Deaf Students' Learning From Captioned Instruction: the Relationship Between the Visual and Caption Display

Abstract

This study examined the relationship between and instructional effectiveness of visuals and captions in videotape/film instruction for hearing-impaired students. Captioned instruction was prepared so that the visuals and captions presented redundant information; students could obtain facts from either the captions or the pictures. Three instructional treatments were prepared and tested with both deaf and hearing elementary/junior high students: (a) visuals + captions, (b) visuals alone, and (c) captions alone. Results showed that scores of students viewing visuals + captions were significantly higher than those of students seeing either visuals or captions alone. Findings underscore the importance of visuals in deaf education and confirm the effectiveness of instruction that combines pictorial and written presentation modes. Students are able to use both visuals and print in captioned instruction, and they evidently employ a strategy that allows them to alternate between the two and utilize each to its best advantage. Results also support the similarity of visual and verbal decoding capabilities of deaf and hearing students. Although an initial subject-matter knowledge deficit led to depressed scores for deaf students in comparison with those of the hearing, the same pattern of results emerged for both groups. A particular instructional format did not specifically benefit either deaf or hearing students, and neither group displayed unique capabilities in learning from the various presentations.