate Participation – Small Group Quieter setting? Leave the assistive listening device with the small group. Support localization. Allow group to work in a quieter setting if possible. If not, try to keep the noise level in the classroom to a minimum. If the students uses an assistive listening device, leave the device with the small group. Group members can pass the FM. If you are teaching the small group and wearing the FM, help direct the student’s attention to the speaker if it is someone other than yourself.

Facilitate Participation – Independent Quieter setting? Allow student to subvocalize. Turn off or mute the transmitter Allow student to work in a quieter setting Allow student to subvocalize when reading independently. Appears to help with comprehension and processing. If student uses an assisted-listening device, turn it off.

Check for Comprehension Ask open-ended questions. Ask, “What did you learn?” Avoid yes/no questions. Ask the student open-ended questions about the content being discussed. Ask student to explain what they learned. Follow up with “why” or “how do you know?” Do not ask yes/no questions.

Rephrase and Restate Encourage self-advocacy. Repeat questions once, then rephrase. Substitute simpler vocabulary. Simplify grammar. Give choices Encourage the student to indicate when they do not understand what has been said. If a student does not understand a question, repeat it once. If they still don’t understand, rephrase or reword the question. Rephrase a statement or question by substituting words and simplifying the grammar. If a student is struggling with a open-ended questions with an open-set answer, provide answer choices.

Avoid Divided Attention Ask student to listen first. Provide outline or notes. Student who are d/Deaf or hard-of-hearing have difficulty dividing attention during listening tasks. They lose access to visual cues and auditory information when they drop their heads to write. Listen first, then complete task. Avoid asking student to listen and take notes simultaneously. Consider providing an outline or notes for the student prior to the presentation of information.

Monitor Effort Quicker to fatigue when listening Short, intensive periods of instruction Alternate activities. Students with impaired auditory function become fatigued more easily than their hearing peers. Provide short intensive periods of instruction with breaks between the periods. Alternate activities that require a greater listening demand with those that require less.

Collaboration Work with resource personnel Work with parents In addition to modifying the environment and our teaching strategies, working with resource personnel and parents is key to student success.

Work with Resource Personnel Vocabulary Assigned readings Notify resource teachers or DHH teachers of unit vocabulary or language topics to be covered in the classroom. Provide assigned reading to resource or DHH teachers to read with students prior to class.

More on Vocabulary Reading comprehension is highly contingent upon the vocabulary knowledge of the reader. For many d/Deaf and hard-of-hearing students, language delays and a lack of background knowledge contributes to a working vocabulary significantly lower than their same age peers. In the top passage, 20% of the words have been replaced with nonsense words. Read the top passage and reflect on your comprehension of the passage.

More on Vocabulary Now read this passage, which contains vocabulary words familiar to us all. How does your comprehension of this passage compare to the previous passage? For many of our students, unfamiliar vocabulary words are like nonsense words. If students are unfamiliar with content-related or technical vocabulary, it will greatly affect their ability to understand what they are reading or being taught. Pre-teaching vocabulary is one strategy we use to help combat this problem. But, we need to know the vocabulary in order to preview the words with our students.

Work with Parents Assigned readings Vocabulary list Provide pre-assigned reading and home assignments to help introduce new concepts and topics. Give parents a vocabulary list – for the same reasons explained previously. Parents can help build background knowledge by providing additional practice or experiences that we cannot provide in school.

Schedule Changes! We want to and can be flexible with your classroom and schedules! However…. Sudden or drastic changes cause a missed IEP service and a domino effect for staff changes. This includes classes not starting/ending on time (and vis versa for the TOD) When set schedules change throughout the year, this changes schedules for teachers of the deaf, paras, interpreters, related service providers and can cause another student to be without a service they require. Please try to keep to the set basic schedule and/or let us know as soon as possible ahead of the change so we can work according to meet student need.

The Assistive Listening Devices Most students on FM device Remember to charge each afternoon before leaving school! Where do I wear the mic? The mute button! How/When do I sync? Where is the student equipment kept? Changing to the Roger….More to come later!

Paras in the Classroom A supplementary aid/service outlined on the IEP for a designated amount of minutes/specific class In the classroom to support a student for a reason considered on the IEP (language support, vocabulary support, understanding and following directions in a larger group setting, support with a specific area/skill) Can supervise students, but are not in the classroom to teach instruction; rather present to support teacher instruction for a specified student Are welcome to open conversations about classroom expectations

Interpreters in the Classroom American Sign Language Interpreters provide equal access to language Interpreters voice anything the student signs and sign anything any other student would be able to hear. Please recall that interpreters cannot supervise students. Are welcome to open conversations about classroom expectations See handout for more helpful information.

Thank you!! Please come to us at any time with any questions you have. We are always available to support with a student/trouble shoot a device. We have teacher tips available if you’d every like more ideas on working with a student/additional information on best working with students who are deaf or hard of hearing.