DECODING PROGRAM FOR DEAF AND HARD OF HEARING STUDENTS

DESCRIPTION: Teachers of the deaf have struggled with the low student reading achievement for over 70 years, and still 18-year-old deaf students average only about a 4th grade reading level. This low performance causes additional problems in spelling and academic areas such as history and science. Although it is accepted that phonemic awareness and phonological processing are necessary for proficient reading and that even deaf students use these skills, no effort has been made to formally adapt a phonetic reading program for use with deaf students. This project will incorporate advanced computer technology with a proven-effective instructional program to teach deaf and hard-of-hearing students decoding skills, while simultaneously providing effective teacher training necessary for teaching decoding. In Phase I, 20 prototype lessons will be developed using methods similar to those in our existing multimedia computer program on reading comprehension. The prototype will be a stand-alone, turnkey computer system. The efficacy of the prototype training and presentation will be evaluated with elementary-school deaf or hard-of-hearing students in teacher-led classrooms. Phase II will develop an entire training and presentation program covering 120 lessons and will be evaluated in a randomized control trial. PROPOSED COMMERCIAL APPLICATION: This project will lead to the production of a multimedia computer program that initiates the teaching of decoding skills to deaf students and simultaneously trains teachers in the skills necessary to continue using a print version of the program. It will be attractive to state, regional, and local schools with deaf and hard-of-hearing students, as well as to institutions which train teachers of the deaf and hard-of-hearing.