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Theme:

• High-Leverage Practices (HLPs) 22: Positive & Constructive Feedback

Articles:

• The Importance of Providing Positive and Constructive Feedback for Students Who Are Deaf/Hard of Hearing
• Deaf History Month

News from RMTC-DHH:

• Needs Assessment Survey
• TA-Live! High-Leverage Practices: HLP 22
• Deaf+ in Theory and Practice
• Shout Out to Fairview Learning Completers
• Shout Out to LSL Strategies: Thinking Outside the [Theme] Box Completers

Teacher Spotlight

• Dr. Kori Gedris
• Putnam County

Expanded Skills Spotlight

• Explicit Contextualized Vocabulary Instruction for the Deaf/Hard of Hearing (ECVI-DHH) Units
• SP.PK12.DH.4.5 

Teacher Toolkit:

• LiveBinder of Tools for HLPs
• Loan Library Resources

Did You Know?

• Deaf Reading Rope
• The Family Café
• Educational Interpreter Project (EIP) Summer Institute
• National Hands and Voices Conference is in Florida for 2025

Upcoming Events

• 4/23/25: TA-Live! HLP 22
• 5/22-23/25: Deaf+ in Theory and Practice, Orlando
• 6/13-15/2025: The Family Café

High-Leverage Practice (HLP) 22 states, “Provide positive and constructive feedback to guide students’ learning and behavior.” This HLP is a critical instructional strategy that supports student growth. This practice is so essential that it appears twice in the list of HLPs—once as HLP 8 in the social/emotional/behavioral domain and again as HLP 22 in the instructional domain (McLeskey et al., 2017; Kennedy et al., 2018).

For students who are deaf or hard of hearing (DHH), effective instructional feedback must be tailored to their unique communication and learning needs. Key considerations include:

• Clear and Accessible Communication: Feedback should be delivered through multiple modalities, such as spoken language, visual cues, sign language, written comments, or captioned videos, ensuring accessibility. Facial expressions and body language are an essential component of feedback; both WHAT you say and HOW you say it is embedded in students relying on visual information for communication. For this reason, it may be necessary to actually exaggerate emotions in order to clearly convey an intended message. For example, if a teacher is praising a student, smiling and positive body language is imperative, even if the words or signs indicate praise.

• Corrective Feedback: According to the Florida Department of Education and Just Read, Florida! (2023), corrective feedback must be timely, developmentally appropriate, and directly aligned with learning objectives to help students correct misconceptions.

• Explicit Instruction Before Feedback: Many students who are DHH may not have the necessary background knowledge and must first be explicitly taught a skill before feedback can be meaningful.

• Push-In Support for Real-Time Feedback: Teachers of the DHH should periodically push into the general education classroom to ensure skills taught in isolation are being applied in academic settings.

• Collaborative Teaching: Ongoing communication between general education teachers and teachers of the DHH is crucial to monitor student progress, share data, and provide consistent, constructive feedback. Collaborative teaching (FIN, 2023) is the first HLP, but can also be embedded in every other HLP (Kennedy et al., 2018).

By implementing HLP 22 effectively, educators can create a supportive learning environment where students who are DHH receive the feedback they need to grow academically and develop self-advocacy skills.

Deaf History Month

Every April, the deaf/hard of hearing community and supporters celebrate Deaf History Month. This annual observance honors the rich history, culture, and achievements of the Deaf community. Established in 1996 in the United States by the National Association of the Deaf (NAD) and the American Association of the Deaf (AAD), Deaf History Month coincides with the birthdays of two influential figures in Deaf history: Laurent Clerc and Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet.

Laurent Clerc, a Frenchman who was deaf, co-founded the first school for the deaf in the U.S., the American School for the Deaf, in Hartford, Connecticut, in 1817. Collaborating with Clerc was Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet, a hearing American educator. Together, they laid the foundation for deaf education and the development of American Sign Language (ASL).

Deaf History Month is a time for reflection and celebration, offering a chance to acknowledge the rich tapestry of deaf/hard of hearing culture and its contributions to the global community. As we commemorate the achievements of the past, it is also an opportunity to look forward to a future that embraces equal opportunities for all, regardless of hearing ability. Through education, awareness, and advocacy, Deaf History Month plays a pivotal role in breaking down barriers and fostering a society of belonging.

