RIT - NTID - Department of Research and Teacher Education

Current Projects

Deaf Students’ Knowledge of the (In)transitivity Properties of English Verbs
Berent, G. P., Kelly, R. R., Albertini, J. A., & Toscano, R. M.

The purpose of this study is to determine the extent to which deaf college students have a command of subtle transitive and intransitive properties of English verbs, properties that have never been studied in this learner population before. This project involves an assessment of deaf students’ verb knowledge through the administration of a sentence acceptability six-point rating scale task. Students’ knowledge of English transitive active, passive, unaccusative, and unergative verb structures was assessed. Results thus far show that deaf students at two English proficiency levels have knowledge of the targeted subtle properties, but the higher proficiency group has more robust knowledge of these properties. The students even show knowledge of a less frequently encountered sentence type, resultative sentences, including constraints regarding which specific verb types can participate in resultative sentences. What these results show, so far, is that deaf learners, despite many obstacles to their English language development because of their restricted access to auditory linguistic input, nevertheless possess tacit knowledge of innate, universal linguistic principles that define English verb properties.

Taking on the Glass Ceiling: Knowledge, Strategies, & Research for NTID/RIT Deaf/HH Graduates’ Career Growth & Promotion
Kelly, R. R., Behm, G., Macko, J., & Driscoll, M.

Through the collaboration of The Center on Employment, NTID Alumni Relations, Engineering Studies, and the Department of Research & Teacher Education, three interrelated components will be developed and implemented to accomplish the purposes of this proposed project: 1) Deaf, hard of hearing, and hearing professionals/technicians will be invited from various careers as well as job coaching pertinent to both baccalaureate and associate degree career options, to meet with students and share their authentic experiences from the real work world on personal strategies for growth, promotion, and leadership. These interview/sessions will be videotaped and prepped for use on the website outreach resource, as well as in classes and seminars; 2) A research component to follow NTID/RIT deaf/hh graduates’ career growth will be developed including online interactive feedback on the website, as well as to examine relevant literature, and to develop a scholarly database of strategies and career path growth pertinent to NTID/RIT deaf/hh graduates and, 3) A website will be developed that includes interview videos of the invited professionals, some mini-documentaries of selected invitees showing their authentic work environment, and authentic strategies used by deaf/hh people for staying in the loop within the organization, workplace leadership, and career growth.

Continuation of Survive and Thrive Project: Results of the Non-verbal Reasoning Test and Culture Fair Intelligence Test
Kelly, R. R., Albertini, J., & Matchett, M. K.

The goal of this study was to identify factors that influence persistence, retention, academic success, and attrition for entering NTID students. Initiated in 2007, this study relates self-report of personal factors to college performance. Two nonverbal visual reasoning assessments and two personal inventories were administered. These assessed nonverbal intelligence and personal factors such as intellectual interests, academic motivation, dropout proneness, coping, anxiety, attitudes, confidence, study habits, time management, and sociability. Three cohorts of entering D/HH students at NTID/RIT participated (n = 132 in 2007; n = 167 in 2008, n = 248 in 2009) for a total of 547. Students’ personal factors were statistically analyzed with their quarterly and cumulative academic GPA and program status through to attrition or graduation. Also, at the end of their first year, a follow-up survey assessed the students’ self-perception of academic performance and support strategies used. The goal for AY2010-2011 is to have an article reporting on the results of the two non-verbal assessments administered in this study and their impact on academic skills accepted for publication.

Collaboration in the Classroom Across Contexts: Interactive Brainstorming and Collaborative Documents (Phase 2)
Schley, S., & Stinson, M. S.

This project extends a pilot study on student collaborations using interactive online written chats for developing ideas; and collaborative documents for developing project and activity reports. Using three lab sessions in two sections of a graduate course in the MSSE program, we evaluate written contributions of deaf and hearing students across a variety of written and interactive contexts. We additionally will develop and administer a tool to collect student feedback on this classroom method, and analyze their feedback. Results will be disseminated, and will also be used to develop future class-wide interactive components of C-print.

Defining the Range of School Placements for Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Students: Stage 1
Foster, S., Lane-Outlaw, S., & Schley, S.

The purpose of this project is to identify the full range of current educational placement options for deaf and hard of hearing K-12 students, place these options along a continuum from fully separate (residential school) to fully mainstream (regular public school in mainstream classes), and describe the potential benefits and limitations of each model. Residential schools are easily identified. However day schools, center schools, and fully mainstream schools are more elusive. Nominations of schools to be included in an initial survey will be solicited through relevant listservs (i.e. ACE-DHH), admissions counselors at NTID, and others. A survey will be sent to all nominated schools asking them to identify and describe their model. Based on analysis of survey data, a small number of schools representing the continuum will be identified for follow up as case studies within their educational model category. Tasks this year involve identifying schools, sending surveys, analyzing data and developing a list for further study. The goal of this project is to identify the full range of placements for MSSE graduates and to develop curricula that will prepare them to work effectively in at least two or more settings.

Composing Academic Essays Using Dictation and Technology (Chapter revision)
Albertini, J., Stinson, M., & Zangana, A.

Little research is available on the composing process of deaf student writers and on the use of video and automatic speech recognition to facilitate this process. This project investigates the use of ASL and ASR to produce early drafts of college essays. Interview data and self-ratings were collected on 10 students who used ASL, an interpreter and ASR to produce essay drafts for a college writing course. Objective ratings of the essays were also obtained. Analysis of the interview data and essays will continue and a revised draft will be submitted to Oxford University Press (editors, B. Arfé, J. Dockrell, & V. Berninger) for publication.

Journal of a Voyage to Canton and Home to Boston (Submission for publication)
Albertini, J.

