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A Deaf Student in My Classroom?!

If you are reading this, you have undoubtedly just found out that you have a student who is deaf and it is, presumably, a new and perhaps frightening or confusing experience for you. You may have been told before the first class that you would have the deaf student or you may have found out the first time that you walked into the classroom. Whatever is the case, this information is designed to, hopefully, allay your concerns and provide you with information to make this a positive experience for you, the deaf student and the other students in your classroom.

The area of deafness is extremely broad and complex, with many factors impacting upon how significantly the hearing loss affects the student’s communication and academic outcomes. Broadly, the factors include:

• the degree of hearing loss: how significant is it? is it moderate or profound?
• the age of onset of the hearing loss: birth or early life? early adolescence? adulthood?
• type of hearing loss: sensori-neural (“nerve” deafness), conductive, etc.?

There is much reading that you can do to familiarise yourself with the diversity of people who are deaf or hard of hearing, the multitude of choices that can be made in relation to communication and identity as well as the implications that a hearing loss has on learning. You will find some information situated on this site as well as links to other sites that the Centre of Excellence has deemed useful. As well, you can undertake your own internet search using key words such as “deaf”, “deaf education”, “sign language”, “sign language interpreters”, “oral communication” and “hearing aids”.

But…how about some answers now?

The single most important point about having a student with a hearing loss in the classroom is this:
regardless of how deaf a person is and how they communicate (with lipreading and speech or with Australian Sign Language—Auslan), if they have let you know that they have a hearing loss, it means that the deafness is significant enough that they will not be able to simultaneously take in communication, look at any demonstration, take notes and/or perform a task.

To simplify, a student with a hearing loss will be using their eyes to take in communication and they can only look at ONE place at a time:

• at you to receive communication if they are lipreading
• at the interpreter to receive communication if they are Auslan users
• at their notepad if they are writing notes
• at the object which you, as the teacher, are demonstrating
• at the whiteboard, OHP, etc. where information is being written, projected, etc.
• at the written materials that you have just distributed
• at the computer screen about which you are talking and expecting them to replicate actions

This is different to every other student you have ever taught. All other students (with the exception of vision impaired students) are able:

• to watch a demonstration you are doing and still listen to your explanation
• to look at the whiteboard and still listen to your comments
• to listen and take notes at the same time
• to listen to your explanation about where something is on a computer screen whilst simultaneously looking at the screen and performing the requested action
• and so forth, ad infinitum

The “axiom” here, if the deaf student’s eyes are not on you (or the interpreter for Auslan users), then they are not “hearing” you; they are not getting your message; they are missing out on the educational content of the lecture or tutorial; they are excluded from the classroom.

This means that you will need to make certain that “chalk and talk” does not occur simultaneously. Therefore, if:

• demonstrating a task, talk about it, then show it, then talk again
• referring to overheads, allow the deaf student time to read the overhead before commencing an explanation or talking to it
• handing out materials in class, allow the student to read—or at least to scan—the material before you start to talk about it
• writing on the whiteboard, write and then turn back to address the class about what you have written (it is impossible to lipread the back of your head)

This sounds simple. Indeed, in many ways it is; however, as it is different to how you have ever taught before, you will need to make a conscious and constant effort to remember it. Don’t be concerned if it feels odd at first—that’s natural and it will become easier with time. It is important to keep in mind that this is one of the most crucial ways that you can make certain that your classroom is inclusive.

Likewise, all of this applies, tenfold, during group discussions. The deaf student will need to have only one person speak at a time. For a student who is lipreading, s/he will need to know WHO is going to be speaking, so that s/he can be looking at the correct person BEFORE they begin to speak.

This means that you, as the classroom teacher, will have to maintain a tighter rein on your students that you may usually, allowing for ordered turn taking and “calling” on the students so that the deaf student knows to whom s/he should look. For example, “Dan, you wanted to add something?”. By placing the person’s name at the beginning, it gives the deaf student time to locate Dan, hopefully before he begins to speak.

As well, in a standard classroom, it may be necessary to repeat or rephrase a student’s question before answering. This not only benefits the deaf student, but the other students as well, who do not always hear the questions asked by other students (especially if the student asking the question is tentative and unsure about asking the question in the first place).

To download further information from this site, please click on:
Information for Teachers (1999)
Implications for Learning (1999)
Communication & Assistive Listening Devices (1999)
Audiological Factors (2000)
Classroom Support (2000)
Survival Guide to Sign Language and Deafness (2003)
Teaching Students who are Deaf and Hard of Hearing (2003)
Teaching Computers (2003)
Teaching Science (2003)
Working with Interpreters and Notetakers (2003)

For useful information situated on other sites, please see the Useful Links in the Teacher’s section of this site.

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