The 2009 Midwest Conference on Deaf Education

 

July 18 th The South Dakota Interpreter Association Conference

Presenter: Doug Bowen-Bailey, “Interpreting Educational Discourse”

 

July 19 th Pre Conference

Presenter: Cara Barnett, “Integrating Deaf Studies into K-12 Education”

 

July 20 th and July 21 Conference

Keynote presenter: Dr. Marlon Kuntze

Dr. Kuntze will address how Deaf and Hard of Hearing students can learn English through Reading, why teachers should consider this approach, and what needs to be in place to facilitate this process.

 

Concurrent Sessions:

“Character Education: A PeaceBuilderApproach.”

Presenters: Carmen Adams and Lisa Wasilowski

This presentation will focus on the implementation of a character education program with Deaf and Hard of Hearing students attending the Minnesota State Academy for the Deaf. Participants will sample activity-based instructional strategies and review data collected regarding the impact of the program on the academy’s climate and culture.

 

“Student written responses to single picture prompts: a comparison of children who are deaf or hard of hearing and children with typical hearing”

Presenter: Dr. Malinda Eccarius and Natalie Peterson

Data from a study related to hearing and deaf student perception of single picture meaning was analyzed for response type. Students who were deaf or hard of hearing produced substantially fewer embellished narratives and substantially more simple descriptions from single pictures than students who were typically hearing.

“Treasure Chest of Strategies for Deaf Students with Additional Special Needs”

Presenter: Sarah Foulks

“Treasure Chest of Strategies” will focus on practical educational and behavior strategies creating a positive and safe environment for learning in order to support deaf and hard of hearing students with additional special needs of all ages to achieve their highest potential.

 

“Creating English-to-ASL Translation Using PowerPoint”

Presenter: Sara Hansen

How can Deaf students gain more access to English print? Resources that allow emergent Deaf readers to access books independently are challenging to find. Using a simple process and resources most teachers have at their fingertips, creating “audiobooks” in ASL is quick and easy!

 

“Visual Strategies for Supporting English Instruction”

Presenters: Lisa Holton and Pam Meinhardt

You’re helping a student improve her written English when she turns to you and asks the dreaded question: “but WHY is it wrong!?” *gulp* In our combined 15+ years of teaching English, we’ve borrowed, tweaked and developed some useful strategies to help you answer this question. Learn visual strategies for common errors including: using in/at/on, determiners before adjectives/nouns, the royal order of adjectives, much/many, ‘bridge verbs,’ subject/verb agreement and the use of ‘to.’

 

“Vocabulary-Making Connections”

Presenter: Pandy King-Henke

I am an itinerant teacher of the Deaf/HH and have found one of the greatest barriers is vocabulary development. The students I work with range from preschool to high school and all struggle with acquiring new language. I use a system that incorporates vocabulary based on reading level in a chart format with a picture and access to the ASL sign. 7 words are presented daily Monday thru Thursday with a test on Friday. The student sees the word, hears it orally, and makes a connection to it through personal experiences and relations to learn the new words. I need to make the words meaningful and accessible for my students and I feel this system does that.

 

“Dynamic Assessment vs Static Assessment”

Presenter: Dr. Marlon Kuntze

Using Dynamic assessment is a more authentic assessment of where students are in their development. Dynamic assessment is also an indispensable instrument for monitoring whether the teaching objective is impacting the students’ learning.

 

" A Qualitative Investigation of ASL/English Bilingual Instruction of Deaf Students in Secondary Science Classrooms "

Presenter: Dr. Susan Lane-Outlaw

This presentation is a summary of a qualitative research study investigating four teachers’ use of ASL and English during middle and high school science instruction. This session will briefly describe the statement of the problem and research methods. The majority of the time will be spent on research findings and implications.

“A Discussion on IDEA and Deaf Education: One Lawyer’s Perspective”

Presenter: Dominic M. Smith

This presentation will outline issues concerning special education law (least restrictive environment and mainstreaming issues, parental procedural safeguards, IDEA eligibility and applicability to State schools for the deaf) with an emphasis on case law and special considerations concerning education for students who are deaf and/or hard-of-hearing.

 

“Educational Interpreting: What’s It All About”

Presenter: Susie Stanfield

This 2-hour session will address the language development of students at various ages and how that impacts the interpreter's job. Attendees will hear updated information on the EIPA and how that can affect job security. They will also develop an increased understanding of all the certified staff that may interact with the interpreter and student throughout the week. This session will address how the interpreter fits into that team. Attendees will leave with ideas on how to integrate themselves as a vital part of the student's educational team .

 

“Implementing the Computer-Based Rapid Assessment Measure

of Academic Progress (MAP)”

Presenter: Sean Virnig

The recent prevalence of computer-based adaptive progress monitoring
renders a real possibility of improving the prolonged unsatisfactory
academic achievement of students who are deaf and hard of hearing.
However, there is very little information on how schools interpret
computer-based adaptive assessment data and implement evidence-based
curricular decisions toward measured academic growth. This interactive
workshop will explore how schools and services interpret the NWEA:
Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) reading test results on students who
are deaf and hard of hearing and implement evidence-based organizational
actions toward academic growth. The postulation of this workshop is that
such growth may be resultant of effective and consistent structural
implementation of organizational learning mechanisms, a concept this
workshop will introduce in the form of professional learning community.
This therefore suggests that the problems of historically unsatisfactory
academic achievement of students who are deaf and hard of hearing may be
not only political and pedagogical but also organizational.

 

“Enhancing Resiliency in Young Deaf and Hard of Hearing Children”

Presenter: Darlene Goncz Zangara

Everyone is born with an ability to be resilient. Resiliency is the result of connected and interrelated assets within the vessel of every child’s being. Young children who are deaf and hard of hearing will undoubtedly be confronted with numerous challenges throughout their lives. The most common challenges are attributed to communication barriers and others’ perception of disability. This workshop will provide knowledge, resources and tools to enhance resiliency in deaf and hard of hearing children.

 

“Beyond the 3Rs: Thinking Outside the Classroom”

Presenter Mark W. Zangara,

Having a deaf or hard of hearing child often disrupts an illusive balance in their family lives. To gain the stability and equilibrium, parents deserve information provided in a clear, complete and unbiased manner to make informed decisions regarding their child’s life. Collaboration involves artful, candid and changing dialogues between the individuals who will have the child’s best interests.