Intended to raise researchers' and teachers' awareness of fingerspelling as an important part of signed communication, a study examined its use with deaf children in the classroom. Five trained teachers of the deaf, participating in a demonstration total communication project in a public school in the Midwest, were videotaped in their own…

Simultaneous communication used by four teachers in formal lessons was investigated, to determine the extent to which signs and speech matched and to delineate factors predicting communication behavior. Simultaneous communication was found to be sign-driven or speech-driven depending on factors such as student comprehension, teacher's expertise,…

This paper argues that current practices in total communication classrooms have basically assigned the responsibility of communication to hearing-impaired students who must adapt to the variation in communication behaviors displayed by each of their teachers. The paper advocates use of a model communication and language policy designed to…

Examines the social rejection and acceptance of American Sign Language (ASL) since its introduction in schools for the deaf in 1817. Concludes that the evolutionary nature of ASL binds its use to the deaf community. (Author/FMW)

A school district established a Total Communication Project to improve consistency in teachers' role modeling of English with deaf students, which was the primary language of the classroom, and American Sign Language (ASL), which was used as an intervention tool. This paper describes the program, its theoretical framework, and procedures for…

A 4-year demonstration Total Communication Project was implemented at three schools (an elementary, a middle, and a high school) serving hearing impaired students. The goal of the project was for the six participating teachers to become consistent in their role modeling of English and American Sign Language (ASL), through weekly inservice on ASL…