Bibliography

I was able to explore all sorts of resources from websites, online chat groups, books, and DVD's. I have to say that the DVD's were my favorite. I am a very visual person.

Acredolo, Linda, and Susan Goodwyn. Baby Signs. Chicago: Contemporary Books, 2002.

Acredolo, Linda, and Susan Goodwyn. Baby Signs Parent Kit. Vacaville: Baby Signs Institute, 2005.

Baby Center. Baby Center LLC. 7 Oct. 2007 .

Baby Einstein: Baby Wordsworth. DVD. The Walt Disney Company, 2005.

The Baby Signs Program. DVD. Baby Signs Inc., 2005.

Daniels, Marilyn. "The Effect of Sigh Language on Hearing Children's Language Development."
Communication Education 43 (1994): 291-298.

Davis, Celeste. "Hands On." People 18 Sept. 2000: 205. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. IUPUI Indianapolis.

Garcia, Joseph. Sign with Your Baby: How to Communicate with Infants Before They Can Speak. Bellingham: Stratten Kehl, 2001.

Heller, Lora. I Want: Teaching Your Baby to Sign. New York: Sterling, 2006.

Kelly, Katy. "Tiny Hands Talking." U.S. News & World Report 21 Oct. 2002. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. IUPUI Indianapolis.

Namy, Laura, and Sandra R. Waxman. "Words Adn Gestures: Infants' Iterpretations of Different Forms of Symbolic References." Child Development 69.2 (1998): 295-308.

"Success Teaching Baby Sign Language." Expectant Mothers Guide. Spindle Publishing Inc. 7 Oct. 2007 .

Thompson, Rachel H., Nicole M. Cotnoir-Bichelman, Paige M. McKerchar, Trista L. Tate, and Kelly A. Dancho. "Enhancing Early Commnunication Through Infant Sign Training." Journal of Applied Behavior 40 (2007): 15-23.

Walburton, Karyn. Baby Sign Language for Hearing Babies. 1st ed. New York: Berkley, 2006.

Personal Connection

Personal Connection….

Before starting this project my approach to research and inquiry was very linear. I would think of a question and find the answer. I hardly ever let my inquiries expand to where I had to go back and start researching again. I guess I was lazy. After working through this process, I now understand that inquiry is not linear. Inquiry is a crazy web that keeps evolving and changing as you go through the steps. No matter what model you use, you always have to go back and keep questioning, wondering, and researching. It makes me realize that you are never truly “done” with a project. There are so many different paths that inquiry can lead you to. I now have a better understand of how to teach my students how to discover answers and research. This process was so different from when I went to school and I am much more satisfied with my final product. There is something very satisfying about choosing how you are going to present the information. Many teachers may be weary of letting their students choose how to present their findings, but I think if the students are truly invested in the research, the product will be amazing and have meaning to them if they get to choose. My teachers never taught me how to venture through the inquiry process and I feel I was cheated. I am going to make sure that I do not cheat the students that I come in contact with.

Curriculum Connection

When looking back at my journey through the inquiry process, it becomes evident that this process can be applied to any grade level and used for many projects. Since I have taught fifth grade for five years I was immediately able to identify standards that connect with this inquiry process. Standard 5 in English and Language Arts asks students to write a research report using a variety of sources. The Webbing and Wiggling stages definitely lend itself to this type of project. Once the research report is done they could use their research to create an end product. Standard 7 in English and Language Arts requires the students to give an oral presentation. Whatever end product the students chose to create such as a video tape like I did could be presented in front of the class. I also think for this grade level it might be neat to have my students create their own BLOG to describe their research process. I think fifth graders would really get a kick out of it.

This process could also be bumped down to the first grade level. Standard 5 in English and Language Arts requires the students to write for different purposes or a specific audience. Students could write a letter to the principal asking for something they would like for the school. Lamb’s eight steps could be used to help guide the students through the process of deciding what should be purchased for the school. Even though the final product has already been chosen, the students can still work their way through the other parts of the 8 steps. The project could even be extended to a spoken presentation and would cover standard 7 in the English Language Arts Standards which requires first graders to use visual aides to present information. The principal could even be invited to listen to the presentations.

Wishing...

Whether the process is called Evaluation like in the Big6 model, Assessing like in the ISP model, or judging like in the Infozone model, most research and inquiry models require you to reflect on what you have done. I have to admit I was dreading this step. I am the type of person who likes to be “done” with a project. I guess I am a lot like most of my students in that way. However, once I began reading back over my BLOG I actually enjoyed thinking about the process I had just gone through.

