My project, titled Inclusion: Issues, Strategies, and Resources

for new teachers of deaf and hard of hearing students, is designed for
those who seek information about inclusive practices for deaf and hard
of hearing students. I primarily considered my audience to be other
college students who are working towards teaching certification in deaf
education, although experienced teachers and well as parents can gain
new information from the resources I have provided.
The goal of this project was to research resources that contain a
wealth of information about the many aspects of inclusion, and that
these resources become available to other individuals in the field of
deaf education via the internet. I reviewed many sources of
information about inclusion for deaf students, focusing on teaching
strategies, and various issues. I narrowed down the bank of resources
to what I considered to be effective and good information. The
resources that I reviewed contain books and websites. The books that I
included are books about inclusion in general, not limited to inclusion
for deaf and hard of hearing students. I felt that these books, as well
as some of the websites, had a lot of helpful information and that many
of the ideas can be applied to deaf education.
By creating this collection of resources, I wanted other
individuals to have easy access to good inclusion materials. These
web-based resources I provided will be useful for gathering more
information about inclusion in deaf education.

Inclusion: Issues, Strategies, and Resources for new

teachers of deaf and hard of hearing students.
As future teachers of deaf and hard of hearing students, we will
face many issues related to the appropriate instructional settings for
these students. Deaf students are now being educated in a variety of
settings including residential schools, mainstreamed programs, selfcontained classrooms, and full inclusion. As teachers, we may find
ourselves in any one of these educational settings, so we need to be
adequately prepared to effectively implement instruction in each of
these settings. More students with disabilities are being fully included
in general education classrooms with the appropriate support services.
In deaf education inclusion is being promoted, and there are many
issues that deaf educators and general educators need to be aware of,
so they can develop strategies and know where to go for additional
resources. I have defined some major issues relating to inclusion that
we will encounter, and have provided resources for different strategies,
and where to go for more information.
MAJOR ISSUES:
1. AWARENESS FOR GENERAL EDUCATION TEACHERS ABOUT
INCLUSIVE PRACTICES FOR DEAF AND HARD OF HEARING
STUDENTS.
http://www.fsdb.k12.fl.us/rmc/index.html
Resources for Itinerant Teachers, Resource Teachers, and General
Education Teachers Serving Students who are Deaf/Hard of
Hearing.

providing in-service training to general education teachers with

students who are deaf or hard of hearing
materials every itinerant teacher should have

Halvorsen, A.T. & Neary, T. (2001). Building inclusive schools:

Tools and strategies for success. Boston: Allyn & Bacon.
This can be ordered at http://www.ablongman.com/
Major concepts of this book:
Inclusion is not mainstreaming- specialized instruction and
services written in an individuals IEP are brought to the
context of their home school, general education classroom,

and not back and forth from general education to special

education, like mainstreaming
Inclusive settings provide far more variety in activities, and
stimuli are not so easily controlled. The pace of a general
education classroom is typically faster and more spontaneous.
Ensuring that students have the opportunity to practice skills
sufficiently in such a dynamic environment is critical (p. 100)
How to effectively balance systematic instruction for special
education students while in the regular education settingbest practices.

2. PARENT QUESTIONS.

http://www.projectchoices.org/faqFamilies.aspx
What if a parent of a child eligible for special education services
doesnt want an education which is inclusive?
How should parents of general education students be prepared
for an education which is inclusive?

3. IS INCLUSION REALLY A GOOD ENVIRONMENT FOR ALL DEAF

STUDENTS? Benefits and limitations to inclusion
http://www.nad.org/site/pp.asp?c=foINKQMBF&b=180362
The National Association of the Deafs (NAD) position
statement of inclusion
http://gri.gallaudet.edu/Publications/#PUB10
Implications and Complications for Deaf Students of the Full
Inclusion Movement. 1994 ed.- Robert C. Johnson, and Oscar P.
Cohen. This can be ordered online at
http://gradschool.gallaudet.edu/htdocs/pub/puborder.asp
http://www.education-world.com/a_curr/curr034.shtml
http://ericec.org/digests/e557.html
Educating Children Who Are Deaf or Hard of Hearing: Inclusion
4. COLLABORATION BETWEEN GENERAL EDUCATION TEACHER
AND DEAF EDUCATION TEACHER.

