(8.2)
In a case like this I would inform the deaf student, as well as the hearing student, that they need to work on the assignment themselves. I would encourage the students to try their best to do the assignment. I would tell them that they can do it, they are capable of figuring out the problem. It would be very important for me to encourage the deaf student and the hearing students to collaborate with each other, even if they get the answer wrong, because this type of work is very important for deaf students. Often times deaf students have weak or no conversational skills because there are not a lot of models for them in school or at home. Also, often times in a public school, deaf students will only talk to the interpreter because there is the common language between the two. Encouraging the deaf student to converse and with hearing students will help develop the deaf child's conversational skills as well as build a sense of community in the class between the all the students and allow the deaf student to feel included. So, in this case, it would be extremely important to encourage the students to work together. I would tell them to keep trying and tell them that I will interpret what they think between everyone in the group. Sometimes though, in groups with an interpreter, students tend to shut down a little bit because there is an adult in the group and see the interpreter as a monitor in way. Even the hearing students tend to do this when there is an interpreter in the group. I have to do my best to make sure that when redirecting occurs I need to do it in a positive way and make sure I make every student, deaf and hearing in the group feel comfortable.