Examining the Need of Attention Strategies for Academic Development in Deaf and Hard of Hearing Children

Abstract

Deaf children use their eyes to acquire information about their world. They do not naturally acquire this skill; rather, it is learned behavior that usually happens early in their development. This paper discusses the different attention strategies deaf children learn in preschools, such as maintaining eye gaze, and participating in joint attention. While attention strategies may be implicit, there is a need for explicit instruction for children to understand the importance of visual attention for academic and social development.

Deaf, Hard-of-Hearing, and Hearing Signing Undergraduates’ Attitudes toward Science in Inquiry-Based Biology Laboratory Classes

“…This seating arrangement supports the use of eye gaze, which is critically important for taking turns in discussions in a visual bilingual classroom, as it regulates which person is allowed to hold the floor and make a comment ( Mather, 1987 ). Eye gaze is an important attention-getting strategy as well; deaf individuals in the classroom (both faculty and students) will instinctively monitor others’ eye movements to assess the flow of conversation ( Graham, 2015 ). For a visually oriented active-learning classroom, other teaching strategies become important.…”