Author: Emma Villanueva | Majors: Communication Sciences and Disorders | Semester: Spring 2022
Emma Villanueva
I had always known spelling was important in the academic world and in other relevant situations. However, I never knew or was exposed to any research about how individuals who are deaf and hard of hearing (d/hh) spell and what types of patterns they use to spell. My research aimed to do just that: analyze the types of spelling patterns and errors this population used/made, as well as find differences in elementary students’ spelling test scores from before and after given Strategic and Interactive Writing Instruction (SIWI). I believe this research has a significant impact on d/hh individuals as well as educators due to the fact that it has provided me and my research team with a greater understanding of how these individuals spell and what types of writing intervention programs may possibly help improve their spelling. Every student deserves equal literacy learning opportunities in their academic life and expanding research on this topic can help improve spelling/writing accuracy in understudied populations such as d/hh students. I met with my future mentor, Dr. Lisa Bowers, during the fall of my Junior year after I had transferred from the Business College into COEHP and joined the Honors program. I had been interested in learning about each Professor’s research experience, and Dr. Bowers’ interests stood out to me as an Honors scholar. She introduced me to her literacy lab and told me about what she planned to research for the next few years, and I immediately loved the topic. I am so thankful for the opportunity to learn about the spelling patterns of d/hh students. I learned that there is (very!) limited research on this subject and that the field is continuing to grow. I learned that d/hh students use a variety of techniques to spell, some of those techniques being using American Sign Language (ASL) and visual knowledge from sign and connecting this knowledge to spelling. Throughout my analysis of these students’ spelling tests, I realized that phonological awareness, which is how we recognize spoken language and all its sounds, plays a huge role in how we spell. In the d/hh population, and particularly on the spelling tests we analyzed, phonological awareness errors were the most prevalent spelling error made by the students. This finding made me reflect on my own beliefs about spelling and how we learn to spell, and helped me understand that the process of spelling is so much more than just memorizing and piecing letters together. This experience provided me with a greater understanding of spelling that would go on to aid me in my research. Throughout the process, my mentor and research partner, Lacey, were great resources to me for whenever I needed any help or clarification. Dr. Bowers was an excellent mentor and was very involved in the research we conducted. She obtained all of the necessary spelling tests and test information that we needed to code the data. In addition to this, she let the both of us use her literacy lab and computers in it for data coding, writing, or anything else we needed during the process. Personally, the most helpful thing Dr. Bowers did for me this semester was help me construct my poster presentation for defense at the COEHP Honors Symposium. She gave me tips and allowed me to run through my presentation as often as I needed so that I felt confident at the Symposium.
Post-semester, I have successfully defended my Thesis and have published my work. In the fall, my team is hoping to present at the ASHA convention in New Orleans, if accepted. We will also code even more data to add to our research. We have big goals, but hope to make a difference in spelling skills of the d/hh population!