The impact of cognitive strategy instruction on deaf learners: An international comparative study

Teacher cohorts in England and China received special training in technique s for teaching higher-level critical and creative cognitive strategies to d eaf learners. Both cohorts implemented the strategies in the classroom at l east twice weekly for 6 months. Measures included Raven's Standard Progress ive Matrices (1959), a systematic observation checklist for cognitive behav iors (Martin & Craft, 1998), and critical and creative problem situations t o which students had to respond. Results were compared with those from a st udy of similar learners in the United States (Martin & Jonas, 1985), and li ttle difference was found. Students in all three countries improved in reas oning, devising real-world problem solutions involving critical thinking (b ut not creative thinking), using cognitive vocabulary in the classroom, and expressing others, viewpoints. Postintervention focus groups showed teache rs in China used a more invariant sequence in teaching the cognitive strate gies, but teachers in all three countries experienced similar expansion In cognitive terminology and self-perceptions as teachers of problem solving.