I think my project went fairly smoothly. I was surprised at how much information I was able to find. The biggest challenge I faced was trying to find any down sides to teaching babies sign language. I will admit I became frustrated as I searched, but in the end I was not able to find any negatives. I think my biggest mistake was not coming up with more questions at the beginning of the search. I was so focused on finding out if there were any down sides to teaching sign language, that I probably skipped over a wealth of information. For my next investigation, I would definitely write down more questions before I begin my search. I would start my research with a broader topic and then narrow it down.

I think my experiences were very similar to what a student would go through. I felt frustration, and I was reluctant to re-trace my steps. I also felt overwhelmed once I had all of my information and had to organize it. I think it was good for me to go through this process. I now have a better idea of what it feels like and will be able to help students. I am definitely going to save this BLOG and I may show it to some older students who may have some of the same problems that I did. I am glad I had Lamb’s model to walk me through the steps. Never again will I just send my students off to research. I now know how overwhelming that can be. I am so glad that I have the knowledge of several different models to help guide my students through the inquiry process

Waving…

I would be willing to share my video with anyone who would like to view it. I created the video for me to use so I would not have to check out all of the resources from the library again. Since the video talks about the benefits of sign language I discovered through reading studies, I think that new moms would be interested in hearing this information. With my experiences as a new mom, I am always searching for advice and trying to verify everything that I do. I guess I want to make sure that what I am doing will not “mess up” my kid. I feel confident that I will use this video next Spring when my son is about 7-8 months old.

Wrapping

I have decided that I am going to create a home video discussing some of my research findings as well as demonstrating some of the signs in baby sign language. I feel that a video will help me most in the future. My son is too young to really comprehend baby sign language right now. However, if I make a video of what I feel is important, I will be able to use it at a later date when he is ready to learn. The information I am going to put in the video is important to me because I truly feel it will help ease some of the frustration in communication between my son and me. I am obviously not licensed to teach baby sign language, however I may share the information with some of my friends who are also experiencing some of the same feelings I am.

As Kuhlthau's model states, you may feel a sense of relief, sometimes satisfaction, sometimes disappointment. Right now I am definitely feeling relief. I have decided what I am going to do for my project and I am satisfied with the information I have gathered.

Webbing, Wiggling, and Weaving Again….

Two more questions I am exploring:

How do you teach infants sign language?

When can you start?

The webbing part of these two questions was easy. I had already been searching for information on sign language and had found several kits, videos, and books that contained instructions for teaching. I had a hunch that these tools would also give me an idea of an age to begin instruction.

I checked out the kit Baby Signs from the library and began reading the instruction manual and watching the DVD. I knew that this was a credible teaching tool since several of the articles I read mentioned the program and it is also backed by the National Health Institute. I also began “wiggling” my way through several of the sign language books I checked out from the children’s department. I compared the signs in the books to make sure that they were all similar. I found a couple variations, but for the most part all of the signs were the same. It was interesting to find out that not all of the “baby” signs correlate with American Sign Language. The reason for this is that some of the American Sign Language gestures are too complicated. Since you are trying to alleviate communication frustrations with babies, it is easier to use simpler signs.

Most books and the Baby Signs kit say that you can begin teaching your newborn signs as early as you want. However, children are not developmentally ready to register the use of the signs until about 7-8 months of age. Even then, most children will not begin signing until after their first birthday.

I found that the Weaving process this time occurred while I was looking through the information. I compared books as I went along and made a list of the signs that I thought would be most important to start teaching my son when he was ready. I even prioritized them and put the ones at the top I thought were the most important.

Here is my list:

Eat

Drink

Sleep

Milk

More

Help

Diaper

All Done

Love

Book

Dog

I will admit that I was reluctant to go back to the Webbing and Wiggling stages. If I feel reluctant, I can only imagine how the students feel. I definitely agree with our Curriculum Connections text when it says, “Our failure to teach research as a recursive process may be, then, one decisive, if not the most decisive, element in unsuccessful literacy instruction” (142). Children will probably not want to go back to the beginning stages of research, but if we model for them, it may make the process easier. Without retracing our steps, clarifying, and seeking more information, the inquiry process is incomplete. We will do our students a disservice if we only teach them that inquiry is linear.

Weaving

As I was reading through my information I stuck post-it notes next to ideas I thought were important. I often use post-its with my students because they are easy to move around. Once I had stuck the last post-it in place, I knew it was time to look at the important points of each resource and combine all of my information. Both Lamb and the BIG6 model recommend using graphic organizers to synthesize the information.

