A PHENOMELOGICAL STUDY: LIVED EXPERIENCES OF HEARING IMPAIRED STUDENTS IN THE MODULAR DIST, Thesis of Research Methodology

Download A PHENOMELOGICAL STUDY: LIVED EXPERIENCES OF HEARING IMPAIRED STUDENTS IN THE MODULAR DIST and more Thesis Research Methodology in PDF only on Docsity! A PHENOMELOGICAL STUDY: LIVED EXPERIENCES OF HEARING IMPAIRED STUDENTS IN THE MODULAR DISTANCE LEARNING A Research Paper Presented to the Faculty of Senior High School Sagay National High School City of Sagay, Negros Occidental In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements in Practical Research 1 By JAKE MACO P. BAGAFORO MA.CHRISTINE JOY B. MERCADO IVY JEANNE A. BUSTALINO NADINE S. JONGOY REIGNA MYKHAELA B. PONTERAS KLENTH BANTILAN Ma’am April Jean Catador Research Teacher JUNE 2021 Table of Contents Title page 1 Table of Contents 2 CHAPTER 1- INTRODUCTION Statement of the Problem 9 Scope and Limitations 10 Significance of the Study 11 Conceptual Framework 13 Definition of Terms 17 CHAPTER 2-— REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE Impact of Hearing Impairment 20 Educational theories supporting Modular Learning Teaching Strategies 24 23 The Use of Sign Language for Distance Education for Deaf Students 27 Training Teachers for Hearing Impaired Students 32 Sense of Efficacy of Teachers of Deaf Students 34 Synthesis 36 CHAPTER 3— RESEARCH METHODOLOGY Research Design 38 Participants of the Study 42 Research Instruments 43 Validity and Reliability of the Research Instruments 44 according to the World Economic Forum (WEF) (Athira Nortajuddin, 2020). Nevertheless, for people with disabilities, the sense of isolation and daily experience of exclusion is nothing new and is considered a norm for many. It is estimated that 15% of the world’s population has a disability. As huge populations are anxious and impatiently waiting for businesses to resume and for life to return to normal after the pandemic, this goes to the disabled students. Underscoring the difficulty that students with hearing impairments may have in presenting oral reports are the potential language development problems linked to hearing impairments. Richardson and Woodley (1999) investigated nation approaches to studying in students with a hearing loss who were taking courses in higher education by distance learning. In general, these students seemed to be just as capable of adopting approaches to studying that were appropriate to higher education as were students with no disability. The organisation has urged governments to make extra efforts to protect the rights of people with disabilities when responding to the pandemic (Athira Nortajuddin, 2020). However, there were still some disabled students neglected, especially hearing- impaired students. This norm had impacted the disabled students thoroughly when a vital transition happened from face-to-face teaching to online learning. According to Jamila (2005), special students differ in terms of characteristics of mental, sensory ability, communication skills, social behaviour and physical characteristics. Therefore, special consideration has to be given to these students to facilitate their learning to develop their full potential either a face-to-face teaching or an online class. This justifies the need to modify and customise teaching practices to cater to them. Chua and Koh (1992) defined students with special needs or exceptional students as students who have profound differences in terms of intelligence and communication or even in terms of feelings (Ramayah & Sreedharam, 2020). The students who had been deaf from childhood showed an overcautious reliance on details, and this was ascribed to the speech-based education to which most of these students would have been exposed. While, Garciulo (2003) and Menon (2019) defined students with special needs as individuals who differ from societal or community standards for normalcy. These differences may be due to significant physical, sensory, cognitive, or behavioural characteristics. Many of these students may require educational programs customised to their unique needs during the pandemic. Disabilities in learning are problems that affect the brain's ability to receive process, analyse, or store information when a transition happened from face-to-face teaching to online learning. These problems can make it difficult for students to learn as quickly as someone who is not affected by learning disabilities (Rayyan Rafidi, 2020). Even students may have had physical disabilities or health problems. Students with physical disabilities have problems with the structure or the functioning of their bodies when transitions happened. Devraj and Samsilah Roslan (2006) identify students with special needs as students who need teaching and learning approaches that are different from regular students. Students with special needs students are divided into troubled eyesight, hearing problems and learning disabilities (Devraj & Samsilah, 2006). A gap that exists between the academic achievement of youth with hearing impairments and their peers in the general population in reading, mathematics, science, and social studies, according to a new release by The National Center for Special Education Research. Facts from NLTS2: The Secondary School Experiences and Academic Performance of Students With Hearing Impairments uses data from the National Longitudinal Transition Study 2 dataset to provide a national picture of the secondary school experiences and academic achievement of students with hearing impairments who received special education services. The outcomes cover several key areas, including students’ experiences in