Effect of Communication Mode on Story Recall

• In Event: Research on the Education of Deaf Persons SIG Paper Session

Abstract

This study examined effect of communication mode on story recall performance in thirty-six 11-14 year-old deaf students. Participants were presented with a series of short, but increasingly complex, stories bimodally (using simultaneous sign and speech – SIMCOM) and unimodally (using sign-only) and asked to recall. A within-subjects analysis was used to examine differences in recall scores as a function of communication mode. Analysis of the effect of secondary demographic variables on story recall was conducted to provide further descriptive information. There was a statistically significant difference between mean recall in the two conditions, with participants scoring higher in the sign-only condition than the SIMCOM condition. Results are discussed in relation working memory, information processing and cognitive load theory.

Authors

• Maria C. Hartman, Teachers College, Columbia University

• Ye Wang, Teachers College, Columbia University

• Laudan Jahromi