NTID Strategic Research Agenda
Technology, Access, and Support Services
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NTID will become a leader in applied research on the effective use of access and support services to enhance learning for deaf and hard-of-hearing students in the mainstreamed classroom. Emphasis will be given to the use of new technologies to enhance access and support.
Areas for a plan of applied, programmatic research should include:
- Effects of new technologies used for access and support in the learning environment.
- Effects of Interpreting on access, content learning, critical thinking skill development, and literacy development.
- Effects of C-print and other voice to print technology on access and learning.
- Effects of cochlear implants on student access needs and learning needs.
- Effective use of support services, e.g., professional tutoring, peer tutoring, and study groups, to enhance learning and address individual needs.
Teaching and Learning
NTID will continue to lead in understanding how deaf and hard-of-hearing students learn with the goal of designing instructional methods that facilitate learning, including individual differences. English literacy is an essential skill for success in college, particularly critical reading skills, and will be a core focus of NTID strategic research. Given the mission of the college to provide access to higher education in technical fields, NTID will become a leader in STEM research and instruction.
Areas for a plan of applied, programmatic research should include:
- Effect of student characteristics and background on foundation studies, learning, literacy development, and access to information.
- Based on understanding how students learn science and mathematics, and develop technical skills, study best practices and new techniques that support students learning of science, technology, and mathematics (STEM research).
- Best practices and new techniques to promote student literacy development based on understanding the variety of ways that deaf and hard-of-hearing students learn English.
- Best practices to promote individual social development, acceptance and academic success based on understanding social development during the college years.
Job Success and Mobility
NTID will become a national resource center on job mobility and job success of deaf and hard-of-hearing professionals working in technical fields. Research will focus on following NTID graduates and understanding the factors that contribute to the development of successful careers and upward mobility.
Areas for a plan of applied, programmatic research will include:
- The ways deaf professionals experience career mobility and growth:
- Accommodation
- Communication
- Career satisfaction
- Obstacles to career mobility and growth as identified by both deaf professionals and employers, and strategies for overcoming or removing those obstacles.
- Workplace accommodations, support, and effective strategies for public and private employment service providers to improve employment outcomes for deaf professionals.
Faculty and Staff Communication Skill Development
Successful instruction requires that NTID faculty and staff have a repertoire of communication skills that enable them to interact effectively with the deaf and hard-of-hearing students studying at NTID/RIT. Consequently, NTID will maintain a program of applied research focused on understanding how faculty and staff learn to communicate effectively with students in sign language (both ASL and more English-based sign). And how sign language, spoken communication techniques and strategies, written materials, visual information, and multi-media presentations can be used effectively in the instructional process.
The Steering Committee on Communication will continue to make recommendations for research priorities to the Associate VP for Academic Affairs and the VP/Dean of NTID based on reports from the NTID Faculty/Staff Communication Research Group.
Continued research in the following programmatic research priorities have been approved. See the description of planned research in each of these areas in the Final Report of the NTID Faculty/Staff Communication Research Group posted on the VP/Dean’s website.
- Identify communication skills assessment options, in addition to the Sign Communication Proficiency Interview.
- Continue study on the reliability of the Sign Communication Proficiency Interview.
- Investigate background and environmental factors that may influence development of sign language communication skills, with a focus on achievement of the SCPI Advanced rating and on why some faculty improve, but others receive lower ratings on subsequent SCPIs.