International Symposium: Programs: Summary: Session M10C

It has often said that the primary problem of deafness is not a lack of hearing, but an abundance of isolation (Johnson, 2003). This isolation is experienced not only by students who are deaf/hard-of-hearing (d/hh), but also by the student's parents and deaf education professionals. Another "truism" is that while it is impossible to teach students, be they K-12 or university, everything that they need to know, you can teach them to become better learners. However for this to occur, students must have the opportunity to learn with, vs. simply from, their teachers (Bransford, Brown, Cocking, 1999). This presentation will identify how classrooms can evolve from four-walls-and-a-door, to "learning portals." Portals in which teachers and students use inquiry-based strategies to apply standards-based science, mathematics and literacy content to address increasingly complex, "real-world" problems. The presentation will identify how Web-based resources and technologies (i.e., Web-based video conferencing) are being used to not only support this classroom evolution, but also link it to the theories and resources of the nation's 72 deaf education teacher preparation programs. The presentation will conclude with an invitation for the attendees to join together in a common effort to use technologies to reduce isolation, recognize excellence and foster collaboration PK-20 deaf education.
References
Johnson, H. A. (2003). U.S. deaf education teacher preparation programs: A look at the present and a vision for the future. Gainesville, FL: Center on Personnel Studies in Special Education. Retrieved on June 15, 2004 from: http://www.coe.ufl.edu/copsse/pubfiles/IB-9.pdf
Bransford, J.D., Brown, A.L., & Cocking, R.R. (Eds.) (1999). How people learn: Brain, mind, experience and school - Executive Summary. National Academy Press, Washington, DC. Retrieved on June 2, 2004 from: http://www.nap.edu/html/howpeople1/es.html