“Who, What, Where?” The Impact of Visual Support Charts on the Acquisition of WH—

Questions of a Deaf Kindergartener

Meghan F Seay, MS Candidate in Deaf EducationDepartment of Theory & Practice in Teacher Education

University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN

BACKGROUNDBACKGROUNDOne main strategy often used in deaf education is the use of visual learning approaches.

Language Acquisition of the Deaf

Deaf children do not learn language effortlessly.

96% of deaf children have hearing parents (Karchmer & Mitchell, 2002).

Most hearing parents cannot give their child the every day, real-world experiences to learn language (Easterbrook & Baker, 2002).

BACKGROUNDBACKGROUND

Acquisition of WH—questions

Preschoolers (12-46 months) should already understand & mastered WH—questions (Schirmer, 1994).

Children acquire WH—question words from ages 2-4, but results showed considerable variability in the order & timing of when they were attained (Luinge, Post, Wit, and Goorhuis-Brouwer, 2006).

Children should receptively understand the words who, what, & where between 3-4 years old (Bowen, 1998).

BACKGROUNDBACKGROUND

Language Interventions and Instructions

Language learning happens when communication opportunities arise within natural contexts (Luetke-Stahlman, 1993; Marvin, 1996).

Marvin’s study (1996)

Language strategies are needed when working with children who are deaf & language delayed (Lee and Mulhern, 1975; Luetke-Stahlman, 1993; Luetke-Stahlman, Bloom & Lahey, 1978; Marvin, 1996).

BACKGROUNDBACKGROUND

Using Visual Scaffolds with Visual Language Users

“Deaf people are primarily visual beings whose eyes are their portal to the world of information & knowledge” (World Federation of

the Deaf, 2007).

Dialogic reading intervention program

Utilize visual materials (Fung, Chow, & McBride-Chang, 2005).

Multiple Pathways for Children with Cochlear Implants

If a child with hearing loss is learning a first language at school, educators must determine the child’s language pathway (Easterbrook & Baker, 2002).

The research question guiding this study asks: Will a visual chart effectively support a severely language delayed student’s understanding of three WH—questions during daily authentic communication?

BACKGROUNDBACKGROUND

METHODS

METHODS

Variables: Dependent: Student’s ability to respond appropriately to WH—questions

Independent:

METHODS

DATA COLLECTION

RESULTS

The intervention was highly effective in improving his receptive understanding of WH—question words what & who.

Maintenance data show that Cole sustained his understanding of ‘what’ over a two week time span when no intervention was present, resulting in long term retention.

Results

Averages & Percentages What Who

Baseline Average 3.2 2.6

Intervention Average 7.75 7.6

Improvement Rate Difference 100% 100%

Computing Growth 142% 192%

RE

SU

LT

S

DISCUSSION

add pictures of each 3

DISCUSSION

All data phases were collected only during authentic communication to ensure Cole was fully engaged.

‘Who’ showed an upward trend that occurred at a more rapid rate because daily explicit instruction involved authentic & meaningful hands on approach rather than looking at children’s books.

DISCUSSION

The researcher planned ahead by providing the right manipulatives & activities to help create meaningful opportunities (Lee & Mulhern, 1975; Leutke-Stahlman, 1993; Marvin, 1996)

Cole generalized the information & transferred it to other environments throughout the school day.

Cole’s socialization skills increased.

LIMITATIONS

Inter-rater reliability

Small sample size

Collection of data within all three phases

FUTURE RESEARCH

Further examine how visual scaffolds support language understanding & growth.

Increase the number of weeks to include more WH—question words like ‘where’, ‘when’, ‘which’, & the more advanced ‘why’ & ‘how’.

Use chart for concepts, other words, & vocabulary in general.

Will the intervention or the visual support chart be successful with Autistic children?

REFERENCESBowen, C. (1998). Ages and Stages: Developmental Milestones. Retrieved October 31, 2010, From Caroline Bowen PhD Speech-Language Pathologist. http://www.speech-language-Therapy.com/devel2.htmEasterbrooks, S., & Baker, S. (2002). Language Learning in Children Who are Deaf and Hard of Hearing. Boston, MA: A Pearson Education Company.Fung, P.-C., Chow, B. W.-Y., & McBride-Chang, C. (2005). The Impact of a Dialogic Reading Program on Hard-of-Hearing Kindergarten and Early Primary School-Aged Students in Hong Kong. Journal of Deaf Studies and Deaf Education, 10 (1), 82-95.Lee, L., Koenigsknecht, R., & Mulhern, S. (1975). Interactive language development teaching. Evanston, IL.:

Northwestern University Press. Luetke-Stahlman, B. (1993). Reseach-Based Language Intervention Strategies Adapted for Deaf And Hard of

Hearing Children. American Annals of the Deaf , 138 (5), 404-410.Luinge, M., Post, W., Wit, H., & Goorhuis-Brouwer, S. (2006). The Ordering of Milestones in Language Development for Children from 1 to 6 Years of Age. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 49, 923-940.Marvin, C., & Kasal, K. (1996). A Semantic Analysis of Signed Communication in an Activity-Based Classroom for Preschool Children Who are Deaf. Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools, 27, 57-67.Schirmer, B. R. (1994). Language and literacy development in children who are deaf. New York: Macmillan

Publishing Company.World Federation of the Deaf, Education Rights for Deaf Children. (2007). Policy of the WFD Education Rights for Deaf Children. Retrieved from http://www.wfdeaf.org/pdf/policy_child_ed.pdf