Journals and diaries provide historians with knowledge of how major events affect the lives of average American citizens. Research into the period of American history before and immediately after the War of 1812 and the study and transcription of an unpublished journal of a voyage to Canton and home to Boston in 1815, have resulted in a monograph-length manuscript including background information and historical notes. The goal for this year is to publish all or part of this manuscript as an article in a journal of maritime history or as a monograph.

Reading Miscues and Reading Fluency (Data analysis)
Mayer, C., Trezek, B., & Albertini, J.

In a previous study, we concluded that deaf college students’ miscues while reading aloud often pointed to words and phrases they did not understand. Enough data was collected for that study to allow us to examine fluency rate (words correct per minute) while reading aloud. The goal of this second study is to determine whether or not there is a relationship between reading fluency rate, miscues, and comprehension. The existence of such a relationship would allow teachers to conduct quick and accurate diagnostic reading assessments in the classroom.

Development of technologies and instructional strategies to support collaborative learning in classrooms (Year 1 NTID Innovation Fund Project)
Stinson, M. Long, G., Foster, S. Schley, S., Elliot, L., Francis, P., & Mahar, J.

The purpose of this project is to develop instructional strategies and technology to support communication, participation, and learning of NTID cross-registered students in classroom collaborative activities. The project will identify effective combinations of technologies and instructional procedures for group interaction activities, including cooperative learning. The primary computer technology that will be developed is a modification of the C-Print Pro software to include a collaboration tool option to support students working together in the classroom. The project will investigate whether these approaches can promote achievement, participation, and social integration in classes with deaf and hearing students and in classes with deaf students with a variety of communication characteristics. The primary tasks for this year are to do preliminary work in development of the technology, observation of classes, and collection of focus group data.

Analyzing the Use of C-Print Mobile Technology in STEM Lab Settings across Multiple Postsecondary Sites: Year 2
Stinson, M., Elliot, L., & Francis, P.

The purposes of this project are: (a) to expand the types of venues in which the C-Print mobile technology-based service is used at RIT, other universities, and a community college, and (b) to conduct experimental investigations to evaluate the extent to which the service aids students’ access and learning in STEM labs at the postsecondary level. The research goal is to examine the effects of the use of C-Print mobile on the academic performance of deaf/hard-of-hearing students in laboratory sections of STEM courses and on their confidence and interest in their STEM major. A grant of $395, 000 has been awarded from NSF for this project.

Deaf STEM Community Alliance: Supporting Postsecondary Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Students in STEM
Elliot, L., DeCaro, J., & Clymer, E.

The National Technical Institute for the Deaf (NTID) and its partners, Cornell University (Ithaca, NY) and Camden County College (Blackwood, NJ) are creating the Deaf STEM Community Alliance. The goal of the Alliance will be to establish a model for a Virtual Academic Community (VAC) that will increase graduation rates of D/HH STEM majors in postsecondary education in the long term. The goal will be supported by two objectives: (1) documenting and disseminating a description of the process of creating the VAC in order to create a scalable model that can be replicated to fit the needs of other students with disabilities in STEM majors; and, 2) increasing the GPAs and retention rates of D/HH students in STEM majors. The VAC prototype is designed to allow academic support, communication access, and sense of community necessary for D/HH students to succeed in STEM fields of study through a web-based cyberinfrastructure. Main elements of the VAC will include: 1. Web-conferencing tools as to provide students with remote tutoring, mentoring, interpreting and captioning services; 2. Synchronous/asynchronous communication network to create the academic community; and, 3. Access to electronic resources such as sign language dictionaries, professional organizations, captioned media, reports and papers. This project is supported by the National Science Foundation Award, Research in Disabilities Education, HRD-#1127955.

Development of Norms for the ADSA-SLV: Phase 3
Parasnis, I., & Samar, V. J.

Last year, we collected data on deaf college students at NTID and RIT to develop norms for the Attention Deficit Scales for Adults-Sign Language Version (ADSA-SLV). The ADSA-SLV is the first linguistically accessible ADHD assessment instrument designed for the deaf and hard-of-hearing population. This year we will finish data collection on this project. The results of this study will provide a normative database for deaf adults for the ADSA-SLV test and will help strengthen the validity of the ADSA-SLV for ADHD assessment in the deaf adult population.

Distribution of Attention in Deaf and Hearing Students: Phase 3
Parasnis, I., Samar, V. J., Hauser, P., & Lukomski, J.

In a recent study from our laboratory, adult Deaf native signers had equivalent accuracy, perceptual sensitivity, and response bias on a continuous performance test, but shorter response times than hearing adults, at both central and peripheral visual field locations. These data suggest that early auditory deprivation or early acquisition of sign language may enhance processing speed in some attention tasks at a later stage than early perceptual processing. The goal of the present study is to determine whether deafness or very early acquisition of sign language is responsible for this response time facilitation. This projects compares deaf young adults exposed to sign from birth to deaf young adults exposed to sign later in childhood, all of whom achieve proficiency by adulthood, on their performance on the same continuous performance test. If very early exposure to sign is responsible for the response facilitation, then the facilitation will attenuate or disappear in the late exposure group. However, if early deafness is responsible for the facilitation, then it should persist in the late exposure group.

Perceptions of the Teachers of the Deaf Regarding Diversity and Multiculturalism
Parasnis, I.

The number of racial/ethnic minority deaf students in schools is steadily increasing and so is awareness that sociocultural diversity among deaf students influences their educational experience. Although many schools offer professional development activities and many teacher training programs include courses related to diversity and multiculturalism, how issues related to diversity and multiculturalism are addressed by the teachers of the deaf in their teaching and what attitudes they hold about diversity and multiculturalism have not been studied. This study will survey teachers of the deaf regarding these topics.

