A Comparison of Captioned, Classroom, and Prose Instruction for Hearing-Impaired Learners

Three delivery systems with low versus high content structure were investigated in terms of immediate learning performance. Included were captioned videotape, classroom instruction, and connected prose on paper. A 2 x 3 analysis of covariance indicated that high content structure yielded significantly greater learning performance than low structure. Specific analyses of the interaction revealed that this performance occurred only for the classroom mode. Also, the prose condition was significantly and markedly higher than the other modes, which did not differ. These findings were discussed in terms of the cost and benefit of the prose mode and the indicated criticalness of high content structure in classroom instruction of hearing-impaired students.