In 2023 Nathan Harrison published the Deaf Reading Rope, drawing on the foundational Science of Reading and Scarborough's Reading Rope (2001), this model integrates decades of research into bilingual reading, highlighting how readers who are DHH leverage both American Sign Language (ASL) and English for reading success. The Deaf Reading Rope is a model designed to explain the complexities of reading for individuals who are DHH, especially those who use ASL. For more information on Nathan Harrison’s Deaf Reading check out his article. 

Harrison, N. E. (2023). Deaf reading rope: Visualizing the science of reading for ASL/English. https://osf.io/d96jx 

Bay County’s Battle of the Books competition took place on March 11, 2025. Nine schools competed and every student from every school did a great job! Loxie Smith, 4th grade student who is deaf/hard of hearing (DHH), daughter of Camille Smith, President of Florida Hands and Voices, used a laptop with auto-captions connected to a mic on the moderator and her interpreter. She also read all 10 books that were being quizzed and studied her flashcards for weeks. In the end, Loxie’s team pulled off the victory: First place! It was a very very close championship round and Loxie ended up answering the winning question! Congratulations to Loxie and to her team!

Read a blurb written by Camille Smith, mother of Loxie Smith regarding the competition and her supporters:

Loxie worked very hard for this victory, but like an author who needs her team of editors and publishers to make her efforts a realized success, Loxie’s accomplishment would not have been possible without her dedicated team: 

Mrs. Wills (TAG Teacher), Sondra (Interpreter), Kelsey (SLP), Keely (TOD), Mrs. Nelson (Librarian), you and your team (RMTC-DHH), and the countless others who have led us to this place. They have dedicated their lives to the fair education of children and, for Loxie, advocated for equitable access in this district-wide event. The result of which was a win for ESE, for DHH awareness in the district, and most importantly for Loxie’s self-esteem as a Deaf individual.

This late-identified Deaf child with very little language at 4 years old is now a voracious reader, TAG student, and all-around amazing human being.

I couldn’t be prouder of Loxie and the other 4th graders who bravely participated in Battle of the Books, and couldn’t be more grateful for people like you and her army of advocates.

Want more on the collaboration between parents and teachers? Watch the spotlight video interviewing Camille Smith, her husband, and her children’s teacher of the deaf/hard of hearing on the importance of family collaboration AND/OR watch the parent panel featuring Camille and other parents of children who are DHH!

The Family Café conference is a vital resource for stakeholders of children who are deaf and hard of hearing. Since 1998, it has provided a unique platform for families to access information, training, and networking opportunities. The conference features a wide range of breakout sessions, an extensive exhibit hall, and special events like keynote speakers and The Governors’ Summit on Disabilities. These elements offer attendees exposure to valuable resources, information from policy-making officials, and opportunities to connect with other families.

The 27th Annual Family Café, scheduled for June 13-15, 2025, at the Hyatt Regency Orlando, continues this tradition. It emphasizes collaboration, advocacy, friendship, and empowerment, adhering to principles that ensure all individuals, regardless of their abilities, receive timely, accurate information and have the opportunity to maximize their quality of life. The conference environment supports families in making informed decisions, advocating for their needs or the need of their family members, and influencing public policy, thereby enhancing the service delivery system for children who are deaf and hard of hearing.

Find the online registration form here.

 Mark your calendars! Registration is coming soon!



The Hands & Voices Leadership Conference is coming to Florida! H&V brings together family leaders from all over the world to develop skills, to receive training on providing leadership to others, and to impact local systems. It is the only conference of its kind devoted exclusively to teaching family members with children who are deaf or hard of hearing how to be effective agents of change.

This conference is an excellent time to network and learn. Please help them build their audience by extending an invitation to a favorite teacher, your EHDI Coordinator, an important school administrator, or families with children who are deaf or hard of hearing. Not involved in Hands & Voices? No problem! This is a fantastic conference containing up-to-date information, fascinating conversations and networking, and exploration of content in new and exciting ways.

RMTC-DHH provides Tech Notes as a free resource to teachers, professionals, and families around the state in order to pass along potentially useful information and expand the knowledge and opportunities available to educators and families of children who are deaf/hard of hearing. This email was funded by the Florida Department of Education Bureau of Exceptional Education and Student Services through federal assistance under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), Part B funds. The information included does not reflect any specific endorsement by any parties involved.