Building teacher capacity in the use of captioned multimedia for curriculum access Christchurch, 2016 Anne McGrath Catholic Education Office, Sydney
Prepared captions (offline captions) the ideal 2
Why access to multimedia is so important The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities asserts the right of people with a disability to participate fully and independently in all aspects of society, including the internet and access to information. Access to media through technology empowers people to be independent, gain knowledge, make their own choices, and be active members of our society. www.mediaaccess.org.au 3
Who benefits from captions students who have English as an Additional Language/Dialect (EAL/D) students who are Deaf or hard of hearing students with language delay visual learners emergent readers www.mediaaccess.org.au 4
Captions and literacy Some research to support the link between the use of captioned video and literacy benefits for students https://empowerwithcaptions.wordpress.com/research-about-captions/ 5
Education and access to media Captions are not often considered an option in class teachers often assume that captions are only for students who are Deaf or hard of hearing Huge reliance on multimedia resources in the classroom many students are missing out on access to information and learning via multimedia 6
Wachira and Keengwe (2011) asserted that teachers may lack knowledge in two ways: lack of skills and expertise in using technology and the lack of pedagogical knowledge in using technology appropriately. P 21. The root of the problem 7
compounded by: variable availability of captioned educational videos for all subjects general lack of teacher awareness of caption benefit the need for teachers to search for captioned content in multiple places pressures of time 8
NSW Premier s IOOF Centre for Educational and Medical Research for Itinerant Support Teacher (Hearing) Scholarship The building of teacher capacity in the use of captioned multimedia for curriculum access included a 5-week comprehensive study tour in Australia and a visit to New Zealand in May / June 2015. 9
5 week study tour Sydney and Orange, NSW Adelaide in South Australia Darwin, Katherine and surrounds in the Northern Territory Perth in Western Australia Melbourne and Bendigo in Victoria Hobart in Tasmania Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch in New Zealand During that time: visited 43 educational establishments met with system leaders, sensory leaders and teams, school leadership, learning support teachers and class / subject teachers The breadth of the study tour 10
q Building capacity system leaders, sensory leaders and teams, school leadership, learning support teachers and class / subject teachers through discussion and purpose designed presentation q Presenting to staff about captions research, link between literacy and learning, using captions to explicitly teach skills and concepts for curriculum access q Before any significant change can take place it s important to understand what concerns may exist q Researching concerns Quantitative: Concern Based Adoption Model Qualitative: Questions and discussions q Brainstorming, sharing and exchanging of ideas of how to build mainstream teacher capacity for specific situations and also considering a national perspective q A copy of detailed presentation, as a resource Study tour 11
What concerns mainstream teachers 12 about turning on captions?
Concerned Based Adoption Model Stages of Concern Questionnaire (SoCq) (De-identified online questionnaire) (Quantitative data) http://www.sedl.org/cbam/stages_of_concern.html 13
The innovation: Turning captions on for all videos and multimedia, to support literacy and learning across all curriculum areas Stages of Concern Questionnaire 14
Data collection process Liaison with Sensory Leaders: SOCq emailed with a descriptor and then forwarded on to mainstream teachers by jurisdictions SoCq delivered to some mainstream school staff at Sydney Catholic Schools Respondents from: South Australia, Western Australia, Victoria, Tasmania, NSW and NZ Completed online questionnaire and de-identified response returned Respondents received a graphical representation of their 15 concerns
0: Unconcerned I think I heard something about it, but I'm too busy right now with other priorities to be concerned about it. 1: Informational This seems interesting, and I would like to know more about it. 2: Personal I'm concerned about the changes I'll need to make in my routines. 5: Management I'm concerned about how much time it takes to get ready to teach with this new approach 166 respondents 16
Unconcerned and Informational SoCq data 17
Personal and Management SoCq data 18
Information gathered through general discussion and also stimulated by the following questions: What do you believe are mainstream teachers concerns about using captions in school? What do you think would be the best ways to to build mainstream teacher capacity in the use of captioned multimedia for curriculum access? Qualitative data 19
Teacher of the Deaf concerns Need for pre-service teacher training in accessible media for curriculum access ebooks video content not captioned - breaching DDA when using this content with DHH students (if not providing a suitable alternative) Flipped classroom videos need to be captioned to ensure equitable access Variable availability of captioned content across subject areas Many mainstream teachers unaware of the positive link between use of captions, access to the curriculum and literacy benefits and supportive research Many mainstream teachers unaware of their obligations re DDA A need to raise awareness of these obligations under law Some teachers don t understand language delay re some DHH students Some TOD s wish to involve national body in a campaign to raise awareness of benefits of captions Need for both school and system policies around access implementation 20 Need to mandate use of captions
Mainstream teachers concerns Some teachers don t know anything about captions, or how to search for captioned content and how to use captions Unaware of the positive link between use of captions and access to the curriculum and literacy benefits and supportive research Unaware of their obligations re DDA Some teachers don t understand language delay re some DHH students Recognise need for pre-service teacher training in accessible media for curriculum access Informational - Referencing the (SoCq) Category 21
Further mainstream teachers concerns: Are not confident with technology Perceive using captions requires new technology Don t want to feel embarrassed if captions don t work Feel it s not worth the effort, as previous bad experience Personal Referencing the (SoCq) Category 22
More mainstream teachers concerns: Lack of time to source and prepare lessons with captions precludes their consideration Captions are too much trouble Too many things to do in class, as well as provide captions Captions not worth the effort, as previous bad experience when using technology Forget to turn on captions Students haven t requested use then it s not necessary If captions not used at home then poor attitude towards captions at school might follow Pre-primary children can t read yet, so it s not relevant Management - Referencing the (SoCq) Category 23
These concerns are not insignificant and without effective interventions - pose a real barrier to equitable access to the curriculum for DHH students and those with diverse learning needs 24
What can be done?
