THE KEY TO UNDERSTANDING deaf education lies in visual learning. This article breaks down the importance of visual aids when you have a deaf student in your hearing classroom. This situation, called "mainstreaming" is becoming more and more common in schools here and abroad. Having a deaf student provides a unique challenge when trying to convey complex ideas and teach new concepts.

When we communicate with others we use five senses (National, 2004) to process information. Vision, hearing, touch, smell and taste are the methods we use to understand the world around us. We often take for granted the subtle audio clues we receive in our everyday lives. The ringing of the doorbell, someone calling for our attention, the cat meowing for food and the honking of a car are all examples of cues that help make us aware that we need to take action.

When access to all our senses is available, up to 65% of what we take in is done with our sight. This makes sense when you close your eyes and try to walk around the room, your other senses don't do much to help get you around when you can't see. However for deaf students who don't have the capacity to use their hearing, up to 90% of what they take in is done through vision. 

Hence the importance of using visual clues in the classroom to give context to your lecture, signal the change of topic, explain a new concept or to demonstrate a technique. Most deaf students will have an interpreter but experience a delay in communication and need extra help to follow along. Methods that teachers can employ might include showing videos (with subtitles or captioning), gesturing, mime, writing on the black board, or using an overhead projector so you can write while facing the class. You can also use visual aids like photos, diagrams, illustrations, maps, aritfacts or a slide show. Channeling the use of multiple senses is proven to be a more effective teaching strategy and students will retain the information better.

Another way to build communication with your deaf student is by writing back and forth in a "Communication Notebook" (Speights, 1999). It works like journal to answer student's questions, give homework assignments, communicate expected assignment guidelines, and grading for work accomplished.

It can also be used to communicate with parents and let the student know about school events, minimum days, etc. Remember to write in plain English without educational jargon. Deaf children are often excluded in after school acitivities, sports and clubs, so this is also a good way to encourage them to get involved and meet new people. 

Deaf children often read and write below grade level. They aren’t read to out loud when they are young like most hearing children, so their language development is impacted greatly. One way to help such students would be with a "Vocabulary Board".

A large bulletin board, dry/erase board, or butcher paper can be put in front of the classroom where new vocabulary can be presented in advance of lecture. Most of the words native speakers of a language know are not learned from a dictionary (Davenport, 2004).

Students can also contribute to the board with unfamiliar terms they run across in texts, lectures, and everyday life. This especially helps deaf students understand idioms, context-dependent meanings, and figurative language. It helps if students add images like drawings or collage to reinforce concepts. Hearing students will greatly benefit from this method as well. 

If you'd like to find out more, here is are two more EET articles about website design for the deaf and one more on using multi-media to teach deaf students.

There is also more information at the following sites: teaching math to deaf students, teaching science for the deaf, and a good book on other strategies for teaching the deaf.

National Childrens Deaf Society. (2004). Deaf friendly teaching. Retrieved October 30, 2005 from http://www.ndcs.org.uk/. 
Speights, A. (1999). Strategies to use in the Multi-level English Class. English Language Arts for the Deaf Classroom. Retrieved October 30, 2005 from http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Delphi/6190/strategies.html. 
Davenport, S. (2004). The five senses and Communication. Retrieved October 30, 2005 from http://www.dbproject.mn.org/fivesenses.htm. 
Jennell Aragon, Graduate Student ，SDSU Educational Technology
Aragon, J. (2005). Understanding deaf education. In B. Hoffman (Ed.), Encyclopedia of Educational Technology.