general education academic courses and non-vocational special education courses, accommodations, supports, services provided to students, and academic achievement. In addition to the findings for the overall group, this fact sheet provides findings by parent-reported levels of hearing impairments. Secondary school students with hearing impairments took a range of courses in a given semester; on average, 61 percent of their courses were academic, 13 percent were vocational, and 26 percent were other nonacademic courses (e.g., physical education). At the classroom level, more than one- third (35%) of students with hearing impairments took all of their courses in a general education setting, and 21 percent of students with hearing impairments took all of their courses in a special education setting. A total of 78 percent of students with hearing The study covered the lived experiences of Hearing Impairment Students in the Modular Distance Learning in Sagay National High School. Specifically, it will investigate their learning experiences and capacity. The implication is that inclusive education supposes that students with different challenges are provided with specialized education in age appropriate regular classes in local schools according to their special educational needs (Forman 2002). Teachers who teach special needs students require special consideration to adjust to students“ disabilities. Scholars are agreed that students with hearing loss lag behind in academic achievement as compared to their counter parts with visual impairment. The study will also discover the needs, usability, and adaptability always take presidency every time a researcher wants to develop an appropriate learning platform in this modular for HI students to learn efficiently. The study will focus to those students who only have Hearing Impairments that is taking Modular Distance Learning in Sagay National High School. First of all, it involves the teachers or instructors knowledge regarding the modular learning and online technology itself. During these modern times, most of them are probably adequate with the knowledge however there are several groups who might not acquire this kind of knowledge. Secondly, in terms of the necessary infrastructure needed in making sure the usage of modular learning for HI students to be succeeded as certain schools or institutions might not be enriched with the infrastructure needed in developing the modular learning. Finally, in terms of the users itself, the HI students would probably find it difficult to cope with a new learning environment since they are very used to the usage of conventional 10 classroom learning environment. They will have to be taught first on how to use technology generally in their daily learning activities so that it can be effective. Significance of the Study There are research studies that associated explore the lived experiences of Hearing Impairment Students in this Modular Distance Learning together with the crisis happening. Hence, the researchers considered this study beneficial since the findings reveal that significant barriers for hearing impaired students exist and the learning outcomes should achieved appropriately. These contribute a direct concern that should be introduced as a common course for students with condition and will help ease communication as well as diffuse the negative attitudes and perceptions that surround deafness. Specifically, it is important to the following people and organizations. Hearing Impaired Students. They are the primary beneficiaries since they are the immediate concern of the study. Students who have a post-lingual hearing loss generally acquired their hearing loss later in life. They may or may not benefit from listening devices. Some may learn sign language as a means to diversify access to communication. As with people who are specifically pre-lingually deafened, it is important to assess the needs of each individual before implementing any reasonable adjustments. This is because the requirements of each individual can be diverse. The result of the study may provide to have come out with friendly learning system which enables deaf students to study together 11 with the normal ones to support the “Education for All” objective. The system can assist the bidirectional communications among different kinds of students. It is based on the idea of social justice that advocates equal access to all educational opportunities for all students regardless of the presence of a disability. Teacher’s Participation. This may contribute an avenue to the study that hearing impaired students are a special population within the school who require accommodations especially in this distance learning that would ease their learning experience, such accommodations from teachers would include the use of overhead projectors and diagrams, avoiding movements and rushed speech while lecturing, ensuring the student school module materials every week and providing opportunities for class participation, encouraging turn taking during class discussions and allowing extra time to adjust. In addition, there is need for the whole fraternity to shift the negative attitudes and perceptions from that of perceiving hearing impaired students as having a defect, individuals who cannot independently make decisions or have ideas or as a group that needs pity, into seeing them as a minority group of persons who are capable of performing as their hearing peers. School System. The acquire support system may be expanded to provide greater support and accepts greater responsibility for learning demands greater maturity on the part