Journal of Deaf Studies and Deaf Education 8:2 2003
© 2003 Oxford University Press
Empirical Article |
Using Verbal Protocols to Identify the Reading Strategies of Students Who Are Deaf
Miami University
The purpose of this study was to identify the reading strategies used by students who are deaf by investigating their self-reported thinking during reading. The participants were 10 elementary students attending a residential state school for the deaf. After each page of reading a short story, the participants were asked to think aloud (or think visibly, in the case of sign language). Analysis of these verbal reports indicated that the participants constructed meaning, monitored comprehension and activated strategies to improve comprehension, and evaluated, but did not demonstrate, each reading strategy within these three classifications. They engaged in a considerably greater variety of reading strategies for constructing meaning than for the other two classifications.
I thank M. Lynn Woolsey, University of North Florida, for her assistance with the study. All correspondence should be sent to Barbara R. Schirmer, School of Education and Allied Professions, Miami University, 200 McGuffey Hall, Oxford, OH 45056 (e-mail: schirmb{at}muohio.edu
Received October 18, 2001; revised February 19, 2002; accepted April 1, 2002