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 # 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 LITERACY PRACTICES COGNITIVE SKILLS EARLY EDUCATION CURRICULUM LITERACY TIME 1 LITERACY TIME 2 LITERACY TIME 3

BACKGROUND CHARACTERISTICS 1.age 2.sex 3.race 4.age at identification of deafness 5.degree of hearing loss 6.additional disabilities 7.languages used in the home 8.SES 9.family income 10.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 SKILLS 1.Executive Functioning/Cognitive Control 2.meta cognitive/meta linguistic skills 3.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 2 REPEAT ASSESSMENTS FOR WAVE 3

JULAUGSEPOCTNOVDECJANFEBMARAPRMAYJUNJULAUGSEP 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