Teaching Writing to Deaf Students

Abstract

The purpose of this review of the research on writing instruction with deaf students was to determine which findings offer evidence for effective practice. The authors used a framework of critical elements developed from research on hearing writers as a set of findings to which they compared the findings with deaf writers. They identified 16 studies of writing instruction over the past 25 years. Research on approaches for teaching writing to hearing students fell into four categories: teaching the process approach, instruction on characteristics of quality writing, writing for content learning, and feedback. Although all of the studies on teaching writing to deaf students fell into one of these categories, outcomes were equivocal and the evidence for practice is at best promising. They conclude that rigorous research is acutely needed so that writing instruction can be better informed by research findings.

Writing and Deafness: State of the Evidence and Implications for Research and Practice

“…Overall there has been no change in pedagogical approach that has demonstrated a significant improvement in outcomes. In their review of writing instruction that offered evidence to inform practice, Strassman and Schirmer [82] identified 16 studies over the past 25 years. They categorized them with respect to the nature of the instruction: a process approach, instruction on the characteristics of quality writing, feedback, and writing for learning content.…”

“…In a recent study not included in the aforementioned review, Wolbers et al [83] investigated the use of Strategic and Interactive Writing Instruction (SIWI) with a cohort of 31 deaf students in third to fifth grade. It should be noted that this intervention was also used in a number of previous studies included in the Strassman and Schirmer [82] review. The aim of the two investigations reported in the Wolbers study was to consider the effect of SIWI on writing recounts/personal narratives, information reports, and persuasive genres.…”

Language and Literacy: Issues and Considerations

“…Research on the writing of d/Dhh students has consistently shown that these individuals demonstrate considerable delays when compared with typically hearing peers [119][120][121]. Earlier investigations of the writing skills of pre-lingual, severe to profoundly deaf children mainly focused on their limited auditory access to spoken language to note difficulties at the lexical level [122] as well the grammatical level [123].…”

“…In terms of writing interventions, Strassman and Schirmer's review [121] of the literature of writing interventions for d/Dhh students examined 16 studies, with the participants ranging from elementary school students to college students. Only a few writing interventions were considered to have a strong evidence base for practice.…”

“…This was due to a lack of replication studies and weak methodological designs, which were similar to the issues identified in Trezek and Wang's meta-analysis [76] on reading interventions for students who are d/Dhh. Yet, Strassman and Schirmer [121] did identify a few approaches that seemed promising. One was the collaborative writing approach called Strategic and Interactive Writing Instruction (SIWI), which was described by Wolbers et al [128][129][130].…”