Instructional Strategies: Students Who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing

Some students who are deaf or hard of hearing use adaptive hearing devices (e.g. Cochlear Implant[1], FM system[2], hearing aid), in combination with lip-reading, audio-recording, American Sign Language Interpreting, captioning and notetaking support.

Below are some strategies and resources to make your class more accessible.

Note: If no visual emergency warning system exists in your classroom or lab, please designate at least one individual besides yourself to alert the student.

If the Student is using an FM System

The student will approach you to make arrangements to drop off the microphone/transmitter in advance of lectures. You can place this microphone/transmitter on a podium or desk in front of where you lecture, clip to your lapel or collar or wear around your neck (depending on the model). If you are placing it on a podium or desk rather than clipping it to your person, try not to stray too far when you are speaking.  Finally, if you show a film or play an audio-recording during class, please place the microphone near the speaker.

If the Student is using American Sign Language Interpretation

The PMC hires professional interpreters for students that communicate using American Sign Language (ASL).

ASL interpreting is extremely demanding, physically and mentally, so interpreters work in pairs and switch roles every 15 minutes or so.  The “teamer” monitors and shares any missed information with the “signer.”

For in-person lectures, interpreters sit or stand at the front of the room, to the left or right of the instructor, so that the student has an unobstructed view of the instructor’s activities as well as the interpreter.  An interpreter may stand beside an object being discussed, for example, during a demonstration. For online lectures, the interpreter’s Zoom window should be pinned using Spotlight.

Students using ASL Interpreters cannot watch their Interpreters and take notes at the same time. As such, they have access to notetaking support from the PMC.

Interpreters follow a Professional Code of Ethics

According to their code of ethics, interpreters:

• interpret everything said during a lecture, including questions and comments from the class;
• maintain confidentiality about the interpreting assignment;
• work solely to facilitate communication; do not comment on information they are interpreting.

Strategies for working with an ASL Interpreter

The below PDFs include accessibility strategies for working with an ASL Interpreter in your course based on course delivery type:

• Online Lectures – Accessibility Strategies for for Students using ASL Interpreters
• In-Person Lectures – Accessibility Strategies for Students Using ASL Interpreters

If a Student is using a Computer Notetaker

A Computer Notetaker will be hired by PMC on behalf of the student to attend all of your lectures/labs to take verbatim, real-time notes (on a laptop computer). The computer notetaker’s verbatim notes will be made available only to the student. The student may or may not choose to sit next to the computer notetaker during the lectures. For online courses, please enroll the computer notetaker as a user in your course Brightspace page at the start of the term so they can access course materials to work with the student.

Note that computer notetaking and volunteer notetaking at PMC serve two different purposes. Computer notetaking is an accommodation specifically for students who are deaf or hard of hearing. It is typically used as a communication tool so students can follow along with what is being said in class. You may receive a request for volunteer notetaking in your course even if a computer notetaker has been scheduled, the volunteer notetaking and computer notetaking notes cannot be interchanged.

Regarding Captioning

The Paul Menton Centre and Teaching & Learning Services have put together information on the best way to approach closed captioning depending upon how a course is to be delivered. Please consider the following options:

In-Person Course Delivery

If you are planning to show video content during in-person lectures, we encourage you to find and use content that is already captioned. Many videos on YouTube or TedTalks are captioned, you will just need to turn the captions on when the video is played.

Due to limited resources, PMC will have a limited capacity to provide captioning support. If you require assistance with captioning content for in-person classes, please contact email hunter.calder@carleton.ca as soon as possible.

Online Course Delivery

If you plan to offer all or parts of your classes live via Zoom, please enable Zoom Live Transcription, instructions can be found here: https://carleton.ca/zoom/zoom-live-transcription-closed-captioning/

For asynchronous courses, if you plan to pre-record your lectures, please save them to Kaltura MediaSpace in order for captions to be generated.