Examination of Course Completion and Communication Ease in Online Learning Courses
Long, G., Marchetti, C., Mallory, J., Foster, S., Fasse, R., Bryant, L., & Gottermeier, L.

The purpose of the project is to examine the interaction of deaf and hard-of-hearing students with their hearing peers and with their instructors in online and blended learning courses. The project also examines best practices for online instruction and the extent to which having an online component in a course leads to improved academic achievement for deaf and hard-of-hearing students. Prior research has established a link between ease of communication and academic achievement for students. Students who can readily communicate with their teachers and peers in class are more engaged learners who invest more energy learning and consequently have greater achievement than do students who have very restricted or limited classroom communication. Long and Beil (2006) found that adult deaf learners often felt left behind and excluded from much of the peer and teacher interactions in typical lecture settings utilizing an interpreter. However, Mallory et al (2008) and Long et al (2007) found that deaf and hard-of-hearing students enrolled in online and blended classes respectively, were positive about the opportunity to have direct communication with the instructor and their classmates. This program of research will examine the advantages and disadvantages of online instruction for deaf and hard-of-hearing students. The project will also determine which delivery methods appear to be most effective for fostering learning and course completion.

Enhancing Learning in Student Workgroups Comprised of Deaf/Hard-of-Hearing and Hearing Students
Marchetti, C., Foster, S., Long, G., & Stinson, M.

The goal of this project is to facilitate communication participation and learning in student workgroups with D/HH and hearing students. Participants include all students registered in sections of Dr. Marchetti’s Data Analysis course in 2011-12. In one section student workgroups will work at tables using pen and paper to work collaboratively; students are expected to complete individual copies and to submit a group worksheet to be graded. In the other section of the course, student workgroups will use a whiteboard for collaborative work, recording work onto a group worksheet, which will later be emailed to group members. Observations of student workgroups, student surveys, pre-and post-tests, and course grades will be used to develop strategies that may improve group interactions for students working in groups of deaf, hearing and hard of hearing students. The primary steps for this year are to collect and analyze data.

Deaf Weight Wise Project
Samar, V.J., DeCaro, J., & University of Rochester Faculty & Staff

The National Center for Deaf Health Research (NCDHR) is a national center for research on health, health care, disease prevention and health promotion in the deaf community. NCDHR is one of the Prevention Research Centers of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and is currently funded from October, 2009 - September 2014. NTID has been awarded a subcontract to collaborate with NCDHR to implement an experimental weight and obesity intervention program for the deaf community, called Deaf Weight Wise. This year we will collaborate with NCDHR to continue to translate and film new program materials for Deaf Weight Wise and to further develop software to conduct sign language based surveys. We will also participate in data analysis and dissemination of results of prior deaf health surveys in papers and presentations.

Assessing Cardiovascular Risks in Deaf Adolescents who Use Sign Language
Samar, V.J., & Smith, S.

Dr. Scott Smith (University of Rochester, Department of Community and Preventive Medicine) has been awarded a K01 Mentored Research Scientist Development Award from NIH to study Deaf Adolescents’ health literacy related to cardiovascular risk. We have been awarded a subcontract from this grant at NTID to provide co-mentorship (Vince Samar) and to collaborate on developing, translating, filming and implementing appropriate sign-language based computer-delivered measures of cardiovascular health knowledge and risk.

Relationship of Childhood Socioeconomic Status to the Neurocognitive Development of Deaf Young Adults
Samar, V. J., & Segalowitz, S.

Early-life adverse conditions (EAC) due to low socioeconomic status (SES), such as poor nutrition, infection, drug toxicities, and maternal/fetal stress, dysregulate neuroendocrine and metabolic pathways responsible for neurocognitive development. Many EAC also cause deafness. Therefore, low SES deaf children may experience high rates of dysregulated neurocognitive development into adulthood. We have recently reported anthropometric evidence that suggests that deaf young adults from low SES backgrounds show impaired reading and English language skills due to EAC [Samar, V.J., Barnett, S., & Finigan, E., (2011). Deaf adults from low childhood socioeconomic backgrounds display intercorrelations among language skills and body composition suggesting early epigenetic dysregulation of neurocognitive development. Federation of European Societies of Neuropsychology Congress, Basel, Sept. 7-9.]. The present study is designed to use advanced EEG/ERP measures to provide direct brain-imaging evidence that exposure to EAC impairs the development of specific neurocognitive subsystems (particularly language and executive systems) and of cognitive performance in deaf young adults.

Sign Survey Tool (SST) – Development of a culturally and linguistically accessible survey instrument for deaf students and community members
Samar, V. J., Barnett, S., & DeCaro, J. J.

Programs/services at NTID, RIT, and beyond must survey students, faculty/staff, and Deaf community members to improve program design, intake/outcome assessment, recruitment/retention, student/community services, alumni relations, community services, etc. English text-based surveys, even if written for deaf audiences, are frustrating and inaccessible to many deaf people. Researchers from the University of Rochester (UR) and RIT collaborated to build a first generation Sign Survey Tool (SST1), an interactive computerized survey presentation tool, which can present culturally and linguistically accessible surveys in both sign language and printed text. We successfully deployed the SST1 to collect health status data from Monroe county Deaf community members and others. An innovative 2nd generation redesign of this tool (SST2), including a web-based survey generation tool, is currently being built with new support from UR. This new tool will permit departments, programs, and agencies to extend applications of the SST to educational, employment, and community settings to support their specific program goals. For example, the SST could support many NTID SD2020 initiatives using data based on culturally and linguistically accessible surveys of specific deaf audiences. In this project we will test the functionality of SST2 when it is delivered this year, and begin to work with various RIT stakeholders to identify particular applications of the SST for their programmatic purposes.

