EFFECTS OF PRESENTATION MODES ON THE LEARNING OF SIGN LANGUAGE AMONG HEARING IMPAIRED STUDENTS WITH DIFFERENT COGNITIVE STYLES V. CHADRA SHAKARAN A/L V. V. MENON UNIVERSITI SAINS MALAYSIA 2016 EFFECTS OF PRESENTATION MODES ON THE LEARNING OF SIGN LANGUAGE AMONG HEARING IMPAIRED STUDENTS WITH DIFFERENT COGNITIVE STYLES by V. CHADRA SHAKARAN A/L V. V. MENON Thesis submitted in fullfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy AUGUST 2016 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT First and foremost, I would like to say thanks to God for blessing me and giving me the strength to undertake this journey. Next I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my supervisor, Professor Dr Fong Soon Fook and his wife for their encouragement, love and support throughout this journey. Without his guidance and advice, I would not be able to continue and complete this work. My tribute also goes to my co-supervisors Dr Aznan Che Ahmad and Dr Mohd Ali Shamsudin for their constant motivation and assistance. I am enormously grateful to Miss Audrey Liew, Miss Rebecca, Mr Edmond, Mr Raymond, Mr and Mrs Ramal for their assistance and support in completing this work. Special thanks to the Dean, Professor Dr. Hairul Nizam Ismail, the Deputy Dean, Associate Prof. Dr Shaik Abdul Malik Mohamed Ismail, and the administrative staff of the School of Educational Studies, USM for providing facilities, advice and support. Furthermore I would like to thank the headmasters, teachers and students from the special education schools for the hearing impaired for their collaboration. My profound acknowledgement to the Director of the Educational Planning and Research Division, and the Director of the Special Education Department, Ministry of Education Malaysia for their assistance. On top of that I would like to thank the principal, teachers and students of SMK Darul Ridwan for their facilitation and motivation. ii Last but not least, I would like to give my heartiest thanks and love to my beloved wife, Thamil Selvi Sabapathy and my children Prasanadevi, Ishveraj, Bhismer, Gauthamen and Shamala for their unconditional love, prayers, continuous inspiration and support throughout all these years that kept me going to complete this wonderful journey. To all my family members and wonderful friends, I sincerely thank you from the depth of my heart for making this dream come true. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ii TABLE OF CONTENTS iv LIST OF APPENDICES ix LIST OF TABLES x LIST OF FIGURES xii ABSTRAK xv ABSTRACT xvii CHAPTER 1 - INTRODUCTION 1.1 Background 1 1.2 Problem Statement 4 1.3 Purpose of the Study 11 1.4 Research Objectives 12 1.5 Research Questions 12 1.6 Research Hypotheses 14 1.7 Significance of the Study 16 1.8 Theoretical Framework 17 1.8.1 Paivio's Dual Coding Theory 18 1.8.2 Sweller's Cognitive Load Theory 19 1.8.3 Mayer's Cognitive Theory of Multimedia Learning 20 1.8.4 Cummins' Linguistic Interdependence Theory 22 1.9 Research Framework 24 1.10 Limitations of the Study 24 iv 1.11 Definition of Terms 25 1.12 Summary 29 CHAPTER 2 - LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Introduction 30 2.2 The Hearing Impaired 30 2.3 Types of Hearing Loss 31 2.4 Degrees of Hearing Loss 31 2.5 Assistive Technology for the Hearing Impaired 32 2.6 Language and Literacy among Hearing Impaired Students 32 2.7 Sign Language 34 2.8 Manually Coded Language 35 2.8.1 Kod Tangan Bahasa Melayu 35 2.9 Theoretical Perspectives 36 2.9.1 Paivio’s Dual Coding Theory 36 2.9.2 Sweller’s Cognitive Load Theory 39 2.9.3 Mayer’s Cognitive Theory of Multimedia Learning 43 2.9.4 Cummins' Linguistic Interdependence Theory 51 2.10 Cognitive Styles and Learning 55 2.11 A Review on Existing Sign Language Learning Resources 59 2.11.1 Malaysian Sign Language Learning Resources 60 2.11.1(a) Malaysian Sign Language Website 60 2.11.1(b) MySlang 60 2.11.1(c) i-KOD 61 2.12 Summary 64 v CHAPTER 3 - METHODOLOGY 3.1 Introduction 66 3.2 Research Design 66 3.3 Variables 68 3.4 Research Sample and Sampling 69 3.5 Instructional Material 70 3.6 Instruments 70 3.6.1 Sign Language Test 70 3.6.2 Group Embedded Figures Test 74 3.7 Validity and Reliability 75 3.8 Pilot Study 77 3.9 Research Procedures 79 3.10 Statistical Analysis 82 3.11 Summary 83 CHAPTER 4 - DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT 4.1 Introduction 84 4.2 Courseware Development 84 4.3 ADDIE Instructional System Design Model 85 4.3.1 Phase 1: Analyze 86 4.3.1(a) Resources 87 4.3.1(b) Learning Contents 87 4.3.1(c) Learner Characteristics 88 4.3.1(d) Concept Map 89 4.3.2 Phase 2: Design 90 vi 4.3.3 Phase 3: Development 96 4.3.3(a) Software and Hardware 96 4.3.3(a)(i) Articulate Storyline 96 4.3.3(a)(ii) Articulate Quizmaker 97 4.3.3(a)(iii) Sony HDR-PJ810 Handycam Camcorder 99 4.3.3(a)(iv) Sony Vegas Movie Studio HD