Interventions are necessary from a national perspective as systems have obligations under the requirements of the Disability Discrimination Act in regard to DHH students to provide education opportunities * on the same basis as their hearing peers *means that while all students will access age-equivalent content, the way in which they access it and the focus of their learning may vary according to their individual learning needs, strengths, goals and interests. http://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/studentdiversity/students-with-disability 26
Reasonable adjustments An adjustment is a measure or action taken to assist a student with disability to participate in education and training on the same basis as other students. The use of captions is a reasonable adjustment and an example of using Universal Design for Learning principles Access to captioned video needs to be included in IEP / IAP 27
Keen and enthusiastic responses to the concerns led to many ideas of how to build mainstream teacher capacity 28
Curriculum access is the ultimate goal The use of captions and accessibility to be included in teacher training courses Systems response develop interventions to support implementation Collaboration with interested parties muted for different states and possibly NZ Create a group captioned video project to build capacity School level response school action plans Teachers supporting each other Need purpose designed workshops re captions sample units including reference to DDA Canberra modules Screen shots of ccaptioned videos for social skills to assist students with autism Parent power Issue could be put to NAATD to pursue Top down and bottom up approaches in combination are necessary to fully address the issues across systems Approaching large publishers re ebook videos being made accessible Mandating the use of captions Responses to building capacity 29
Curriculum access is the ultimate goal Suggestions to encourage use of these resources: Media Access Australia resources: extensive information, sources of content CAP THAT! resources -lesson plans with captions, PD videos for schools etc Development of in-school lesson plans and units, using captions Using captions to teach skills and concepts teachers vey engaged by this idea Support of Teaching and Learning teams or curriculum coordinators would help champion captions in schools Importance of pre-teaching vocab prior to viewing video explicitly teach vocab Response to building capacity 30
Curriculum access is the ultimate goal John Hattie s work linking the use of captions to Visible Learning using the language of Visible Learning when talking to teachers to establish whether the use of captions would equate to an effect size greater than 0.4 - would require a detailed research project Captions need to be part of IEP process Strategies regarding captions use need to be added to IEP for student support IEP as a key tool (also a legal document) SMART Goals We assume that children need to read, to be good readers to use captions, but captions offer the opportunity for students to see language in print, learn its purpose, to see it used with great modelling to develop reading capability Tasmanian Special Education Teacher Responses to building capacity 31
Principal Assistant Principals Learning Support Teachers Special Education Visiting Teachers or Itinerant Teachers of the Deaf or RTDs Learning Support Officers (Teacher's Aides) Class / subject teachers Librarian IT personnel Students Parents A team and collaborative approach recommended Whole school ownership 32
q Pre-service teacher training q System level response with the acknowledgement of obligations under the DDA Importance of SoCq or other data tool Provides data for addressing initial and school-based concerns Interventions, Professional Development and implementation plans more targeted q School level response: Development of a school action plan PD, ongoing support, encouragement and accountability School culture that supports inclusion and access Close alignment with student IEP / IAP Universal Design for Learning and the DDA awareness Some key recommendations 33
Chai, J. & Erlam, R. (2008) The effect and the influence of the use of video and captions on second language learning, New Zealand Studies in Applied Linguistics, 14(2), 25-44. Hattie, J (2012) Visible Learning: Maximizing impact on learning, Routledge, New York Jelinek Lewis, M. S. & Jackson, D. W. (2001) Television literacy: comprehension of program content using closed captions for the deaf, Journal of Deaf Studies and Deaf Education, 6(1), 43-53. Linebarger, D. L. (2001) Learning to read from television: the effects of using captions and narration, Journal of Educational Psychology, 93(2), 288-298. Linebarger, D; Piotrowski, J.T; Greenwood, C (2010) On-screen print: the role of captions as a supplemental literacy tool, Journal of Research in Reading 33, (2),, 148 16 Wachira, P., & Keengwe, J. (2010). Technology integration barriers: urban school mathematics teachers perspectives. Journal of Science Education and Technology, 20(1), 17-25. References 34
NSW Premier s IOOF Centre for Educational and Medical Research for Itinerant Support Teacher (Hearing) Scholarship https://empowerwithcaptions.wordpress.com/ Anne McGrath Leader of Learning K-3 (Hearing) Diverse Learning Team Sydney Catholic Schools Eastern Region anne.mcgrath@syd.catholic.edu.au 35