Actions From Yesterday ~ Ideas For Tomorrow

1. Actions From Yesterday ~Ideas For Tomorrow Join Together Project Accomplishment and Goal Statements Advisory Board Meeting 2/15/06

2. Objective 1.1 Accomplishment • The use of videoconference technology in the education of students who are deaf and hard of hearing is increasing. However, much of the knowledge about its usage is isolated among a few users. Through a collaboration of The American School for the Deaf and the Clerc Center at Gallaudet University, the VC Web site (http://clerccenter.gallaudet.edu/vcweb) was created to serve as a central source to the many teachers, staff, parents and students who are using or wish to begin using videoconference technology.  At the same time, Objective 1.1 has been focusing on the use of this technology and its applications.  Rather than re-develop tools, we are working to promote the use of the VC Web site to assist those who have access to videoconference technology and need to find each other for collaboration and ongoing learning. 

3. Objective 1.1 Goal • In order to make it possible for our members to create their own online learning projects, we have been investigating a number of software programs. Our investigation is ongoing but we have been able to locate and test a promising software package: PowerPoint Producer. This software is free and is an easy to use program that makes it possible to create lessons with slides, video and captions and publish them on the web. PowerPoint Producer is not perfect but it is a good place to start for online lessons. Objective 1.1 will be assisting JT participants in using this program to create online lessons in the coming months.

4. Objs 1.2/2.3 Accomplishment • Technology Benefits for Deaf College Students: Interviews of pre-service students who are deaf and hard-of-hearing were video-taped to identify technologies they report are making a positive difference in their education. Some video clips will be demonstrated in an ACE-D/HH session as well as made available on the Web.

5. Objs 1.2/2.3 Goal • Publish Resources and Collect Feedback: Publish the variety of projects and products developed by team members, advertise the resources to the Join Together and deaf education communities, and collect feedback on the materials.

6. Objective 1.3 Accomplishment • Our team surveyed all preservice teachers at four deaf ed. teacher preparation programs widely dispersed across the U.S. Preservice teachers provided feedback regarding effective recruitment and retention strategies. Survey results were aggregated across all programs and disaggregated by hearing status and ethnicity. T-tests were run to determine statistical significance between responses of each group. Each deaf ed. program conducted a follow-up focus group with diverse students to confirm results and explore areas not addressed in the survey itself. Our Top Five list of recommended recruitment strategies is drawn directly from preservice teacher responses.

7. Objective 1.3 Goal • In many deaf ed. programs, current recruitment efforts range from limited to nonexistent. We want faculty to move from “standing on the bank to wading in the water” when addressing recruitment of culturally and linguistically diverse students. During the upcoming year, faculty participants will identify one or two recruitment strategies from the Top Five list to implement at their universities. Using a case study approach, faculty will evaluate how they recruited previously, which strategies they implemented, and the impact of targeted recruitment efforts on student enrollment and the deaf education program.

8. Objective 1.4 Accomplishment • Designing a 4 university, 3 state collaborative regional program to prepare post-baccalaureate level teachers to gain certification to teach d/hh students -- We have built a strong partnership between the Southeast Regional Resource Center’s (SERRC) Director Beale, staff members Dickson and Wilson, consultant Tyree, the Arkansas Director of Teacher Quality and Certification, Zornes, and other stakeholders. Each has promoted the design of cross-state cert. programs. Our current focus is on an innovative technology based shared teacher cert. program involving the current programs at Valdosta State U., Georgia State U., the U. of Arkansas-Little Rock, and the U. of New Orleans. We have gained initial support from the SERRC Regional State Directors of Special Education and the SERRC Regional State Directors of Teacher Certification to move forward with this and similar efforts in several areas of low incidence sensory disabilities. This model was shared with both participating and non-participating states at the National Association of State Directors of Teacher Education and Certification (NASDTEC) meeting in TX (6/05) and again at the National Association of State Directors of Special Education (NASDSE) meeting in MN (11/05). We were encouraged with our project’s reception at these meetings.

