What Visual Language and Visual Learning Research Has to Say about

Educational Practice

Thursday, April 22, 2010

State Leader Summit

A brief overview of VL2•Purpose

•Partnerships

•Research Initiatives and Projects

•Highlight of Early Education Longitudinal Study

•Findings so far

•Future Directions

•Translations to classrooms

First….•We are grateful for the generous

support of the National Science Foundation

•Cooperative Agreement # 000541953

•Part of the NSF Science of Learning Centers Program

Purpose•To more fully understand the role of

the visual modality and embodiment in language and gesture

•To understand the processes of literacy development for deaf individuals

Partners•11 Universities: Gallaudet University,

Rochester Institute of Technology, University of Illinois, University of New Mexico, Georgetown University, University of California at San Diego, University of California at Davis, Boston University, University of Haifa, Hamburg University, University of Texas

•90 K-12 School Partners

Research Initiatives and Projects:Visual Language and Gesture

•What social practices give rise to the development of visual language?

•What is the course of development in a visual language?

•How are complex meanings and relationships embodied through signs and gestures?

•What are the cognitive determinants and consequences of visual language acquisition?

•What is the neural basis for sign processing?

Research Initiative:Written Language and Reading

•What strategies can parents and teachers use to enhance and develop reading skills in young deaf children?

•What are the contributing roles of phonology, orthography, morphology, and syntax in the development of written language comprehension in deaf readers?

•How are bilingual processes influenced by differences in input modality?

•What is the neural basis for written word processing?

Highlight on EELS

Why, VL2-EELS?•Existing studies inadequately sample

deaf and hard of hearing students

•Existing studies dont ask questions to address the hypotheses that we want to test

•No longitudinal studies of early education and preschool experiences of deaf children exist

FAMILY BACKGROUND

SENSORY CHARACTERISTICS

COMMUNICATION

EARLY LITERACYPRACTICES

COGNITIVE SKILLS

EARLY EDUCATION

CURRICULUM

LITERACYTIME 1

LITERACYTIME 2

LITERACYTIME 3

BACKGROUND CHARACTERISTICS1.age2.sex3.race4.age at identification of deafness5.degree of hearing loss6.additional disabilities7.languages used in the home8.SES9.family income10.mother’s education level

FAMILY EFFORTS•literacy strategies in the home•communication strategies in the home•number of books/magazines in the home•does child have personal books•does child have own book shelf•family acceptance of child

EARLY CONGNITIVE SKILLS1.Executive Functioning/Cognitive Control2.meta cognitive/meta linguistic skills3.self-regulatory skills

LANGUAGE SKILLS•ASL Skill•English skill (reading)•English skill (speaking)•Other language skill

CHARACTERISTICS OF ECE PROGRAM(Laurene, others…some help here..)•size•communication skills of teachers•responsiveness of teacher to child needs•involvement of family•communication methods•discipline in classroom•time on task•teacher content knowledge

ATTAINMENT IN FIRST WAVE•reading comprehension

REPEAT ASSESSMENTS FOR WAVE 2REPEAT ASSESSMENTS FOR WAVE 3

JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP

RECRUIT SCHOOL SAMPLE

SELECT/MOIDIFY INSTRUMENTS

DEVELOP IRB PROPOSALS AND

CORRESPONDENCE

RECRUIT PARTICIPANTS VIA

PARENTS

DEVELOP INDIVIDUAL ASSESSMENT TRAIING

IDENTIFY ASSESSORS

CONDUCT ASSESSOR TRAINING

PILOT INSTRUMENTS

CONDUCT PARENT INTERVIEWS

CONDUCT STUDENT ASSESSMENTS

TEACHER, PRINCIPAL LEA SURVEYS

WAVE 1 DATA BASE CONSTRUCTION

VL2-EELS TIME LINE FOR WAVE 1

Primary sampling source

Some findings so far (VLG):

•Managing visual attention in young deaf children

•Gesture and depiction

•Neural basis of sign language and non-linguistic human action

•Development of visual attention in childhood

•Measuring competence in Sign Lanuage

Some findings so far (WLR):

•Eye gaze and literacy skills

•Relationship between sign ability and reading competence

•Deaf readers do not rely on phonological coding

•Different readers, different problems

•Differences in functional anatomy of unimodal and bimodal bilinguals

Emergent Themes for Renewal Proposal:

•Visual Attention, Eye gaze, Visual Engagement

•Representation through embodiment

•Combinatorial Competence

..and translation to practice

•Visual Engagement:

•Strategies for helping caregivers know how to engage young children visually

•Parameters for classroom spatial arrangements to minimize cognitive load for children processing bimodally

•Representation

•Facilitating use of space and body to improve learning

•Using what we are learning about normative ASL development to help parents facilitate language development of children

•Combinatorial Competence

•Curriculum and assessment in ASL phonology

•Curriculum and assessment in fingerspelling

•Training in morphology and syntactical knowledge