Michigan State University > College of Education : JDSDE-Author-Corner : Family_Mediation - messages

Family_Mediation : re: Language Exposure and Mediation with Respects to Categorization

skost — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 12:18:27 GMT

I also agree. Language can and should be acquired through meaningful experiences. I also feel that it is important to remember that the language we use as mediators with these children in order to build academic understanding and language should not be too high for their grasp. I've seen professionals try to teach something to a child in a meaningful way, but the language they use to communicate with the child is too advanced for their understanding, therefore causing the child to not understand what is being said enough to figure out how to investigate the concept. That is not effective mediation. Effective mediation not only builds upon a child's schema, but also builds upon the child's language level as well, which is why I feel that mediation and language exposure are so closely tied.

Family_Mediation : re: Language Exposure and Mediation with Respects to Categorization

kkritzer — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 22:57:40 GMT

I agree! A great deal of time has been spend in deaf education classrooms focusing on communication. We need to start focusing more on giving the children something to talk about. Language can effectively be taught/acquired when it is used purposefully in meaningful contexts.

Family_Mediation : re: Family Mediation of Math Concepts

kkritzer — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 22:54:42 GMT

I’m glad you found us! Do you belong to any of the organizations for parents of deaf children? (Hands and Voices, American Society for Deaf Children, etc.?) We’d love to find ways to get information about this space out to more parents. Perhaps you can help us figure out where to find you? (smile!) While my time on the wiki space will be coming to an end soon, please feel free to contact me via email if you would like any additional information about these organizations (or math in general!).

I am very impressed by your enthusiasm and resourcefulness in finding mathematical information for your daughter! I know that Families Count! has additional levels (Level 2 videos are designed for grades 3-5, Level 3 videos are designed for grades 6-8). Does your school have these videos for you to borrow? OR- even better- here’s another challenge for you. There are a variety of signed stories available on videotape. Perhaps you could watch one of these non-explicitly mathematical videos and find the math with your daughter. Math is everywhere- finding it could be a fun challenge for both of you!

It sounds as though you are doing a great job enriching your child’s learning experiences at home! I agree with you that more global information is needed for parents – while I can work on this from a research perspective, feedback and input from parents is essential. What resources would be useful for you? If you could get any support you wanted from the university/research community- what would you ask for?

Family_Mediation : re: Family Mediation of Math Concepts

wsdeuel — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 01:08:24 GMT

As a parent, trying to find ways to incorporate math games into to the home, I was recently loaned the "Families Count!" Level 1 video developed by Gallaudet from one of the supervising teachers at my daughter's school. Both my daughter and I watched them together and although, in 2nd grade and she is past these concepts, I would have found them entirely useful when she was in Pre-K, K and 1st grade. One of the problems I have run into is learning how to communicate and appropriately sign math concepts to my daughter so she can continue to learn. I have resorted to checking out educational interpreter videos to try and comprehend basic sign concepts for math.

So much emphasis is placed on language acquisition in school that I do as much as I can to support science, math, history, social studies and other enrichment at home to try and keep up with standardized academic demands to stay on grade level.

Parents need the kind of information provided in this study on a more global scale - I just happened across this on a listserv and am thankful for the information.

Family_Mediation : re: Language Exposure and Mediation with Respects to Categorization

hjohnson — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 13:24:19 GMT

The discussion on this research has served to substantially reinforce the concept that a student's learning, language and literacy competencies can/should be established/enhanced via academic content. This is in contrast to the more traditional Deaf Education position in which professionals attempt to develop 'x' level of language and literacy competencies, before they begin working on academic subjects. Unfortunately, many/most professionals spend so much time working on language and literacy, there is little time left to focus upon academic subjects. This study lays the foundation for a very different approach, thank you for so effectively sharing your research and insights with us all.

Family_Mediation : re: Language Exposure and Mediation with Respects to Categorization

kkritzer — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 15:32:49 GMT

Absolutely! Good mediation requires a foundation in language; a shared language is a necessary component of mediation. It is just important to remember that language alone is not enough. Language and use of effective mediation techniques are both necessary components of high quality parent-child interaction.

Thanks for your comments!

Family_Mediation : re: Family Mediation of Math Concepts

kkritzer — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 15:31:30 GMT

Any school for the deaf is likely to have a preschool program designed to meet the specialized needs of young deaf children. Most will also have programs designed to assist parents with sign classes or other needs that they may have. While teachers in these preschools will teach a curriculum similar to what is taught in preschools with hearing children, there will be an additional emphasis on language development since many D/HH children are likely to enter the classroom with limited to no language skills. The suggestions I present in my article for parents however, can also apply to teachers of young deaf children.