Instructions on how to host your videos on MediaSpace can be found here: https://carleton.ca/capture/mediaspace/

Instructions on how to embed media from MediaSpace into Brightspace can be found here: https://carleton.ca/capture/embed-media-into-brightspace/

General Accessibility Strategies

Below are some general strategies that may increase the accessibility of your lectures, labs or class discussions for students who are deaf or hard of hearing.  As some strategies require the student to self-identify, please consult with the student directly.

In-Person Lectures or Labs

• If your classroom is equipped with a microphone, use it! This is helpful not only for students with hearing loss, but for those with a variety of non-visible disabilities, such as ADHD and Learning Disabilities.  For technical assistance, please contact Nina Karhu, Assistant Director of Learning Spaces and Production Services, Teaching and Learning Services at NinaKarhu@Cunet.Carleton.Ca.
• Please speak clearly at a normal rate and volume; you don’t need to exaggerate your lip movements. If you can, avoid unfinished sentences, colloquialisms and jargon.
• Lip-reading requires an un-obstructed view of your face. Try to avoid excessive pacing, “speaking to the board” or standing in front of a glare (e.g. a window).  Note that your expressions and gestures provide contextual cues.

• Students that are lipreading often fill in gaps using contextual informational cues, so try not to jump between topics.
• If possible, please provide access to lecture slides in advance, for all students.

• Be aware that a student who is lipreading can’t look at you and read a slide at the same time.  Please allow for a brief pause, especially if slides were not posted in advance.
• Please repeat questions/comments from the class, especially from the back.
• Be aware that hearing aids amplify all sounds equally. A student may be disproportionately disadvantaged by background noise (e.g. shuffling chairs, chatter).
• Be sure to put important announcements in writing, on Brightspace.
• Students who are deaf or hard of hearing typically require accommodations (e.g. a quiet location, extra time) for fixed-duration tests and exams. Be sure to book in the McIntyre Exam Centre.
• Provide critical safety information in writing.
• Allot a lab station with an unobstructed view of the area where introductory or summary information is presented before, during, and after the lab.
• Be aware that if lab instructors move around the room giving instructions or on-the-spot information, a student who is deaf or hard of hearing may miss out.

Online Lectures or Labs

• Please speak clearly at a normal rate and volume; you don’t need to exaggerate your lip movements. If you can, avoid unfinished sentences, colloquialisms and jargon.
• Lip-reading requires an unobstructed view of your face. Note that your expressions provide contextual cues.  Be aware that if you are lecturing while showing slides or other materials, lipreading is not possible.
• Be aware that a student who is lipreading can’t look at you and a read a slide at the same time. Please allow for a brief pause, especially if slides were not posted in advance.
• Students that are lipreading often fill in gaps using contextual informational cues, so try not to jump between topics.
• If possible, please provide access to lecture slides in advance, for all students.
• Please repeat questions/comments from the class. Encourage students to put questions and comments in the online chat, which you can also read aloud.
• Be sure to put important announcements in writing, on Brightspace.
• Provide critical safety information in writing.
• If possible, ensure that any introductory or summary information presented before, during and after the lab is also available in writing.

Thank you for supporting our students!

This information is based on the principles of Universal Design for Learning, which can make your course more accessible for all students.

For more information, please see Guidebook for Instructors (Canadian Hard of Hearing Association, 1997)

Please contact Hunter Calder at hunter.calder@carleton.ca if you have any questions about the information available on this page.

Footnotes

[1] Cochlear Implant:

An electronic device that stimulates nerve endings in the inner ear (cochlea) to receive and process sounds, including speech.  A small internal that converts coded signals into electrical pulses and an electrode array that carries decoded electrical pulses to the auditory nerve are surgically implanted.  A microphone, speech processor (that converts sound waves into coded signals), and transmitter (a coil that sends coded signals to the internal receiver) are worn externally.  While a cochlear implant does not restore normal hearing, it can provide a useful representation of speech sounds.

[2] Frequency Modulation (FM) System:

An assistive listening device used to reduce the background noise interference and/or mitigate the impact of distance between the “Speaker” and the “Listener” learner by selectively amplifying the Speaker’s voice and transmitting it via an FM signal. The most common type consists of a microphone/transmitter (worn by the Speaker) and a receiver (worn by the Listener).