Deaf education program awarded $800,000
Blane Trautwein, Ed.D, (pictured with a student) works with students at Sunshine Cottage School for Deaf Children, where master’s degree students from the Health Science Center practice new techniques and teaching skills in deaf education and hearing science.
The Deaf Education and Hearing Science program received a grant of $806,500 from the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services.
Sarah Ammerman, Ph.D. works with a student at Sunshine Cottage School for Deaf Children.
The grant will fund 36 scholarships for teachers, support faculty and provide some of the program expenses for the Master of Deaf Education and Hearing Science program, which has grown from six to 23 students – a 283 percent increase since 2008 when Blane Trautwein, Ed.D., assistant professor, joined the Health Science Center as director of the program. Dr. Trautwein said: “One of the strengths of our grant proposal was our research in reciprocal peer coaching and faculty mentoring.” He and his colleague, Sarah Ammerman, Ph.D., assistant professor, have published research on the subject. Faculty mentors demonstrate teaching techniques and participate in dialogues with individuals and groups of students beginning with the first semester of the master’s program.
The program is the only one of its kind in Texas with an emphasis on listening and spoken language.