Platinum 99 4.3.3(a)(v) Articulate Video Encoder 101 4.3.3(a)(vi) Adobe Illustrator 101 4.3.3(a)(vii) Alpha Testing 102 4.3.4 Phase 4: Implementation 103 4.3.4(a) Pilot Study 104 4.3.4(b) Main Study 104 4.3.5 Phase 5: Evaluation 105 4.4 Summary 106 CHAPTER 5 - RESULTS 5.1 Introduction 107 5.2 Data Analyses 108 5.2.1 Characteristics of the Sample 108 5.2.2 Distribution of Students 108 5.2.3 Results of Statistical Analyses 109 5.2.4 Pretest Scores Statistical Analyses 110 5.2.4(a) Descriptive Statistics 110 5.2.4(b) Homogeneity of Pretest Scores 113 vii 5.2.4(c) Correlation between Pretest Scores and 114 Posttest Scores 5.2.5 Statistical Analyses of Posttest Scores 116 5.2.5(a) Descriptive Statistics 116 5.2.5(b) Assumptions Testing for One-way ANOVA 117 5.2.5(c) Assumptions Testing for One-way ANCOVA 125 5.2.6 Main Effects 129 5.2.7 Interaction Effects 135 5.2.7(a) Presentation Modes and Cognitive Styles 135 5.2.8 Testing of Null Hypotheses 139 5.2.8(a) Hypothesis 1 140 5.2.8(b) Hypothesis 2 141 5.3 Summary of Results Analyses 144 CHAPTER 6 - DISCUSSIONS, IMPLICATIONS AND CONCLUSION 6.1 Introduction 146 6.2 Discussions 149 6.2.1 Effects of Presentation Modes on Achievement Scores in 149 Learning Sign Language 6.2.2 Cognitive Style and Presentation Modes Related to 157 Achievement Scores 6.3 Implication of the Study 163 6.3.1 Theoretical Implications 163 6.3.2 Practical Implications 165 6.4 Recommendations for Future Research 167 6.5 Conclusion 168 REFERENCES 171 viii LIST OF APPENDICES Page Appendix A Preliminary Survey 215 Appendix B Preliminary Survey Analysis 217 Appendix C Sign Language Test (Pretest) 219 Appendix D Sign Language Test (Posttest) 221 Appendix E Group Embedded Figures Test (GEFT) 223 (Malay Version) Appendix F Examples of Tracing Simple Shape in Complex 229 Diagram Appendix G Cronbach's Alpha Reliability Analysis- 231 Sign Language Test Appendix H Cronbach's Alpha Reliability Analysis- 233 Group Embedded Figures Test (GEFT) Appendix I Sign Language Courseware Manual 234 Appendix J List of Words 239 Appendix K Analysis Phase Evaluation Form 243 Appendix L Design Phase Evaluation Form 244 Appendix M Implementation Phase Evaluation Form 246 Appendix N Students' Comments 247 Appendix O Research Permission from School of Educational 248 Studies, University of Science, Malaysia Appendix P Endorsement for Change in the Research Title 249 Appendix Q Research Permission from Malaysian Education 250 of Planning Division Appendix R Research Permission from Ministry of Education, 251 Department of Special Education Appendix S Data for Analysis- SPSS windows version 20.0 253 ix LIST OF TABLES Page Table 1.1 Preliminary Survey Findings 8 Table 2.1 Severity of Hearing Loss in Decibels (dB) 32 Table 2.2 Comparison between existing sign language learning resources 63 Table 3.1 Random Sampling 70 Table 3.2 Comments given by the SMEs’ on the Sign Language Test 72 Table 3.3 Reliability Analysis of Pretest and GEFT 78 Table 3.4 Research Schedule 81 Table 5.1 Students Distribution among the Presentation Modes 109 Table 5.2 Descriptive Statistics of Pretest Scores of Presentation Modes 110 Table 5.3 Skewness and Kurtosis Statistics of Pretest Scores of the 111 Presentation Modes Table 5.4 Levene's Test of Homogeneity of Variance 113 Table 5.5 Results of One-way ANOVA for Pretest Scores Between 114 Groups Table 5.6 Correlations Between the Pretest Scores and the Posttest 115 Scores Table 5.7 Descriptive Statistics of Mean Posttest Scores of the 116 Presentation Modes Table 5.8 Tests of Normality for Posttest Scores 118 Table 5.9 Test of Homogeneity of Variance for Posttest Scores Between 124 the Presentation Modes Table 5.10 ANOVA Results for Posttest Scores between Groups 125 Table 5.11 Homogeneity of Regression Slopes Test 129 Table 5.12 One-way ANCOVA Results for Posttest Scores by Presentation 131 Modes with Pretest as Covariate Table 5.13 Pairwise Comparisons for Presentation Modes 133 x Table 5.14 Means, Standard Deviations, Adjusted Means, and Standard 134 Errors of Posttest Scores by Presentation Modes Table 5.15 Two-way ANCOVA for Posttest Scores by Presentation Modes 136 and Cognitive Styles with Pretest Scores as Covariate Table 5.16 Estimated Marginal Means of Cognitive Styles 137 Table 5.17 Estimated Marginal Means by Presentation Modes and 138 Cognitive Styles Table 5.18 Pairwise Comparison for Cognitive Styles 142 xi LIST OF FIGURES Page Figure 1.1 Sign language video, text and image (SLTI) 11 Figure 1.2 Sign language video and text (SLT) 11 Figure 1.3 Sign language video and image (SLI) 12 Figure 1.4 Theoretical framework 18 Figure 1.5 Dual Coding Theory 19 Figure 1.6 Cognitive Theory of Multimedia Learning 21 Figure 1.7 “Dual Iceberg” Representation of bilingual proficiency 23 Figure 1.8 Research framework 24 Figure 2.1 Visual representation of the Cognitive