How teacher mediation during video viewing facilitates literacy behaviors

There is increasing support for using media products as early intervention tools for deaf children. Because deaf children are visual learners, products such as interactive DVDs and videos can be an effective supplement in the teaching of ASL and literacy skills to deaf children. While adult mediation during literacy activities has been shown to have a positive impact on deaf children's early literacy skills, little is known about the effects of adult mediation of preschool deaf children's interactions with educational media. The current study investigated whether preschool teachers (n = 3) fostered deaf children's (n = 9) engagement during their repeated viewing of a literacy-focused educational video (in ASL). Descriptive statistics and t-tests were conducted to examine teachers' and students' literacy-related engagement behaviors during each day of viewing. In addition, students' behaviors in the current study were compared to those of students in a previous study to determine whether children's literacy-related behaviors differed according to the presence or absence of teacher mediation during video viewing. Results indicate that while children's engagement behaviors increased without adult mediation, viewings with teacher mediation elicited even greater literacy engagement behaviors. These findings support the use of research-based educational media in ASL that provide strong literacy and language exposure for young deaf children.