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Requests by a mainstreamed student who is hearing impaired when interacting with peers

University of British Columbia

The purpose of this study was to test the applicability of the Effective Speaker Model (Wilkinson & Calculator, 1982) in assessing the nature of requests and responses of a 10-year-old student who is hearing impaired when interacting with peers in the regular classroom during student-directed activities. Requests are considered to be an important aspect of interaction in the classroom as receiving appropriate responses to requests has been shown to influence a student both academically and socially. The observational data were obtained using ethnographic research strategies. The requests were coded using an adapted system to that developed by Wilkinson and Calculator (1982) as being on-task, sincere, direct, directed to a designated listener, revised when initially unsuccessful, clarification requested, and whether or not appropriate responses were received. The frequency percentage for each of the characteristics and appropriate responses were calculated, and a profile created. Specific information from field notes and participant interviews were used to describe and substantiate the configuration. The coding and description were found to yield useful information regarding the characterisitics of a student's requests and responses to peers. Along with the characteristics outlined in the model, requests for clarification were found to be an additional characteristic to be included when considering the requests and responses of a student who is hearing impaired. In this case study, the student received appropriate responses to his requests 64% of the time after an initial request or after a revision. His requests were found to be generally on-task, direct, and designated to a listener. However, when the student's requests were not sincere, he did not receive appropriate responses from his peers. He revised his requests in various ways when they were initially unsuccessful although he did not always persist with revisions. Finally, the student was found to request clarification in a number of ways when persisting with understanding a peer response. The information provided by the model would lead to direct intervention and instruction for increasing the likelihood that the student will receive appropriate responses to requests. This research would seem to have implications for teachers and students who are hearing impaired in all educational settings.

Text

2010-09-16

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http://hdl.handle.net/2429/28484

Special Education

University of British Columbia

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