Overview

One or two of every 1,000 children born in the UK has permanent hearing loss, and intermittent hearing loss due to ear infections is very common in the school years.

This free online course for teachers will help you communicate with, and support the learning of, your deaf and hard of hearing pupils.

It covers:

• the importance of deaf awareness in the classroom setting
• different perspectives of deafness
• strategies for communicating with deaf pupils

It also includes a free and optional 'taster' of British Sign Language.

This course draws on expertise from UCL's Deafness Cognition and Language (DCAL) Research Centre, and IOE, UCL's faculty of education and society, as well as the experiences of deaf school-leavers, deaf parents, and deaf and hearing teachers.

Course content and structure

The course takes approximately 2 to 3 hours to complete.

Throughout the course you’ll hear from two groups of people: D/deaf and hard of hearing people under 25, and education professionals working in classroom settings. You’ll learn about their real-life experiences through pre-recorded videos. 

The course covers the following topics:

• why deaf awareness is important
• relevant legislation relating to disability
• the importance of deaf awareness in a classroom setting
• the responsibility to provide an accessible education
• different perspectives of deafness and how deafness affects individuals
• how to communicate effectively with deaf pupils
• commonly used supports to aid communication
• how to create a deaf-supportive learning environment

Each topic has several lessons. Each of these is interspersed with reflection points to encourage reflective thinking and short quizzes to test your understanding. 

Assessment and certificates

You'll receive a UCL Certificate of Participation once you have successfully completed all the quizzes.

Who this course is for

This course is for teachers and education professionals in classroom settings.

Learning outcomes

By the end of this course you'll be able to

• employ appropriate behaviours and language when interacting with deaf pupils
• distinguish between communication preferences and adapt your communication to your pupil’s needs
• recognise legal requirements (Equality Act 2010 and Accessible Information Standard) to provide reasonable adjustments related to disability
• identify commonly used assistive technologies and apply them to the needs of the pupil

Course team

Dr Manjula Patrick

Manjula is Disability Equity Lead in the Faculty of Brain Sciences. Before this she was Co-Director of Continuing Professional Development at UCL’s Deafness, Cognition and Language Research Centre (DCAL). At DCAL she developed and delivered summer school programmes and lead on developing online short courses on deaf awareness targeted at professionals.

Professor Chloë Marshall

Chloë is a Montessori-trained early years teacher and Professor of Psychology, Language and Education at IOE, UCL's faculty of education and society. Before this she directed UCL’s MA Special and Inclusive Education and now co-directs the MA/MSc Educational Neuroscience. Her research investigates language, literacy and cognitive development in a range of children and adults, including children who are deaf and hard of hearing.

Course information last modified: 30 Nov 2022, 16:01