cover.qxp 7/2/11 08:52 Page 1 British Association of Teachers of the Deaf MAGAZINE • March 2011 • ISSN 1336-0799 • www.BATOD.org.uk Literacy and numeracy Teenagers ‘moving on’ in Cambridge A study on mental health and well-being Managing FM systems with induction loops Join BATOD to get THE Magazine for professionals working with deaf children batod_ifc.qxp 7/2/11 08:51 Page 40 batod_contents.qxp 7/2/11 08:50 Page 1 Contents From your editor Literacy and numeracy With the advent of the Coalition Routes into literacy 4 Government, once again the Foundations for literacy 6 spotlight falls on literacy and numeracy – not that they Shaping a sentence 8 ever really went away. The Literacy report 10 introduction of the phonic A bit of imagination 12 screen for Year 1 has its own The DReaM project 14 implications for deaf children, and BATOD has The Year of Reading 16 been discussing this with the Department for Education. There will be more about this on our Making visual sense of language 18 website in due course. This edition of the Magazine Words and numbers 20 looks at a range of aspects of literacy and Specific maths difficulties 21 numeracy, both from a research point of view but Mastering the key concepts 24 also, and predominantly, looking at approaches to Numeracy on the IWB 26 literacy and numeracy that colleagues have found useful in their work. This includes those working Acquiring maths skills 27 18 in special schools as well as those working in Problem solving with pictures 29 mainstream schools, including peripatetic colleagues. General features Lessons from America 32 Our Journal Editor, Linda Watson, kicks off the section with some thoughts about the role of Mental health outcomes 34 parents, and other literacy-focused articles cover Transmission strategies 36 the use of imagination, BSL, reading for meaning A HIT day 38 and some recent research into the reading Roots and Shoots 39 development of deaf children. Numeracy articles Exploring sign multilingualism 41 include responding to dyscalculia in deaf children, working with the interactive whiteboard and using The HOT Project 42 39 pictures to solve problems, as well as some Getting to grips with genetics 44 research from Oxford University into deaf children’s numeracy. There are also articles from the Cued Regulars Speech Association and Deafax, looking at both ICT news 49 literacy and numeracy as relevant to their work. This and that 52 You are also encouraged to visit our website where Abbreviations and acronyms 54 you will find a helpful resource sheet covering a Calendar – meetings and training 56 49 range of aspects of numeracy. It can be found at: Articles >> Numeracy >> Numeracy resource Association business sheets. Stronger together 3 Forthcoming topics Change of address notification form 35 May Conference edition – What went on at NEC on 29 January 2011 46 Stronger together BATOD was there representing you… 47 September Assistive technology Leonardo’s progress 48 November Units and resource bases January 2012 Hearing aids Subscription rates 2010/11 55 March 2012 Communication Officers of Nations and Regions inside back cover 48 Magazine editor Need to contact BATOD about other matters? Cover picture Courtesy of Cochlear™ Europe Ltd Talk to Executive Officer Paul Simpson email: [email protected] answerphone/fax 0845 6435181 For information on advertising rates see www.BATOD.org.uk batod_2.qxp 7/2/11 08:19 Page 40 batod_3.qxp 7/2/11 08:19 Page 41 Association business Stronger together With the future of the ToD profession far from secure, Gary Anderson gives a timely reminder that Your Association Needs You – and others! begin this edition of ‘Stronger together’ with two • BATOD members identified across the country questions for you: to take leaflets (and speak?) to those on initial I teacher training courses and training schools Do you know the percentage of BATOD members when they start to sow the seeds about becoming who are aged 50 years or over? a specialist Teacher of the Deaf. Answer: 62.7% • BATOD to involve more members to take on small one-off tasks in representing the Association. Do you know the percentage of members who are • Members to target newly qualified teachers (or under 40 years of age? probationers in Scotland) in local authorities to Answer: 9.9% consider our specialism in the future. • BATOD to review rates of membership with further I am not one to be alarmist, but as I have visited the incentives and differentiation. regions and nations over the last 12 months I have been • BATOD NEC to continue to lobby the Government giving the stark message that in 10–15 years’ time there to offer incentives to teachers who wish to may not be a BATOD as membership will have dwindled specialise as a Teacher of the Deaf, like the to such an extent that it won’t be viable. If you do the ‘golden hellos’ for shortage subjects. maths on the above facts it speaks for itself. • BATOD to build on and develop closer links with VIEW to address the professional issues That is why I feel a sense of urgency to do something to support the needs of those with sensory now during my term of office as your President. It’s not impairments. about me or indeed many of us on NEC and regional committees, as by then we will have retired. However, While the position is stark, our meeting concluded that what I feel a great responsibility for is the continuing of given our size there were many strengths and much to a strong professional body to meet the needs of our celebrate about our current BATOD membership. We future deaf learners, whether they be in mainstream, agreed that we have a highly motivated and active resource-based provision or special school settings. membership, which is committed to continuing BATOD has provided a very significant percentage professional development through regional and national of my own professional development over the last conferences and workshops. BATOD more than 30 years as a specialist teacher and I believe it needs punches above its weight in terms of its influence at to exist for Teachers of the Deaf in years to come. government level and long may it continue to do so. That is why on 14 January there was a special Steering I am more than aware that the Steering Group and Group meeting in Birmingham to which we invited National Executive Council do not have all the answers heads of service and Teachers of the Deaf from across so I would like to invite you to write to me at this email the regions and nations to consider what we should do address [email protected] with your ideas of now to increase the membership for the future. We further ways to ensure our future or if you are willing to were also joined by Gillian Coles, Co-President of take on a small job or represent BATOD at a training VIEW, who was representing teachers of the visually establishment, for example, or offer to be involved with impaired who share our situation too. Having done a one of the above activities. My ‘Stronger together’ SWOT analysis, we identified a number of immediate strapline seems to resonate more and more each next steps: month as my term of office continues. • All existing BATOD members to encourage another teacher to consider becoming a Teacher In whichever setting you are working as a Teacher of of the Deaf and tell them how to do it. If you have the Deaf I would like to thank you on behalf of BATOD found one already, keep going and find another! for your loyalty and commitment to deaf children and to • All existing BATOD members to encourage a ToD this organisation. who is a non-member (I am grieved that some are not members already!) to join. • Regions and nations to draw up lists of training establishments in their area which deliver initial teacher training. © BATOD Magazine • March 2011 • 3 batod_4_5.qxp 7/2/11 08:20 Page 40 Literacy and numeracy Routes into literacy As deaf children begin to read, write and be numerate it is essential that parents and Teachers of the Deaf work together, says Linda Watson arents of young deaf children will express different views on how and when their deaf Pchild will begin to learn to read and write. When Ruth Swanwick and I investigated the views and actions of parents in 2007 we found a wide range of opinions and practices, from those who felt that teaching deaf children to read and write was best left to the professionals once the child started school, to those who were concerned about the debate on the teaching of phonics and wanted to start to teach their child initial letter sounds from a young age. Teachers of the Deaf can also hold different opinions, which will influence what they say when discussing the topic with parents. stories and storytelling, providing them with a base At first this might seem like a challenge, but it on which to build. actually reflects the broad range of knowledge, skills and understanding that we all bring to the literacy The second aspect, or the ‘little picture’, refers to process, sometimes referred to as ‘top down’ and the engagement with the text. In respect to books, ‘bottom up’ or ‘inside out’ and ‘outside in’ processes. this involves factors like finding the front of the book When speaking to parents I often refer to the ‘big and following the way that text, in English, flows picture’ and the ‘little picture’ and explain the from left to right and then to the line below, again need to foster both aspects and the important role left to right.