Defining the Range of School Placements for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Students: Stage1
Foster, S., Lane-Outlaw, S., & Schley, S.

Enhancing Learning in Student Workgroups Comprised of Deaf/Hard-of-Hearing and Hearing Students
Marchetti, C., Foster, S., Long, G., & Stinson, M.

Development of a Study Design to Examine Math Concept Learning Associated with Use of Online Homework Helps by Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Students
De Filippo, C., & Santana Valadez, M.

The academic skills of entering college students who are deaf or hard-of-hearing may lag behind those of their peers with normal hearing because they lacked full access to instruction during their earlier school experience, perhaps due to unmet language and communication (modality) needs or an instructional approach that did not promote effective interaction with the materials. New online technologies, usually linked to a companion textbook, can supplement classroom instruction with quantities of homework practice that is said to be personalized and adaptable to a variety of learning styles. Recent innovations include alternative help modes such as tailored tutorials and multimedia learning aids to guide a student to the correct answer. It has not been ascertained, however, whether these help functions, particularly their textual and graphic components, limit learning to the rote level rather than develop understanding that extends beyond the practiced calculation. Further, teachers of students with hearing loss are interested in how well suited these help functions are to learners who rely heavily on visual-spatial information. The purpose of the current project is to develop a theoretical foundation and study design to support examination of these issues in a classroom context.

Visual Language Processing with Competing Sources of Information
De Filippo, C., & Lansing, C.

Simultaneous Communication presents two streams of information to the receiver of the message, one spoken and one signed. Previous study of location of eye gaze during reception of Simultaneous Communication indicated a general preference for gazing in the region of the face. The current study is a companion investigation that will document the intelligibility of each source of information (using the stimulus materials from the previous study) when presented separately.

Improving Speech Perception in Prelingually Deaf Listeners: Exploring a Novel Training Concept
De Filippo, C., & Clark, C.

For nearly a decade, cochlear implants have been an option for individuals with profound congenital hearing loss; however, the degree of auditory speech recognition benefit for this group can be disappointing. Age at onset and duration of deafness have been identified as significant factors that influence outcomes with a cochlear implant in this group; still, as much as 80% of the variance in individual performance remains unexplained. Factors that have yet to be explored include the nature of the training protocol and interactions between the visual and auditory modalities during training. The current research will lead to the development of a new training strategy that recognizes two premises: (a) the brain reorganizes in the presence of longstanding deafness, and (b) learning-dependent plasticity continues throughout life. The new procedure will attempt to demonstrate that, with appropriately devised experiences, the brain might be assisted to transition to a balanced bimodal percept. The goal of the current project is to simulate modulation of the visual component of a speech stimulus for use in audiovisual speech recognition training with congenitally deaf individuals who initiated auditory stimulation later in life.

Center School Model for Educating Deaf and Hard of Hearing Students
Foster, S.

The landscape of education for deaf and hard of hearing (D/HH) students has changed dramatically over the past 30 years. Whereas most students used to attend separate day or residential schools, today most attend mainstream schools where they spend part or all of their day in classes with hearing peers. Additionally, technological and medical advances have enabled some deaf students to function as hard of hearing students, requiring different support services. Some separate schools have lost enrollment; others have enrolled students who are deaf with multiple disabilities. Mainstream schools have added resources for D/HH students, including interpreters, speech/language therapists, resource room teachers, and itinerant teachers. During this period a new model has emerged. Often referred to as "center schools," this model involves a critical mass of D/HH students who attend a mainstream school where they enjoy advantages of of both separate and mainstream settings. Students have opportunities for social interaction with D/HH and hearing peers,concentration of services, and access to a broad selection of academic and extracurricular options. The focus of this project is to learn more about the goals, philosophy, structure and practice of schools that consider themselves a “center model” program and to determine the pros and cons of this model for D/HH students and their teachers.

Team Access: Transition from NTID- to RIT-based Resource
Foster, S. & Long, G.

Project Access started as an NTID/RIT initiative to promote inclusive instruction for deaf and hard of hearing (D/HH) students in mainstream postsecondary settings. Workshops, presentations, and related resources were developed for faculty at the university. The project was subsequently implemented nationally through two federal grants (DOE). Once funding ended the focus again returned to RIT as “Team Access” with continuing outreach beyond RIT via the Class Act website (http:www.rit.edu/classact) and the Project Access Workshop Planner’s Guide. Activities of Team Access have included presentations at faculty learning community groups, orientations for faculty and graduate teaching assistants, and workshops for faculty and staff. Until now Team Access has been an NTID based resource. The focus this year is to shift the program coordination and maintenance to RIT.

Deaf College Students’ Knowledge of the Transitive (active, passive) and Intransitive (unaccusative, unergative) Properties of English Verbs: Pilot Study
Gerald P. Berent, Ronald R. Kelly, John A. Albertini, Rose Marie Toscano

In view of the centrality of English verbs in communicating sentential propositions, the purpose of this study is to determine the extent to which deaf college students have a command of the transitive and intransitive properties of English verbs. In this pilot research, a Transitive-Intransitive Acceptability Task will be devised to assess students’ knowledge of transitive (active and passive) and intransitive (unergative, unaccusative) verbs. In addition, students’ productive command of these verb types will be assessed through the analysis of student essays. Task and essay analysis of both deaf and hearing college students will reveal the extent to which deaf students at different English proficiency levels have knowledge of these subtle properties of English verbs required for the accurate comprehension and production of academic discourse.

Targeting Perceived Control in Failing Freshmen
De Filippo, C., Gottermeier, L., & Kelly, R.