9. Objective 1.4 Goal • In addition to running our “parallel collaboratives,” our immediate sights are set on co-hosting a meeting with SERRC for the Deans of Education of our four universities, the SERRC State Directors of Special Education, and the State Directors of Teacher Certification. This meeting will be held in Memphis February 22-23, 2006 and precede the NASDTEC’s southern regional annual conference. Zornes, our 1.4 Topical Team Expert and Southern Regional NASDTEC coordinator, has been instrumental in bringing these groups together to hear a presentation of the proposed collaborative, to allow the deans to iron out details of the collaborative, and to bring the SERRC areas SEA Directors of both cert. and special education together to sign an agreement and steps to take to develop cross state mobility of teacher licensure in D/HH.

10. Objective 2.1 Accomplishment • Identification of the difference between certified and non-certified teachers of math and science, in deaf education.  We found that certification per se is a necessary but not a sufficient condition for quality teaching in those subjects.

11. Objective 2.1 Goal • Precise definition of the qualities of a Master Teacher in the combined views of administrators, teachers, and teacher educators in deaf education.

12. Objective 2.2 Accomplishment • We have completed four PowerPoint presentations with video clips about the literacy and math practices that we identified in our literature review. We have described the practice, included video clips of their use and added technologies that can be used with these. We are waiting for three of them to be captioned and then they will be ready for use in teacher preparation programs. One is currently on the web and ready for use. We have an additional five PowerPoint presentations under review that should be completed by Spring.

13. Objective 2.2 Goal • We are ready to have teacher preparation faculty use our PowerPoint strategies to teach their students about these practices. We want to have dyads of professor/student teacher to use these practices and document pupil change. We will use these results to document effectiveness of these strategies with deaf students.

14. Objective 2.4 Accomplishment • We conducted an online survey to gather data about the formal and informal assessment instruments and processes being used by professionals in the field of deaf education. Eighty-seven professionals responded to the survey. The results will be shared at the 2006 ACE-D/HH conference, submitted as a manuscript for publication, and a summary will be placed on www.deafed.net as well as the website of the National Center on Low-Incidence Disabilities.

15. Objective 2.4 Goal • The review of the literature, as well as initial survey results, suggests there is a paucity of information available about the attitudes, knowledge, skills or practices of educators of students who are d/hh related to the topic of assessment. Yet it is commonly agreed that instruction, especially with students who receive special education services, is most effective when it includes the use of quality assessments. The survey also indicated that most students who are d/hh currently participate in statewide assessments. Consequently, we would like to conduct another survey to gather more information about teachers’ attitudes, knowledge, skills and practices in the area of assessment. The results would be important to the members of ACE-D/HH who are responsible for the preservice preparation and staff development of teachers of students who are deaf or hard of hearing.

16. ACE-D/HH Accomplishment • Encouraged ACE-D/HH members to get involved with the Join Together grant. Through word of mouth and our newsletter, we encouraged people to get involved with the various grant activities.  We also highlighted the use of iVisit.

17. ACE-D/HH Goal • Provide a forum to showcase the Join Together grant's work during the annual conference in Pittsburgh (2007) and to turn some of the work into professional development opportunities for teachers in the field through the CEU offerings.

18. AG Bell Accomplishment • Worked to identify potential Master Teachers within the AG Bell consortium of PK-12 educational partners, specifically the Public School Caucus and the affiliated, private Option School network. As of 2/8/06, eight teachers were nominated -- six of whom have accepted (two are pending).

19. AG Bell Goal • Identify, inform and nominate additional Master Teachers of students who are deaf and hard of hearing.  Encourage Master Teachers' administrators to contact the JT Project office for information concerning the technology purchase assistance program i.e., putting ViewStation cameras into the Master Teachers’ classrooms.

20. ASDC Accomplishment • Incorporated links (Join Together grant and www.deafed.net) on ASDC website, continued encouragement of members to use Project resources, and have included the Project as an action item at Board meetings.

21. ASDC Goal • Identify, inform, and nominate 10-15 Master Teachers of students who are d/hh.

22. CAID Accomplishment & Goal • Information not available at press time

23. CEASD Accomplishment • Join Together project highlighted at various conferences: NASDSE, Texas Association of the Deaf Conference, and CEASD.

24. CEASD Goal • Work to increase the number of CEASD nominated Master Teachers. • Bring the work of the grant to the 2nd National Summit in Riverside, California.