Walther-Thomas, C., Korinek, L., McLaughlin, V.L., & Williams,B.T.

(2000). Collaboration for inclusive education. Developing successful
programs. Boston: Allyn & Bacon.
This can be ordered at http://www.ablongman.com/

Major concepts of this book:

Students with disabilities are more likely to succeed in effective
inclusive schools because teachers, administrators, specialists,
paraeducators, volunteers, and typical classmates are working
together to ensure that every student is valued, respected, and
accepted for who he or she is and is provided with meaningful
and appropriate learning experiences. (p. 22)

Seven features fundamental to appropriate and effective

inclusive programs: (1) a collaborative culture, (2) shared
leadership, (3) coherent vision, (4) comprehensive planning, (5)
adequate resources, (6) sustained implementation, and (7)
continuous evaluation and improvement. (Chap. 2, p.27)

Values and beliefs of inclusive schools:

1) Caring relationships and genuine friendships
2) A sense of belonging for all students, no longer isolation
3) Holistic, heterogeneous, and flexible learning opportunities
(p. 6-9)

The development of inclusive services must be a collaborative

effort. Key participants are classroom teachers, special
education teachers, related service specialists, support staff,
central office and school administrators, board members,
students with and without disabilities, and their families. (p. 29)

5. EFFECTIVE INSTRUCTION FOR ALL STUDENTS

Male, M. (1997). Technology for inclusion. Meeting the
special needs of all students. (3rd ed) Boston: Allyn & Bacon.
To order: http://www.ablongman.com/

Major concepts of this book:

Learning goals can be met through using the internet, and
telecommunications (Chap. 11)
Different types of computer based programs for assessmentcurriculum based assessment, electronic portfolios, etc.

Including computer use in IEP goals and objectives, and listing

specific programs students will use to meet these goals.

http://www.as.wvu.edu/~scidis/hearing.html#sect2
Strategies for teaching students with hearing impairments
6. MORE IMMERSION INTO THE HEARING SOCIETY, MORE
COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT
http://ericec.org/digests/e557.html
- Educating Children Who Are Deaf of Hard of Hearing: Inclusion
http://www.uni.edu/coe/inclusion
- Children who learn together, learn to live together.- teaching
strategies, adaptations, glossary of inclusion terms,
resources/websites.
7. IMPLEMENTING INCLUSION
Tilton, L. (1996). Inclusion: A fresh look. Practical strategies to
help all students succeed. Shorewood: Covington Core Publications.

A resource for general education and special education teachers

to use before implementing inclusion. Provides strategies for
modifications (and examples of modified lessons and tests),
games, classroom book lists, etc. This book is more of a guide
for inclusion with many ideas for each characteristic of the
inclusion process rather than a research based book on inclusion
practices.

http://inclusion.com/videos.html videos (Inclusion press)

http://www.uni.edu/coe/inclusion
8. LOCATING GOOD RESOURCES
These are additional websites that may be helpful for more information
on inclusion:
http://inclusion.com

http://fsdb.k12.fl.us/rmc/
home page for: Resource Materials & Technology Center
for the Deaf and the Hard of Hearing
207 N. San Marco Ave.
St. Augusine, FL 32084
1-800-356-6731
National Information Center on Deafness
Gallaudet University
800 Florida Avenue, NE
Washington, D.C. 20002
http://clerccenter.gallaudet.edu
*This project allowed me to look at the wealth of information that
there is on inclusion. The internet offers many helpful websites that
give important information on this subject and the many issues
associated with inclusion in deaf education, which was my focus of this
research. Many of the websites that I have identified gave unbiased
information, offering the benefits and limitations of inclusion. It is easy
to take a side for or against inclusion, but we really need to be aware
of both sides of the issue before making any decisions. I hope the
readers of this project find these resources helpful.
You can email me at mbonello@kent.edu if you have anything to share.