Attributional Retraining (AR) has been successful with hearing college students in modifying their levels of perceived control and achievement motivation. Based on attribution theory (Weiner, 1995), AR targets maladaptive reasoning for poor performance ("lousy" teacher/test/luck/ability). In laboratory and field studies, AR has been associated with better college test performance, final grades, and overall GPA, along with more adaptive causal attributions for failure (poor effort/study strategy; Haynes et al., 2008). AR has not yet been applied to students who are deaf. A protocol for implementing AR in a classroom setting has recently been proposed by Haynes et al. (2010). Our objective is to adapt that protocol for deaf students and engender success in those who fail FS or attain a fall-quarter GPA of ≤ 2.0 but are waived suspension.

Taking on the Glass Ceiling: Knowledge, Strategies, and Research for NTID/RIT Deaf/HH Graduates’ Career Growth and Promotion
Kelly, R. R., Behm, G., Macko, J., & Driscoll, M.

NSF CAREER Grant: Final Phase
Schley, S.

This project wraps up the author’s multi-year NSF CAREER grant. The project has looked at long-term educational and workplace outcomes of deaf and hard of hearing students. One set of work used the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth. The other used results from a collaboration between NTID, Cornell University, and the Social Security Administration to evaluate the life-long impact of an education on economic outcomes. The final set of analyses look at longitudinal outcomes of NTID students based on their entry scores; and at achievement test scores of students enrolled in participant schools of the Coalition of Private Schools for the Deaf (CPSD). This project is in its final year.

ASL-English Bimodal Bilingualism
Berent, G. P.

Unlike bilingual behaviors that emerge via the communicative use of two spoken languages in one modality (auditory-vocal), bilingual behaviors that emerge via the use of a spoken language and a sign language can involve either one modality or two—auditory-vocal and visual-spatial. For example, ASL-English bilingualism can involve the rendering of English in the visual-spatial modality as when English structural properties are rendered through ASL signs and finger-spelling. However, ASL-English bilingualism can involve two modalities as in the use of “contact signing,” which is ASL signing that incorporates certain English properties along with the mouthing of English words, or during simultaneous communication, which incorporates both ASL signing and English speaking at the same time. This study explores the small but increasing body of research on bimodal bilingualism in an attempt to shed new light on the characteristics and constraints on this phenomenon, including how communication can be either facilitated or compromised when two modalities are employed.

Itinerant Specialist Teachers of D/HH Students: Application of Online Resource to MSSE Curriculum
Foster, S., and Long, G.

Trends in the education of D/HH students have shifted dramatically over the last 30 years. In the past these students were primarily taught directly in separate schools by specialist instructors. Today, however, they are more likely to attend local public schools where they attend classes with hearing peers and receive support from specialist “itinerant” teachers. The goal of this project is to integrate features of itinerant teaching practice within the curriculum of NTID's Master of Science Program in Secondary Education of Deaf and Hard of Hearing Students (MSSE). A panel discussion with experienced itinerant teachers has been videotaped and edited for use by online learners as an instructional tool. This year learning activities will be developed for using this online resource within MSSE courses as a supplement to existing course content.

Cochlear Implants in a College Context
De Filippo, C., & Gustafson, M.

The purpose of this project is to identify common profiles among college students who use cochlear implants in order to guide the future development of an efficient model of service provision for each profile. This initial effort will investigate cochlear implant use and students' academic attainments. The desired data set will also include demographic variables, audiologic and amplification history, and communication preferences, as available.

Comparing Deaf and L2 English Learners’ Knowledge of Numeral Quantifiers: Phase 2
Berent, G. P., Kelly, R. R., & Schueler-Choukairi, T.

Both deaf students and hearing second language (L2) learners of English need to develop high functional skills in English in order to be accepted into colleges and universities in the U.S. and to succeed in their postsecondary educational programs. English sentences containing numeral quantifiers such as ‘two,’ ‘three,’ etc., and another noun phrase are often ambiguous and can lead to miscomprehension of mathematical and scientific text. For example, ‘Three students are solving a problem’ can refer to one and the same problem being solved by all three students or to three different problems, each being solved by a different student. It is hypothesized that the deaf and hearing L2 learners will exhibit parallel performance in the comprehension of a variety of numerically quantified sentence types but will perform at levels lower than native English speakers. Such results will provide insight into the semantic and pragmatic knowledge needed to comprehend the target sentences correctly in college-level discourse.

Deaf College Students’ Knowledge of English Verbs' Argument and Event Properties
Berent, G. P., Kelly, R. R., Albertini, J. A., & Toscano R. M.

Eye Fixations during Simultaneous Communication: Data Analysis and Report
De Filippo, C., & Lansing, C.

Simultaneous Communication (SC) is a method of communicating to people who are deaf/hard-of-hearing that uses sign language and spoken language at the same time, such that the receiver is presented with multiple sources of information, those associated with sign (e.g., hands, eyes/nose/mouth/cheeks, head, shoulders) and those associated with speech (e.g., lips, teeth, tongue, jaw). The purpose of this study is to advance our understanding of visual language processing when receiving overlapping streams of information. This is a continuation of our efforts to analyze characteristics of eye fixations, whether in the region of speech cues or sign cues, of subjects with diverse language backgrounds (visual and auditory) during short utterances and during longer narrative passages. Results will also inform curriculum development for teaching SC reception.

Intelligibility of Simultaneous Communication in Blocked Hands/Face Conditions
De Filippo, C., & Lansing, C.

