Transcript Deaf Education Preservice Teachers as Information Workers

Deaf Education Preservice
Teachers as
Information Workers
Harold A. Johnson
Co-Director of the Deaf Ed.
Catalyst Grant & Professor/Kent
State Univ. – Deaf Ed. Teacher
Prep. Program.
April 12, 2002
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Presentation Outline
 Problems
 Solutions
 Results
 Collaborative
Opportunities
 Discussion
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Problems
 The
major problem of deafness is…
 …not
too little hearing, but too much
interpersonal and informational isolation.
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…problems (cont.)
 The
major problem of Deaf Education
teacher preparation is…
 …not
a lack of innovation, but rather the
presence of a “realities divide” between
what college professors teach within their
courses and how their K-12 colleagues
teach d/hh students within their
classrooms.
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…problems (cont.)
 The
major problem of Deaf Education
teachers is…
 …not
a lack of effort or experience, but
rather the lack of…
instructional support;
 curricular consistency;
 resources:
 time:
 pertinent professional development
opportunities;
 community of colleagues; &
 recognition.

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…problems (cont.)
 The
major problem of d/hh students is…
…
not an inability to learn, but rather a lack
of motivation to learn and the lack of need
to use (i.e., outside of the classroom) what
they are expected to learn.
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…problems (cont.)

Summary of problems:

Deafness…


Teacher Prep…


too much of a “realities divide” in how teachers are
prepared and how they teach
Teachers…


too much interpersonal and informational isolation
too little support, resources, time, prof. dev. opt. &
recognition
d/hh Students…

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too little motivation to learn & and too little need to use
what they are expected to learn
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Solutions
 The
needed solution would have to:
 reduce
isolation
 reduce the “realities divide”
 increase support & recognition
 increase motivation and use
 +…
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…solutions (cont.)
 …since
we are increasingly spread out
(i.e., vs. concentrated in schools for the
deaf or large centralized public school
programs for d/hh students), the
“solution” would have to be equally
applicable for individuals in rural,
suburban and urban settings.
 +…
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…solutions (cont.)
 …the
“solution” would have to be easy
to use, efficient and free….or at least as
close to free as possible.
 WOW…not too much to ask for!
 Surprisingly, the “solution” is not only
“doable”, it is also available now…
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…solutions (cont.)

Solution: Deaf Ed. Web site (www.deafed.net)

Isolation:


“Realities Divide:”


…use the instructional needs, problems and expertise's
of existing teachers to enhance the preparation of
preservice teachers .
Support & Recognition:


…use the Internet to establish an online community.
…use the course requirements (e.g., research papers,
inst. units, portfolios, etc.) of preservice teachers to meet
the needs and document the expertise’s of existing
teachers.
Motivation & Use:

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…use Internet based technologies (e.g., e-mail, instant
messaging, video conferencing) to link K-12 d/hh
students with postsecondary D/deaf adults, preservice
teachers and one another.
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Results
 Deaf
Ed. Web site (www.deafed.net)
 Isolation:

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since 2/1/2000, 5,400+ individuals (i.e.,
parents, teachers, support personnel, college
faculty, preservice teachers, d/Deaf adults, etc.)
have become registered members of this
community
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…results (cont.)

Deaf Ed. Web site (www.deafed.net)

“Realities Divide:”

during the course of the last two years…




145 faculty members
from 60 Deaf Ed. teacher prep. pro.
in *32 states
have made 463 “Choices” to:
 enhance their own teaching via technology;
 use technology to tie the work of over 1,500
preservice teachers to the instructional needs and
contexts of existing teachers and parents of d/hh
students;
*Note: 16 states (Alaska, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Iowa, Maine, Montana,
Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia,
Washington, West Virginia, Wyoming), the Territory of Guam and the
Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, do not offer a deaf education teacher
preparation program within their geographic boundaries
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…results (cont.)

