What Do Parents Need to Know About Recommended Practices in Deaf Ed?

What if…

you could easily find out what instructional practices are recommended in deaf education?

What if…

there were efforts in your region to bring these practices to the attention of more parents and teachers?

What if…

you could help the website designers to make this information more user friendly for parents and teachers?

That very thing is happening with Project CHOICES, through funding from the Join-Together Grant at Michigan State University.  Join-Together project director Dr. Harold Johnson spoke at the H&V National Parent Leadership conference in July.  Twenty two Hands & Voices parent leaders in thirteen states are participating in a short-term blitz to bring this information to more and more families and teachers, as well as give feedback to Dr. Johnson and others on the Join-Together Project website materials at www.deafed.net.  Read about their successes and lessons learned in an upcoming issue of The Communicator.

To quote the overall project description:

“The primary problem of students who are deaf or hard of hearing is not too little hearing, but too much isolation from peers, meaningful learning opportunities and high expectations for academic performance.” 

“The primary problem of preschool through high school deaf ed teachers is not too little effort, but too much difficulty in collaborating with peers, in sharing effective instructional practices, and accessing needed learning resources.”

“The primary problem of deaf ed teacher preparation is not too little innovations, but too much theory that is not grounded in the day to day instructional practices of the nation’s most effective teachers (i.e. Master Teachers) of students who are deaf/hh.”

The CHOICES project along with other Join-Together activities are designed to address the problems of isolation and collaboration through sharing successful methods with computer based, Internet linked technologies to establish a virtual school for professional development.

How can you get involved?  Start by joining the deafed.net website as a registered user, and click on the “Resources” page to look for the links to recommended practices and see the information for yourself. Maybe you’ll find a new strategy that will reach your child or students, and maybe you’ll learn a name for a practice that you are already successfully implementing. You can also contact your state H & V chapter for more information via www.handsandvoices.org  ~