Making Adult Education Accessible to the Deaf: A Model of Direct Instructor Communication in ASL

The purpose of this study was to develop a model of direct communication in American Sign Language for mainstreamed adult education courses. The model uses an individual instruction format with limited lecture time. Data were collected for 23 students (12 hearing and 11 deaf) newly enrolled in a mainstreamed word processing class. They were compared on average hours required to complete an exercise, average rates of attendance, and weekly drop rate. Attendance and drop rates were compared for new and returning students in the mainstreamed class (34 students) and 25 hearing students from a nonmainstreamed class. In addition, the average number of hours required to complete the exercises was compared for 10 new hearing students from the mainstreamed class and 11 new hearing students from the nonmainstreamed class. No significant differences were found in any of the comparisons. The study recommends further research to compare this Direct Instructor Communication Model with other more traditional deaf education models.