You’re right, parents and teachers may not recognize all of the teachable moments that are hidden within the ordinary and mundane tasks of everyday life. Using everyday moments as an informal curriculum for teaching early skills and concepts can be an invaluable experience for young deaf children.

Thanks for your comments!

Family_Mediation : Language Exposure and Mediation with Respects to Categorization

skost — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 14:33:36 GMT

From what I have been exposed to through observations of D/deaf students in the classrooms I have been in as well as through discussions with others, I have noticed that the concept of categorization can sometimes be an extremely difficult concept for deaf children to grasp. One assumption I can make regarding this problem would be that lack of in depth exposure to language is a major contributor. From what I have gathered, when first acquiring language, a child learns to communicate his/her needs and wants first. Only later in language development will a child begin to use descriptive words to describe his/her surroundings. Categorizing objects seems, to me, to be a more complex task that involves more descriptive language, language that may not fully be developed by a deaf child with limited language exposure.

Although I feel that language exposure plays a major role in how successful a child may be with categorization, I feel that there are many more important factors that come into play when addressing this issue. The game you had parents play with their children sparked my interest because it showed that Deaf parents with Deaf children used more effective mediation in working on the categorization task than did the hearing parents with deaf children. This caused me to conclude that both language exposure as well as mediation may play key roles in determining how successful a child learns math at an early age. The "high" group had both natural language exposure as well as more effective mediation when dealing with math problems. The "average" group, I'm assuming, included both Deaf parents as well as hearing parents, where one of the key factors were used. With Deaf parents it was natural language exposure, and with hearing parents it was relatively effective mediation. The "low" group included hearing parents with limited sign language skills who did not use very effective mediation. This shows me that there may possibly be a strong connection between language exposure and mediation. Do you feel that this conclusion may be, in some ways, valid?

Family_Mediation : re: Family Mediation of Math Concepts

Kbrown86 — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 19:49:18 GMT

Along with family math night, I wonder what kind of Summer "camps" for deaf children would be beneficial. I believe that family interaction is where young children learn the most, but perhaps some sort of day camp could help where children can go and do these basic tasks that they may be left out of in the home.

Even preschools could incorporate more of these tasks. All children, hearing and deaf, can benefit from this, but it may be even more important for deaf children of hearing parents to attend these programs. I'm not sure on the numbers when it comes to deaf children in preschools, but I know there aren't many specifically for deaf children. What kinds of things do pre-K teachers of the deaf focus on that is different from teachers of hearing preschool children?

This young age is a prime time for children to learn, and the hearing families are having to focus on other factors.Like you said, they find it easier to just do these simple tasks on their own. Many just do not know. Before I read this summary, I did not even think about the correlation between math and setting the table or folding laundry. I don't think parents of hearing children realize that, they just appreciate the extra help :)

Family_Mediation : re: development of math concepts

kkritzer — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 15:13:06 GMT

It is nice to have an international perspective!

I am sorry to hear that you have had such negative experiences with mathematics. It is likely that the way you were taught math is what made the subject frightening for you, not the content itself.

I remember having my own issues with math anxiety when I was a child. Many of my college students now report the same kind of fear of the subject. After I started teaching I started learning more and realized that math was not something that I needed to be afraid of. When math was presented to me in a way that made it meaningful and purposeful, I began to enjoy it. I hope to pass that same kind of thinking down to my students now who hope to, themselves, become teachers of the deaf. As a society, we need to stop presenting mathematics in a way that is all about right answers and focus more on the thinking involved with solving a good math problem. The development of thinking skills starts early- during the preschool years and in the home.

Thank you for your comments!

Family_Mediation : re: Family Mediation of Math Concepts

kkritzer — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 15:12:20 GMT

Yes, Family Math nights can be very enjoyable for parents and children to participate in. There is a program called “Families Count!” Offered through Gallaudet University that has adapted some of the Family Math materials for use with deaf populations. The one problem with traditional Family Math programs however, is that they do not start early enough. These programs tend to start at the kindergarten level. As my research findings indicate, this may not be early enough.

Family Math programs take a great deal of time and energy to set up and implement (I know, I’ve hosted them before!)- but they are well worth it. Should you have the opportunity, I would definitely recommend them!

If you involve food, families will always come! Seriously though, in my experience, parents really want this information. Family Math nights are enjoyable for participating families as well as host teachers.

