An examination of balanced mathematics instruction to hearing impaired students: An action research

There are a number of studies which revealed that hearing-impaired students have lower level academic performances than their hearing peers do. Learning mathematics is one of the areas in which hearing-impaired students experience academic difficulties. The Curriculum for Mathematics for Elementary Schools prepared by the Ministry of National Education is based on the principle of ?All children can learn mathematics?. According to this principle, not all children can learn in the same way and at the same pace, but they all can learn mathematics if conditions appropriate to them are provided. Like hearing children, hearing-impaired children have to learn mathematics in order to become successful, effective and independent individuals in the society. Hearing-impaired children, similar to their peers, can learn mathematics yet at a later time. Theories regarding teaching mathematics support that Balanced Mathematical Instruction is important for hearing-impaired students to learn mathematics. The applications in the Research Center for the Education of Hearing Impaired Children (RCEHIC), which gives education on the basis of the auditory verbal approach, are considered as to be the applications of this conceptual theoretical framework of Balanced Mathematical Instruction. Therefore, the purpose of this action study was to systematically, methodically, reflectively, and cyclically analyze the mutual interactions of various variables that influence the teaching of mathematics to hearing-impaired students in the real class environment in RCEHIC - which is a good example as a center for the process of teaching/learning mathematics ? as well as to investigate the changes that the students and instructors experience during the process of teaching/learning mathematics.The participants of the study were 7th grade students attending RCEHIC in the academic year of 2009?2010. Of the eight students, five of them were female, and three of them were male. All of the students had bilateral, sensorineural hearing loss. Two of the students used cochlear implant, and the others use ear level hearing aids. The ages of the students ranged between 12 and 15, with a mean of 13. In the study, these students were observed during the instructions. The research data have been collected by the teacher - who has been teaching in RCEHIC and also participated in the present study ? via video-recordings of the group and individual mathematical instructions, the audio-recordings of the reflective meetings, lesson plans, exams, reflective diaries, data evaluation charts, interviews, and the files related to the students? works of mathematics.For the validity and reliability of the study, different quantitative and qualitative data collection and data analysis techniques have been applied before, during and after the application, longitudinal and in-depth data have been collected. Experts in different fields have been participated in the process of data collection and data analysis. Detailed descriptions have been made, and during the process of the data collection, the related literature has been reviewed simultaneously. The internal consistency of the data has been taken into consideration. The process has been shaped with the help of reflective data. The researcher has not only systematically, methodically, and reflectively analyzed herself, but also been inspected by the field experts. The research efforts have been examined by a committee. In addition to the on-going evaluation, the pretest and posttest results as well as the samples in student files have been analyzed quantitatively and qualitatively. The exams have been prepared by the teacher. The reliabilities of the scores have been secured by two independent scorers according to the answer keys after the execution of each exam.At the end of the study, it is observed that the students participating in the study have improved in their performances in mathematics, their skills in establishing relationships with the real life, and their language skills. The teacher has developed her skills in preparing lesson plans, carrying out course-related applications, and in using direct and indirect strategies. In addition, since this study is one that requires systematic analysis of the teaching of mathematics to hearing-impaired students, the study is thought to contribute to the related literature and to create a structure for the teaching of mathematics to hearing-impaired students. The study is also expected to contribute to the curriculum of mathematics which will be developed for hearing impaired students in our country.Keywords: The hearing-impaired individuals, Balanced Mathematics Instruction, Action research