I created a graphic organizer on word and decided to focus on the benefits of teaching sign language, since I had not read one that stated anything negative about teaching young children to sign. Looking over my post-it notes, I decided to write down any benefit that was mentioned in three different resources. I usually use three as a magic number to verify information. Kind of like graphing points to make a line, two is not enough but if you add a third you are sure where the line is going. After sifting through all of my articles here are the main benefits I came up with (I tried to attach a picture of my web, but I could not get it to work)

Larger Vocabularies

Decreases Frustration between parent/caregiver and child

Stimulates both sides of the brain since motor and language skills are working at the same time

May boost IQ

Builds bond between parent/caregiver and child

Helps verbal communication

Since I now know that there are significant benefits I want to learn more. I am moving back to the wondering stage. How do you teach sign language? At what age should you start? I am now back to Webbing and Wiggling to find more information. I really think I want my final project to deal with how to teach sign language.

Evaluating

Purdue University has an excellent website that provides information on how to evaluate books, articles, and websites (http://www.lib.purdue.edu/rguides/studentinstruction/evaluation/index.html).

The books that I checked out from the library all seem to be backed by credible organizations. My First Signs book is published in association with The American Society for Deaf Children and also Child’s Play (International) Ltd. The Sign Language Kit was produced by two college professors and their studies have been backed by the National Health Institute. Finally, I also checked out Sign With Your Baby which was written by Garcia who is the founder of baby sign language.

The studies that I found all contained extensive bibliographies and were published in respected journals such as Child Development and Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis. Each study clearly explained its participants, procedures, and findings.

The information I gathered from the Internet came from parenting websites such as Expectant Mothers and Babycenter. After reading the “about us” section on each website I found that each is backed by a reputable publishing company. I felt confident about the information I gathered at each site. I am always weary about getting information from the Internet. I always tell my students to look at the author or publisher of the website. Another good rule is that if they can find the same information on three different websites it is usually a valuable piece of information.

Evaluating information is clearly laid out in the Organize it step of the DIALOGUE model. Lamb’s “Wiggling” step also clearly encourages the researcher to evaluate the resources. In other models such as the BIG6, FLIP IT, and I-Search the evaluation stage is combined with the searching and gathering process. I think it is important for everyone to really take the time to evaluate their resources. Especially since many students just want to write down anything they find on the Internet.

Interviews

I took the time to interview three different moms. Here is a summarization of my interviews:

Subject: Melissa mother to Samuel (age 1 yr and 4 months).

Summary: Melissa began teaching Sam sign language when he was nine months old. She decided to teach him signs after she saw several other children signing at the day care she sends Sam to. It took Sam about one month to do his first sign which was “more.” Now Sam knows ten different signs. He is also beginning to say some words such as “ball” and “outside.” Melissa admits that it has really helped her communication frustration.

Subject: Megan mother to Caroline (age 6 months)

Summary: Megan has not begun to teach her daughter sign language but she is familiar with the concept. Megan admits that communicating with Caroline can be very frustrating at times. She is still unsure about whether or not she will teach Caroline to sign although she does know several parents who have taught their children. Megan admits that she is a bit “old fashioned” and sees signing as a “fad.”

Subject: Maria mother to Christina (Age 16) Hailey (age 13 and deaf) and Robert (age 11)

Summary: Maria’s second child, Hailey, was born deaf. Obviously, she was forced to teach her child sign language. Her oldest daughter, Christina, was over three years old and began learning sign language along with Hailey so that they could all communicate. Christina learned the signs very quickly as did Hailey. When her third child, Robert, was born she decided to teach him sign language as well. She notes that Robert’s verbal communication began several months before her first child began speaking. She does not know if this is because of the signing, but she thinks that it is. She admitted to being less frustrated with Robert when he was able to sign and communicate with her at a young age.

Books

Today I ventured to the public library. I first did an advanced search including the words baby, infant, and sign language. However, only three books were in the result list. I then did a basic search for sign language and while ninety-one titles came up, I was able to quickly sort through the list and found a dozen books that matched my topic. Most of the books were in the children’s section. These books focused on showing children the signs for many common words. I was able to find a sign language kit in the media section and a handbook in the parent section of the children’s library. The sign language kit included a study which showed that sign language does not delay infant development in any way.

While I am definitely still wiggling….I noticed today that I am using more of the information search and use strategies as I gather my information. In the BIG6 model I am in the location/access stage and also the use of information stage. I find that I am completing these two stages simultaneously. I am the type of person that tends to extract information as I find the resource. I do not wait until I have gathered all of my resources. I am definitely learning something about my own search strategies. This will help me as I try to teach other students.

I have gathered enough print resources. I now am going to focus on interviewing and talking with other moms.