However, even if you do not host a Family Math night, many of the activities in the Family Math books are appropriate to use in a classroom. The activities promote use of thinking and problem-solving skills; exactly what we want our kids to be doing when they are doing math.

Family_Mediation : development of math concepts

vinu — Sat, 13 Sep 2008 09:29:26 GMT

Dear Dr. Karen,

It is interesting to read your research topic as vital to understanding the needs of the hearing impaired children.this topic reminds me to my early childhood in which I undergone struggling in understanding the concepts of Maths. In fact, Maths is a frightening subject as it subjected to punishment by my teachers and families over my poor marks.

The reality of my problems to Maths was due to poor understanding of the importance of Maths, and secondly, of course, poor literacy skills. When I studied in 2nd grade, the language approached to me was already high as I used to think because of my language capacity, which therefore brings me less confidence in dealing with Maths problems. As I studied further to fifth grade, I found Mathematic book of second grade more understandable and easier than the previous ones, that is , when I studied 2nd grade.

The whole picture tells me that deaf people needs time to understand the subjectmatter in their later age. But your suggestions proved fruitful by providing early strategies of developing mathematical concepts.This is absolutely true that the deaf minds need to be well fed by the family stimulation.

Thanking You

Sincerely Yours

Vinu Robin Pereira
M.Ed(hearing impaired)
INDIA

Family_Mediation : re: Family Mediation of Math Concepts

jsteele — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 19:54:41 GMT

I would be curious to see how this would turn out. Great idea, but with the way the economy is and other factors, I would be hesitant to say many of the parents would show up. Maybe have free food for enticement to come? It also requires dedicated teachers as well...

Hmm, but I do like the idea and now it is saved in my files for things to accomplish when I am in the classroom.

Family_Mediation : re: Family Mediation of Math Concepts

rtrent — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 02:46:55 GMT

Just a quick thought. While things did not work out for me to participate one of my professors had a really neat idea. Teachers and students from my college class would work together to create different lessons/games/stations for a "Family Math Night". The families would then come and work their way around the various activities.

While I did not get to participate for various reasons several great things could come out of this related to what you are talking about. It would be an opportunity for parents to see teachers teaching their child math and a chance to get ideas to take home with you. For the educators this would be a wonderful opportunity to encourage parent-child interaction revolving around math. You could assist the parent and give them the support they need to feel successful, capable, and confident so that they will dive into math with their child at home.
The language barrier could also be addressed regarding teaching parents words that they may need to know in the appropriate language and modeling games that require a more primal language, after all-math is the universal language.

Just a thought, I don't have the specifics of the set up but I think it is better that way. Hopefully whoever reads this will take it and run, fitting it to the needs of those students and parents they are working with.

Family_Mediation : re: family mediation of math concepts

kkritzer — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 14:52:19 GMT

Thank you for your comments! It is always helpful to hear the parent’s perspective. I’m sorry to hear that you’ve met with such resistance in trying to enter a partnership with your child’s teachers/school! From the teacher’s perspective, you are correct- teachers encounter so many different “types” of parents in their day-to-day practice, and unfortunately the parents who you have to beg to come in (as you very appropriately put it!) seem to be more common. It could be that the school you are talking about just is not accustomed to working with an involved parent and they do not know how to respond. It could also be that so much extra work is piled onto teachers these days (with government regulations to follow, the threat of achieving/maintaining a “highly qualified” status, etc.) that the teachers you are dealing with could be overwhelmed. However, I also realize that this sounds as though I am making excuses for the teachers, which I do not mean to do either. I would like to see some kind of forum set up in which parents and teachers could work together to meaningfully impact the education of d/hh children as both have a great deal of valuable information to offer. I believe that your contributions (in addition to other parents who have logged on and participated) on a site such as this one could be a first step in making that happen. I encourage you to keep trying and doing what you can to work with the school system to enhance your child’s educational experiences. Eventually, you are likely to come across the teacher who will work with you. I am sure that there are teachers out there reading this who would welcome input from a parent like you.

Family_Mediation : re: family mediation of math concepts

LisaK — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 19:02:24 GMT

I would like to reply to the part about "do parents and teachers meet to work on stimulation activities in the home" I would like to share some resisitence I feel from the school system (both speech and teacher of the deaf) who tend to feel threatened by a parents attempt to make recommendations of strategies/techniques/activities that could carry over from school to home or home to school. I have experienced huge resisitence whether it is sharing research from the recommended practices, making suggestions to facilitate better goal writing or progress monitoring, etc... I think we need look at how to foster these relationships so that teachers feel like truly including the parents as part of the team and seeing parents as equals and most certainly not feeling threatened when a parent wants to make recommendations that they maybe haven't researched themselves. Considering the parents as true partners in educating the child. I realize it's difficult because a teacher is dealing with a huge continuum of parents - from the ones who they have to beg to talk to - to parents who spend countless hours researching about how to best meet their childs needs but we really need to value those parents and their experiences.

