Videos, generally a fun and effective teaching tool, can be a source of stress for students who are deaf or hard of hearing--especially when shown in classrooms in which a handful of deaf or hard of hearing students find themselves surrounded by students who hear. In fact, for deaf and hard of hearing students, video watching may be a source of…

This article explores the use of visual tools--maps, diagrams, graphic organizers, and illustrations that link two or more ideas together in a conceptual manner--and how they are commonly used in deaf education. Visual tools improve the quantity and quality of learning in language, science, and mathematics across all ages and all groups of deaf…

Interpreters are some of the most important people in the lives of our deaf and hard of hearing students, yet hiring and retention requirements are weak, variable, or nonexistent. Despite this, many school interpreters have become skillful and effective professionals driven by their desire for competence and sense of integrity. State employment…

The Individualized Education Program (IEP), the child's plan to ensure specialized instruction and services, can help deaf and hard of hearing children develop critical literacy skills. Deaf and hard of hearing children are entitled to an IEP when they turn 3 years old, and parents and teachers should begin to incorporate foundational literacy…

In an ideal world, classrooms are not designed for and educators are not trained to teach the average student because the average student does not exist. Each student has unique measures, unique strengths, and weaknesses. Universal Design for Learning (UDL) allows teachers to easily accommodate every student; it blurs the lines of special…

Technology benefits everyone, but perhaps especially deaf and hard of hearing students; it allows them direct access to the world around them and continued connection with others. Technology can mean increased access, independence, and self-reliance. The T-coil and all of the cables and accessories that come with hearing devices are essential for…

Rosemary Gallegos is superintendent of the New Mexico School for the Deaf (NMSD). Her 30+ years of service to NMSD include teaching, instructional supervision, special education compliance, and cultivating NMSD's statewide Birth-3 and outreach programs. Gallegos's goal is to ensure all deaf and hard of hearing children in New Mexico have access to…

Access to instruction is key to students' success. Deaf and hard of hearing students who gain skills to become independent learners are better prepared to pursue higher-level education with confidence and to have independence in the work place environment (Anderson, 2014). As an itinerant educator, Victoria Bricker works with students' teachers…

For the deaf or hard of hearing student in the mainstream--today's environment where all children are expected to learn more, produce more, and be assessed more--the high pressure coupled with low expectations can be overwhelming. Since many students with hearing loss have difficulty speaking and using English, administrators and mainstream…

Carl Williams writes in this article that effective teachers possess a repertoire of critical skills associated with student achievement. As one might expect, these skills relate to planning, implementing, and evaluating instruction. However, there is one indispensable component that is not a skill in the traditional sense; nonetheless, it is an…

The field of K-12 deaf education today continues to be fractured by ideological camps. A newcomer to the field quickly learns that the controversies related to language, communication, and instructional approaches continue to rage after almost 200 years of contentious debate. Much attention is given to auditory and speech development as well as…

This article discusses the experience of recent graduates' part of a study from the master's program at Gallaudet University. New teachers for deaf students with disabilities report they simply were not prepared for the low expectations communicated by school principals or the exclusionary practices faced in the school community. They…

Metro Deaf School (MDS), located in Saint Paul, Minnesota, is one of the first charter schools in the nation. MDS, provides a bilingual environment in ASL and English for deaf and hard of hearing students, ages 3-21, in pre-K through high school. In its 20 years of operation, MDS has seen its students become more diverse, and with the diversity…

The No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEIA) have significant implications for students with and without disabilities. Despite extensive research, journal articles, editorials, media coverage, and litigation, deaf and hard of hearing students with additional disabilities continue to be…

This article describes the preschool program at Missouri State University where deaf and hard of hearing children with all communication modalities and all styles of personal assistive listening devices are served. The job of the early intervention providers is to model for parents what high expectations look like and how to translate those…