The purpose of this study is to measure the intelligibility of information available in critical regions of the image of experienced senders of Simultaneous Communication (SC) as viewed by experienced receivers of SC. Responses to story comprehension questions will be collected in two blocked conditions, when only the torso is visible and when only the head is visible. Findings will be related to our understanding of visual language processing when there are competing sources of information.

Feasibility of Achieving Normal Loudness Growth for Listeners with Severe or Profound Hearing Loss: Report
De Filippo, C., & Gottermeier, L.

Prior to the age of modern digital hearing aids and hearing aid analysers, audiologists typically validated hearing aid fit by (1) obtaining thresholds of detection and measures of Most Comfortable Loudness (MCL) and Uncomfortable Loudness (UCL) and (2) comparing the results to criteria developed over time with other listeners who had similar levels of hearing loss. In light of new understanding of the importance of loudness to hearing aid satisfaction and benefit, such methods are no longer considered adequate. Rather, attention has turned to the contour of loudness growth, describing the entire continuum from detection to discomfort. The question under study here is the degree to which normal loudness growth can be achieved by listeners who have a narrow dynamic range due to severe or profound hearing loss. This project will summarize the results of a study of aided loudness growth of 23 listeners with severe or profound hearing loss. It will describe how closely they approximate normal loudness growth with best-fit hearing aids, at what frequencies, and over what portion of the loudness continuum. It will also examine hearing and hearing aid characteristics of those listeners whose responses do and do not approximate normal contours.

Rapid Automatized Naming and Reading Performance in Deaf College Students: Report
De Filippo, C.

Phonological awareness and decoding are skills known to be related to reading performance in both deaf and hearing children. Recently, Dyer and colleagues (2003) reported that rapid automatized naming (RAN), as an indicator of processing speed, is an additional skill associated with reading in young hearing children, but not in adolescent deaf children. As noted by the investigators, however, aspects of their methodology limited interpretation of the findings. We conducted the current partial replication of the Dyer study because (1) the association between reading skill and RAN has not been tested adequately in deaf populations, especially in older readers; (2) there continues to be a need for intervention strategies for deaf students who, on average, still perform well below age-norms in reading even beyond high school graduation; and (3) reading is a prominent stumbling block at the college level where independent learning through print is critical to success. It was tested whether RAN, in the sign and/or speech modes, would differ systematically with reading skill among college students. The purpose of the current project is to summarize the results of a battery of reading and performance tests conducted in sign and in speech with deaf college students and a comparison group with normal hearing.

Student and Parent Reflections on the Cochlear Implant Experience: Continuation of Interview Study
De Filippo, C.

This project is an ongoing effort to understand the characteristics that are common to users of cochlear implants who are more or less successful and satisfied with the device. Information surrounding a student's use of a cochlear implant is solicited in an extended telephone interview with his/her parent (as designated by the student, and with the student's and parent's permission). Findings are expected to be helpful in advising future students who wish to know to what extent they are likely to benefit from an implant.

Deaf College Students’ Knowledge of English Verbs and Associated Argument Realizations and Event Structures
Berent, G. P., Kelly, R. R., Albertini, J. A., & Toscano, R. M.

This research project explores deaf college students’ knowledge of English verbs and their associated argument realizations and event structures. Lexical knowledge of a verb, which lies at the core of a sentence’s proposition, entails knowledge of the verb’s argument patterns (among subject, objects, and prepositional phrases), the semantic roles associated with its arguments (e.g., AGENT, INSTRUMENT, THEME), and the types of linguistic events (activities, accomplishments, achievements) in which the verb can participate. The research examines deaf students’ English verb knowledge—both core verbs and verbs essential to general academic discourse—relative to the knowledge of their hearing English-speaking peers. Hypotheses are formulated in the context of established linguistic theories of lexical knowledge and in association with widely recognized lexical constructs. Hypotheses are tested in specially constructed tasks and in fine-grained analysis of deaf and hearing students’ essays.

Deaf Students' Comprehension of Numeral Quantifiers: Phase 2
Kelly, R. R., & Berent, G. P.

The management of mathematical and scientific discourse in English requires interpretive knowledge of sentences containing numeral quantifier phrases such as "Three students are solving a problem." Seemingly simple, such a sentence is ambiguous between a meaning in which three students are solving one and the same problem and a meaning in which each of three students is solving a different problem. This research study focuses on the comprehension of a variety of sentence types containing numeral quantifiers by deaf students at the middle school, high school, and college levels. The investigators are seeking to clarify the challenges posed by such sentences by analyzing deaf students’ interpretations of the relevant sentences in data gathered using their "English Sentence Picture Task—Quantifiers," along with data from the students’ hearing peers at each level. Preliminary results indicate that the challenges in interpreting the targeted sentences are tied both to students’ English semantic knowledge and their pragmatic knowledge for interpreting sentences in discourse.

Distribution of Attention in Deaf and Hearing Students
Ila Parasnis, Vincent J. Samar, Peter Hauser, Jennifer Lukomski

Separate groups of studies over the past 20 years have shown that deaf individuals allocate more attentional resources to the visual periphery and show a reduction of attentional resources in central vision on continuous performance tests, respectively. This project attempts to directly relate the phenomenon of peripheral attentional enhancement to central attentional reduction in deaf people in a continuous performance paradigm. The findings from this project will provide a further test of the phenomenon of attentional redistribution due to deafness and will simultaneously hold implications for normative assessment of ADHD in the deaf population.

Examination of Course Completion and Communication Ease in Online Learning Courses
Long, G., Fasse, R., Mallory, J., & Foster, S.