25. CED Accomplishment • During this year, the CED Board went through a day-long diversity training, sponsored by the Gallaudet Leadership Institute and facilitated by Dr. Shaitaisha Winston. As a direct consequence, the Board updated the CED mission statement to reflect its commitment to diversity within the field of education of deaf students. The CED Board also delineated its core values and principles, which also embodied the diversity and multiculturalism focus. It is also expected that the CED Board and member organizations will examine the outputs of the diversity training and incorporate them in CED and individual organizations’ operations. It should also be noted that the CED Board voted to include INTASC specifications in its standards.

26. CED Goal • CED is currently working on its strategic plan which includes three prongs: enhance CED visibility and relations; increase the number of CED certificants and accredited programs; and upgrade standards/ promote adoption in selected states. Members of the CED Board are working on selected tasks associated with the strategic plan.

27. Take a Break!

28. CMP Accomplishment • Involved Master Teachers from across the United States in Stage I of the pilot program (receiving slides of Master Teachers using CMP and captioning plus written testimonials as to the value of CMP), culminating in use of one of these teachers in a national campaign endorsed by the National Education Association to utilize captioned media for reading and language development.  This campaign is in progress and is described in this press release:   http://www.cfv.org/viewpr.asp?id=10.

29. CMP Goal • Collaborate with the JT leadership team to design, develop, implement and evaluate a pilot program to encourage the use of CMP within the nation's deaf education teacher preparation programs and by the JT Master Teachers. Develop a Flash presentation and related/ associated materials (modeling Master Teachers and their use of CMP and captioning) to be publicized and make available to deaf education teacher preparation programs. 

30. CSD Accomplishment & Goal • Information not available at press time

31. Hands & Voices Accomplishment • Nominated four Master Teachers. • Recruited one of our chapter presidents, (Karen Putz, Illinois H&V) to become a deafed.net on-line moderator.

32. Hands & Voices Goal • Promote the sharing of parent perspectives with future teachers via the mentor program to increase sensitivity to, and awareness of, family issues, considerations and needs.

33. A few words from iVisit

34. Harry Lang (NTID) Accomplishment • Over 100 hours collaborating with Harold Johnson, several teams of teacher candidates, and team leaders to conduct a pilot study of the potential of using a national science curriculum (JASON Project) as a context for non-science teachers to develop language/ cognitive skills.

35. Harry Lang (NTID) Goal • Assist Harold Johnson in developing a grant proposal to implement a model for embedded reading, writing, and thinking skills in a content area such as Science, based on what we know from research about the lags deaf students experience.

36. PEPNet Accomplishment • The Directors have agreed to assist with the recruitment of teachers of the deaf for the Master Teacher program.  We started the process in December and have 25 prospects on the list. We will be following-up with these teachers and encouraging them to participate.

37. PEPNet Goal • Create a PEPNet presence on the deafed.net website in the area of transition resources. • Support Master Teachers in the area of transition to use and provide evaluation for PEPNet E-learning transition modules, teacher guides and transition resources. 

38. RMTC Accomplishment • Center Technology Specialist continued to nominate Master Teachers from the district programs in Florida and to work with them as participants in the program.  The Center has continued to explore and support different avenues of training opportunities using different distance learning options.

39. RMTC Goal • The Center will participate in a limited study to evaluate technology effectiveness used by teachers in the classroom with deaf students in a variety of settings. This study will include observing the impact of technology upon student performance in selected subjects.

40. Chris Otten (ROSCOR) Accomplishment • More of a lesson learned vs. an accomplishment. When dealing with software, like Ectus Media, push for a trial as quickly as possible. If we had moved faster than we did, there is a chance that Kent State (and the JT Project) would have a free copy of Ectus Media 1.0.

41. Chris Otten (ROSCOR) Goal • To find the killer application. That is, as new technologies continue to hit mainstream at an accelerated rate, provide input and insight as to how grant participants can truly benefit from emerging technologies, specifically in the areas of efficiency, effectiveness and affordability.

42. SERRC Accomplishment • Initiation of a collaborative, interstate program approval for certification/licensure of teachers of students who are deaf/hard of hearing.

43. SERRC Goal • To develop an implementation plan for developing an inter-university program agreement

44. Thinkronize • Information not available at press time

45. And now our Evaluators…