Julie Delkamiller

Special Education and Communication Disorders

Association of College Educators for the Deaf/Hard of Hearing

“The Association of College Educators- Deaf and Hard of Hearing (ACE-DHH) is the professional organization for higher education faculty in the preparation of teachers in Deaf Education. The purpose of the organization is to provide professional development and opportunities for collaborative interaction among professionals in Deaf Education.”

The first session I attended was entitled “Taking Care of Business- Taking Care of Me!”. This workshop provided strategies to recognize and manage stress, burnout and fatigue—especially for educators. I have used these strategies in pre-service teacher training in order to help new teachers from prematurely leaving the field.

The “Symposium on ASL, English and Literacy: Learning & Instruction” was presented during four breakout sessions. This was perhaps the most beneficial session of the entire conference. Research was presented for teaching American Sign Language as a first language and its impact on language learning in Deaf children. The importance of using ASL for processing information, teaching problem solving, organizing and evaluating ideas, and accessing content was emphasized. From this research, the need to evaluate teacher preparation programs and in-service training cannot be underestimated. We must prepare our future teachers of the deaf to be able to develop their own ASL skills in order to teach their students ASL literacy skills. From there, English in print becomes a visual system to learn another language. Print is then examined for patterns and regularities different than ASL. The overarching goal is to optimize the context of deaf children’s education and development.

Another session was “Voices of New Teachers: Implications for Teacher Preparation for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Students. From the research, the top qualities of well prepared student teachers were: passion for teaching, up to date methods, asking higher order thinking, collaborating with other professionals, and strong communication skills. This has a direct impact to our program because the curriculum has recently been modified to require a course on interactions between parents and professionals as well as more field experiences where teacher candidates can use their sign language and teaching skills to tutor deaf/hard of hearing students.

At the posters session, I was able to interact with other leaders in the field for topics such as online learning, itinerant teaching, deaf education student teaching, and working with interpreters. The most relevant session for me was “Deaf Teacher Preparation in Third World Countries.” Because I am working with teachers of the deaf in Leon, Nicaragua the ability to collaborate with Dr. Victor Vodonou has potential for future research.

Additional sessions I attended include: “Surdescence: The Process of Becoming Deaf”, “Teacher Practices for Promoting Visual Engagement of Deaf Children in a Bilingual Preschool Setting”, “American Sign Language Proficiency Assessment for Pre-Service Teachers of Deaf Children,” “What Really Matters in the Early Literacy Development of Deaf Children,” “First Signed Language Acquisition for Deaf Children,” and “Modifying the Physical Environment to Reduce Disruptive Behavior in Classrooms with Students Who Have a Hearing Loss.”

Annual attendance at this conference is necessary for my ongoing growth as an educator and scholar as well as to continue building professional relationships. I am always energized upon my return and the courses I teach are never quite the same as a result!

Attachment:

I have included an attachment of the presentation by Nanci Scheetz and David Martin titled, “Implementation of Master Teacher Characteristics in Teacher Education.”

Additional Information/Resources

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