The purpose of the project is to examine the interaction of deaf and hard-of-hearing students with their hearing peers and with their instructors in online and blended learning courses. The project will also examine the extent to which having an online component in a course, leads to course completion for deaf and hard-of-hearing students. Long and Beil found that adult deaf learners often felt left behind and excluded from much of the peer and teacher interactions in typical lecture settings utilizing an interpreter. However, Mallory et al and Long et al found that deaf and hard-of-hearing students enrolled in online and blended classes respectively, were positive about the opportunity to have direct communication with the instructor and their classmates. This program of research will examine the advantages and disadvantages of online instruction for deaf and hard-of-hearing students. The project will also determine which delivery methods appear to be most effective for fostering learning and course completion. This year we begin work on the relation between students’ participation in online courses and their subsequent graduation from RIT. We will also write up and present last years work on the link between ease of communication in online courses and satisfaction with those courses at a national conference.

Using Whiteboard and Computer Mediated Communication to Facilitate Student Workgroup Learning: Continued Pilot Work
Susan Foster, Pamela Francis, Gary Long, Carol Marchetti, Michael Stinson

The purpose of this new project is to adapt whiteboard and computer mediated communication (CMC) strategies, develop instructional approaches for their effective use, and evaluate the effectiveness of these technologies in classes. The project will identify effective combinations of technologies and instructional procedures for instructionally effective procedures for group interaction activities, including cooperative learning. The C-Print Pro Tablet version software is being adapted for this project. The project will investigate whether these approaches can promote achievement, participation, and social integration in classes with deaf and hearing students and in classes with deaf students with a variety of communication characteristics. The project will also examine the manner in which these technologies can facilitate interaction and learning outside the classroom, such as in blended and work place situations. The primary tasks for this year are to continue to adapt a version of the technology, and to continue pilot trials. Lenovo corporation has agree to loan four or more Tablet PCs for use in project trials.

Using Tablet C-Print to Support Deaf and Hard of Hearing Students: Year 3
Michael Stinson, Lisa Elliot, Valerie Smith-Pethybridge, Pamela Francis, Donna Easton

The purpose of this project is to conduct field trials with college students and develop training materials for using tablet technology in combination with C-Print Pro software. This project has received $50,000 from the NEC Foundation. Recently developed C-Print Tablet software makes it possible to record graphs and other pictorial information (critical to the understanding of mathematics, science, foreign language, and other classes) in addition to text. This combination of technology also allows students to add their own drawings to the real-time display, a feature not previously available. The primary tasks for this year are to complete data analyses, revise guides, and write a report.

Continuation of Survive and Thrive Project: A Study of a Sample of the 2007, 2008, and 2009 Cohorts of Entering NTID Students
Kelly, R. R., Albertini, J. A., & Matchett, M. K.

The primary focus of this study is on identifying factors that influence persistence, retention, academic success, and attrition for entering NTID students. Initiated in 2007, this study examines personal factors of D/HH students relative to college performance. Two nonverbal visual reasoning assessments and two personal inventories were administered. These assessed personal factors such as intellectual interests, academic motivation, dropout proneness, coping, anxiety, attitudes, confidence, study habits, time management, and sociability. Three cohorts of entering D/HH students at NTID/RIT have participated (n = 132 in 2007; n = 167 in 2008, n = 248 in 2009) for a total of 547. Students’ personal factors are then statistically analyzed with their quarterly and cumulative academic GPA and program status through to attrition or graduation. Also, at the end of their first- year experience, a follow-up survey assessed the students’ self-perception of their academic performance and their support strategies used. The goal for the AY2009-2010 is to complete all data analyses to date, and present the updated current findings at several national and international conferences, as well as to complete at least one major manuscript for publication.

Dissemination of Project Access: Partnerships internal and external to RIT
Foster, S., and Long, G.

From 2002-2007, the Project Access team developed materials designed to promote inclusion of deaf and hard of hearing students within mainstream classes both at RIT and across the US by providing their teachers with instructional strategies that increase access for these students. The federal grants that supported initial development, training, and dissemination have ended but it is expected of all federal grants that institutions receiving funds include plans to continue the work of the grants beyond the funded period. In response to this expectation,a plan was developed to enable continuation of Project Access activities and dissemination both at RIT and with other programs nationally. The plan includes institutionalizing Project Access at RIT by establishing a program of university-wide faculty development; activities include formal presentations at New Faculty Orientation and Graduate Teaching Assistant Orientation, as well as informal sessions through established Faculty Learning Communities. Outreach to external audiences will be achieved through marketing, dissemination, and training for the Class Act website (http://www.rit.edu/classact) and the Project Access Workshop Planner’s Guide.

Evaluation of the Use of Tablet PCs and C-Print to Support Deaf and Hard of Hearing Students: Year 3
Michael Stinson, Lisa Elliot, Marc Marschark, Pamela Francis, Sue Foster, Anne Alepoudakis

The purpose of this project is to evaluate two options for using Tablet PCs to provide support services for deaf/hard-of-hearing high school students. A grant of $900,000 has been awarded by the U.S. Department of Education for this project. One option uses the Tablet PC to provide real-time notetaking support and the second option involves provision of graphical information along with a real-time display of text. The major task for this year is to collect data for a field study and for an experiment on effects of tablets upon classroom achievement with 90 students. Approximately 40 students are expected to participate in trials.

Supporting Deaf and Hard of Hearing Undergraduate Students in STEM Field Settings with Remote Speech to Text Services: Year 3
Michael Stinson, Pamela Francis, Lisa Elliot, Sue Foster

The purpose of this project is to develop a system for providing a C-Print real-time display in remote field settings for college students. A grant of $300,000 has been awarded by the National Science Foundation for this project. Many deaf and hard of hearing (d/hh) students receive speech-to-text (captioning) support services in mainstreamed college courses. Service providers typically provide text in real-time to students displayed on laptop computers. However, support service needs still go unanswered, particularly in STEM education at the undergraduate level. One of those needs is the provision of speech-to-text support in non-traditional learning settings, such as field trips where traditional delivery systems would be impractical. The primary tasks for this year will be to continue to develop the remote C-Print technology and to conduct field trials with the technology.