Deaf Ed. Web site (www.deafed.net)

Support & Recognition:

during the course of the past year…




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the major Deafness related organizations (i.e., AGBell,
ASDC, CAID, CEASD, CED & NAD) have worked to
provide their members with “personnel researchers” and
“instructional developers” via the “Cyber Mentor” activity
the first “Best of the Web” competition resulted in the Web
based:
 publication of 36 informational and instructional
products for the field of Deaf Ed.
 recognition of the preservice teachers that produced
the products and their teachers
portfolios are now being developed that reflect the
knowledge and expertise’s of experienced teachers of d/hh
students.
the development of online course modules, course
enhancements and complete courses has been initiated
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…results (cont.)

Deaf Ed. Web site (www.deafed.net)

Motivation & Use:

during the course of the last six months…



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a pilot study of the use of Web based (i.e, vs. ISDN) video
conferencing technologies has been carried out
the pilot study is examining the use of the video technology
to:
 facilitate collaboration among professionals;
 use “Master” teachers of d/hh students as “Clinical
Faculty” for the nation’s Deaf Ed. teacher prep. pro.; &
 facilitate inst. activities between Deaf Ed. teachers and
their students.
discussions are now underway with the PEPNet leaders
to use Web based video technologies to link junior and
senior high school d/hh students with successful d/Deaf
postsecondary individuals as a way to both motivate and
assist the d/hh students career exploration and
preparation.
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Collaborative Opportunities
 OK….since
all “politics is local” and all
learning is personnel, what can all of
this mean for YOU?
 by
going to www.deafed.net and becoming
a registered user (no cost here…just a bit
of information) YOU can…
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Collaborative Opt…

Deaf Ed. Web site (www.deafed.net)

YOU can…

search for, read & post deaf ed. related:

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state, regional and national calendar of events
Web links
instructional strategies & technologies
curricular materials
documents
jobs (…over 490 posted thus far)
professional development opportunities
scholarship & teacher prep. pro. information
OR…you can simply use “My Deafed” for an update of
what has been added to the Web site since your last
visit that matches your stated interest (…as noted
during the registration process)
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Collaborative Opt…
 Deaf
Ed. Web site (www.deafed.net)
 YOU
can…
ask questions and read responses from a
growing number of “Topical Teams of Experts”
on such topics as: Bi/Bi; Oral/Oral; MH d/hh
stu.; Inst. Strategies; Critical Thinking; and
Early Intervention …with more Topical Teams
being added each month.
 participate in a “grass roots” effort by the
National Agenda to reform Deaf Education by
providing comments to their proposed goals
and activities.

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Collaborative Opt…

Deaf Ed. Web site (www.deafed.net)

YOU can…

become a “Cyber Mentor” …in which case you would be
asked to exchange weekly e-mail messages with a
specific Deaf Ed. preservice teacher.


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within these e-mail messages YOU will be asked to…

share your Deaf Ed. related experiences, resources
and strategies
 ask the preservice teacher to gather info. for you
 respond to questions from the preservice teacher
within these e-mail messages the preservice teacher will…
 share what they are learning within their courses
 seek out information and resources that you request
 ask you questions re. Deaf Ed.
…the purpose of these e-mail exchanges is to “ground”
the preservice teacher’s preparation in a wide range of
realities, while at the same time provide support and
recognition to existing individuals in Deaf Ed.
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Collaborative Opt…
 Deaf
Ed. Web site (www.deafed.net)
 Soon,
YOU will be able to…
use a single search engine to gather
information from the world’s best Deaf Ed. Web
sites.
 request online learning opportunities for your K12 d/hh students.
 request assistance in gathering curricular
information concerning a particular instructional
unit that you want to teach

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Discussion

So….what do you think….can we…


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…use existing and emerging Web based
technologies…
…+ preservice teachers as “information workers,”
to…
…create an online community of learners that can
effectively and efficiently address the major
Deafness related problems of…





Isolation?
“Realities Divide?”
Support & Recognition?
Motivation & Use?
…your thoughts & questions?
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Thank you very much for this
opportunity to both share and
learn from you.
If you would like a copy of this
presentation, simply go to
www.deafed.net and search
for: “Harold Johnson” and
PEPNet and 4/11/02
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