Teaching Reading to Children Who Are Deaf: Do the Conclusions of the National Reading Panel Apply?

Abstract

The authors conducted a synthetic review of the research literature on the reading development and reading instruction of deaf students and compared their findings to the review of research literature conducted by the National Reading Panel (NRP) on four topic areas: (a) alphabetics (phonemic awareness instruction and phonics instruction); (b) fluency; (c) comprehension (vocabulary instruction and text comprehension instruction); and (d) computer technology and reading instruction. In their discussion of the areas of overlap in the two bodies of research and of the implications for future research, the authors note the lack of research with deaf readers on instructional interventions that have been found to be effective with hearing readers and on the implications for isolation from mainstream reading research.

The Impact of Scaffolding Strategies in Enhancing Reading Comprehension Skills of University Students in a Saudi Context

“…'Self-generated questioning' is found as effective strategy for improving reading comprehension (Schirmer and McGough, 2005). However, it is not sufficient to just tell students to create their own questions but it is important to train them in how to create their own questions on the text which positively affect their understanding and recalling of information in the texts (Janssen, 2002).…”

“…Visualizing or "Mental Imagery" as described by Schirmer and McGough (2005) as a strategy that relies on forming mental images while reading. It involves "asking readers to construct a visual or spatial representation of what they are reading" (p.103).…”

Vocabulary developing strategies applied to individuals with hearing impairments

“…This situation is thought to result from the fact that hearing impaired students require a longer period of time and more repetition in studies because of the limitations in their speech caused by hearing disabilities, and that they are unable to read a sufficient number of publications regarding professional language, added to factors concerning the quality of the education the students had received in the past. Research carried out on hearing impaired students also indicated that these students had difficulty in developing their vocabularies (Paul, 1996, Schirmer andMcGough, 2005; Trussell and Easterbrooks, 2016). It was determined that students gained more benefits from studies carried out with formal education than from the studies carried out on the internet.…”

“…However, more activities, repetition and revision strategies should be conducted and employed along with the combined usage of direct and indirect vocabulary instruction strategies (Karasu and Girgin, 2007;Luckner and Cooke, 2010;Paul, 1996;Schirmer and McGough, 2005). Nevertheless, individuals with hearing impairments acquire only a small amount of the vocabulary knowledge when indirect instruction strategies are used (Beck et al, 1983;Paul, 2001).…”

“…There is a need to determine exactly what strategies are employed and their effects on education, together with a consideration of some variables such as the classroom environment and student characteristics (Karatay, 2007;McShane, 2005;Schirmer and McGough, 2005;Trussell and Easterbrooks, 2016).…”