Increasing Access to STEM Instruction Through Specially Produced Notes using Tablet PC Technology and Speech-to-Text Services: Year 3
Michael Stinson, Lisa Elliot, Alan Entenberg, Pamela Francis, Carol Marchetti.

The purpose of this project is to use C-Print to enhance access of undergraduate college students in several underrepresented groups to STEM instruction. This project has received $150,000 from the National Science Foundation. Students with learning disabilities (LD), those who are deaf or hard of hearing (D/HH), and those who are learners of English language (ELL) face significant communication barriers in STEM undergraduate courses. This project is addressing these barriers by implementing a technology for providing review for students after class through specially produced notes that capture the course material in a comprehensive, thorough, yet condensed, manner. The primary task for this year is to conduct a study to determine the impact of distribution of C-Print notes upon student learning.

Real-time systems for converting speech to text (C-Print): Write up of questionnaire and evaluation of Tablet PC
Michael Stinson, Lisa Elliot, Pamela Francis

This system consists a software package specially developed for providing support services that enables a captionist to enter material more rapidly into the computer than simple typing. The system is called the C-Print system. The project involves research and development of this technology that helps meet NTID goals to develop new approaches for transferring information and knowledge. The C-Print technology provides an alternative to communication access that benefits many of our mainstreamed students. This work has been supported by grants from the Office of Special Education Programs, Department of Education and the Spencer Foundation. This year the primary work will be to write for publication the automatic speech recognition and educational software and the development and evaluation of the Tablet PC C-Print software projects.

Development of Norms for the ADSA-SLV
Ila Parasnis, Vincent J. Samar

We recently published the Attention Deficit Scales for Adults-Sign Language Version (ADSA-SLV) which is the first linguistically accessible ADHD assessment instrument designed for the deaf and hard-of-hearing population (age 17 and above). The interactive design of the test is expected to increase the validity of the ADHD assessment in this population. Although we have some pilot data to support the use of this instrument in the deaf and hard-of-hearing college student population, no normative data are available to determine the test’s reliability and validity for this population. This project’s goal is to start creating a normative data base for the ADSA-SLV test.

DeafTEC: A Technological Training Center for Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Students
Lange, D., Pelz, M., & Long, G.

The National Technical Institute for the Deaf (NTID), one of the eight colleges of the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT), was awarded a National Science Foundation, ATE National Center of Excellence, the Center for Advancing Technological Education for the Deaf (DeafTEC). On a broad, national level, DeafTEC will serve as a resource for high schools and community colleges that educate deaf/hard of hearing (deaf/hh) students in STEM-related programs and for employers hiring deaf/hh individuals. DeafTEC will establish a model within targeted regions of the country that will create partnerships among high schools, community colleges, and industry to improve access to technological education and employment for deaf/hh students. The goal of this national center is to successfully integrate more deaf/hh individuals into the workplace in highly skilled technician jobs where these individuals are currently underrepresented and underutilized.

Activities of the Center for Education Research Partnerships
Marschark, M.

Projects concerning development and learning among deaf and hard-of-hearing students in various educational settings can be accessed via the Center for Education Research Partnerships website: http://www.ntid.rit.edu/media/cerp

Activities of the Postsecondary Education Network--International
DeCaro, J.

See the PEN-International website for projects related to the following goals: 1) Increase the application of information technology and instructional technology to teaching and learning. 2) Improve teaching, learning, curriculum development, and instructional development. 3) Expand career education opportunities for deaf and hard-of-hearing people internationally. 4) Increase access by people who are deaf and head-of-hearing to technology and employment in the information technology industry. http://http://www.pen.ntid.rit.edu/welcome.php?lang=en

Eye Fixations While Watching Narratives in Simultaneous Communication: Results, Follow-Up, and Report
De Filippo, C.

The current study is an analysis of eye movement while watching short narratives presented in Simultaneous Communication (SC). Eye behaviors include number, duration, and location of eye fixations (e.g., at the sender's face or hands). Patterns of eye movement will also be related to observers' early language background. A follow-up study will also be conducted to determine accuracy of SC reception when a portion of the stimulus, either face or hands, is masked. Results are expected contribute to our understanding of (a) visual language processing in both deaf and hearing communicators and (b) comparative eye movement behavior of observers with different levels of SC experience and early language background. Comparison of older, experienced SC users to younger less-experienced college students will indicate areas of focus during instruction in sign/speech (SC) reception.

Evaluation of Five Years of Students' Ratings of their Teachers: Comparative Course Groupings
De Filippo, C.

The Student Rating Survey (SRS) is a mechanism offered to students to provide feedback to their teachers. The current project is one part of a larger effort to evaluate the rating system. The objective of this project is to determine which combination of variables best separates courses into distinct subgroups. These subgroups are used to calculate comparison results for "similar courses," intended to aid teachers in interpreting the findings from their own courses.

College Performance Among Deaf Students: Comparisons Based on Use of Cochlear Implants
De Filippo, C., & Gustafson, M.

The purpose of this study is to describe the concomitants of implant use in a college population, including demographic variables, academic history, audiologic and amplification history, and communication preferences. Findings will be interpreted in comparison to a general college population of deaf/hard-of-hearing students. Data will be retrieved from existing electronic files and paper records. The eventual goal is to identify clusters of specific support needs of college students who use cochlear implants.

Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) - National Technical Institute for the Deaf (NTID)

NTID Research Program

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