Family_Mediation : re: family mediation of math concepts

kkritzer — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 14:37:58 GMT

While I agree with what you are learning in your classes regarding the essentials of incorporating the “3 Ps” (as you called them) into interaction with young children, we need to be careful not to put undue blame on parents. What I saw when I was in homes with families raising young deaf children was that parents were actually putting forth a great deal of effort to raise their child in the way that they knew best. However, this effort was not always channeled in a way that facilitated cognitive growth. As a future teacher, it is critical that you try to view the experience of raising a deaf child from the perspective of the parent. Parents are often under an incredible amount of stress when they first learn of their child’s hearing loss. I believe that they do the best they can to manage that stress while still making decisions that they believe are in the best interest of their children. Professionals in the field need to be careful to support and guide parents rather than blame them for the decisions they make.

As for your comment on praise, let me clarify. Offering limited praise was not the problem, the fact that the praise was non-specific was. There is a difference between saying, “good job!” and saying, “I liked the way you stopped and thought for a minute before answering.” Specific praise looks at the behavior; non-specific praise looks only at the answer. We want to praise children’s attempts at learning, or rather their attempts to use behaviors that will lead to learning, not only the answers they give us.

As for your questions regarding the actions that school systems take for struggling learners, I believe that the focus is primarily on older students. School systems take actions that will lead to higher scores on mandated testing. I am not familiar with any system-wide actions taken at the early childhood level, particularly for deaf learners, but perhaps there are readers out there who can enlighten us on this issue. As for the impact of NCLB, and differences between different types of school placement options- these are not areas that I have addressed in my research to date, but if anyone reading this has a comment on this issue I would be interested in hearing it. And, for your final question, do parents and teachers meet to work on stimulation activities in the home, well that would depend on the specific teacher and parent. From my experience, most teachers of early childhood level deaf students send ideas home. Perhaps there are teachers or parents out there that can provide more specific information on assistance they have offered, or received?

Thanks for your comments!

Family_Mediation : family mediation of math concepts

droney1 — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 18:20:03 GMT

I am actually studying these concepts in my other class SPED: Language and Literacy for the Preschool Child! I have been reading about how parents always need to incorporate the 3 P's: Planful, Purposeful, and Playful in every activity they do with their kids. It is sad to hear the fact that parents (esp. hearing parents with deaf children) do not put forth the effort to properly prepare their child for school and essentially for life. Also, it was a little shocking to read that parents of both the 'high' and 'low' groups offered limited praise. In response to this study, I found it extremely interesting, more so that it relates to more than one class. I do have a couple questions: What kind of actions do school systems take for struggling students? Have these actions improved since the formation of No Child Left Behind? Are there significant differences between public, private and residential schools? Do parents meet with teachers to help improve stimulation at home?

-Dru Roney

Family_Mediation : re: Family Mediation of Math Concepts

kkritzer — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 15:05:26 GMT

Good question! Let me start by saying that I do not think it is ever too late, for parents or teachers. Saying that it is too late to make a difference would be like giving up on the child’s (and your own) ability to make a change; that is something that as teachers or parents we never want to do. However, I also believe that the earlier you start at making a difference the better and, as teachers, the more we can involve parents in the process of making that change, the better it will be for the child.

Perhaps there are teachers out there reading this that have had successful experiences working with parents? Or parents who have had some helpful experiences with teachers that they can share?

In general though, I agree with you. It is likely that much of what is in my article does apply to hearing or deaf children and sharing a common language does make a difference, however there are also features of early communication that go beyond language and we can not forget about those either.

Thank you for your comments!

Family_Mediation : re: communication and language

kkritzer — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 14:44:09 GMT

Thanks for your comments! While raising a deaf child can be challenging, we need to remember that there are language/communication options out there that parents are choosing other than ASL. Even if a parent does choose ASL, communication will continue to be very hard and frustrating for years as one does not automatically develop fluency in a language. You are correct, early communication is crucial. However, we need the focus to be on developing more than just communication in early childhood. Thinking skills are essential and so are building up those incidental learning experiences you mentioned. We need to make sure that we are taking actions during the early childhood years to ensure that once the d/hh child does acquire a language (whatever language that may be) that s/he has something to say.