of the learner which is associated with the notion of delivering knowledge in “bite-sized” pieces and, therefore, lends itself to time-shortened and intensive modes of delivery. Teaching and learning in an acoustic friendly environment will be very effective to speed up the 12 success in an institution. This conceptual framework is on understanding of the factors that affect the learners with hearing impairment in obtaining quality education. Based on the Figure 1, the paper concludes that the conceptual-framework of the factors that affect the learners with hearing impairment in obtaining quality education and parameters of quality in higher education theoretical framework can be used as one of the model in identifying factors affecting with learners with hearing impairment in schools in Zambia because it focuses on educational policy, curriculum, teacher experience and qualification, learner motivation and institutional leadership. Thus the aspect of educational policy will be a guide in identifying the factor which affects these learners in obtaining quality education. The aspect of the curriculum will be a guide in identifying how the curriculum for learners with hearing impairment has to be set out with the programs of study and attainment targets for all subjects.. Furthermore, the aspect of teacher experience and qualification will be a guide in identifying if hearing impaired pupils are taught by experienced and qualified teachers with these learners. Then the aspect of learner motivation will be a guide in identifying if these learners will exhibit intrinsic and extrinsic motivation towards their education in various subjects. Finally, the aspect of institutional leadership will be a guide in identifying if leaders in institutes focus on building an environment conducive to better teaching and learning of learners with hearing impairment in order for them to obtain quality education. 15 Figure 1. A diagrammatic representation of conceptual framework of factors affecting learners with hearing impairment in obtaining quality education.\ HEARING IMPAIRMENT ASSEMENT pi LEARNERS el FACTORS u QUALITY EDUCATION THROUGH MODULAR DISTANCE LEARNING ¥ ¥ ¥ > No Educational Policy > Educational Policy > No Curriculum > Curriculum > Inadequate and > Teacher Experience and Inexperienced Teacher Qualification > Lack Motivation Given to > Learner Motivation Learners > Institutional Leadership > Lack of Institutional Quality Leadership J q Learners performance is high, Learners performance is low, no quality education is obtained. quality education is obtained. 16 Barriers: Conceptually, it refers to an Institutional or social elements that stand in the way of an individual being able to learn effectively. Operationally, it refers to the hindrances of the direct person involved in the study which is the Hearing Impairment Students that prevent them from their movement and appropriate access. Disability: Conceptually, it is a physical or mental condition that limits a person’s movements, senses, or activities. Operationally, these refer to one of the reason that makes it more difficult for the students in the study with the condition to do certain level of learning. Hearing Impairment: Conceptually, it refers an impairment in hearing, whether permanent or fluctuating, that have relative inability to hear sound in the speech frequencies. Operationally, this is the main reason that affects a child’s educational performance, their socio-economic, cultural challenges and actions in the new learning system. Hard of Hearing: Conceptually, this refers to a hearing loss where there may be some hearing that an auditory device, such as a hearing aid or assistive listening devices provide adequate assistance to process speech. Operationally, this refers to the obstacle of the students in Sagay National High School that they are dealing with everyday. 17 There is extensive theoretical literature on Modular distance learning ranging from position statements to scientific research data that were deemed appropriate for the understanding of this study. The literature review covers a number of thematic areas with respect to the experiences of Hearing Impaire Students studying through New normal education: Modular Distance Learning. Researchers argued that calling modular education a process may serve as an educational approach to build a strategic plan with the result of empowering learners to achieve academic and professional success. It is crucial to create a share foundational understanding of key terms in order for all the organizational members especially to Hearing Impaired Students to embrace change on common ground. Impact of Hearing Impairment One of the major tools that a teacher can use is to attract the attention of the hearing- impaired student before speaking with a cue such as a tap on the shoulder or wave. There is need to face the person while talking (try to avoid facing the chalkboard while speaking). There is need for the teacher to speak clearly and naturally without exaggerating lip movements or volume. There is also need to avoid standing in front of a light source like a window the glare from behind makes it difficult to read lips. The impact of hearing impairment depends on the type, extent and timing of the hearing loss. Some students will have lost hearing over a period of time, as a result, for example, of ageing or hereditary conditions. Others may have suffered permanent hearing loss as a result of workplace 20 noise, or have the condition tinnitus, a high-pitched ringing noise in the ear. Some will have had their hearing enhanced, though not entirely restored, with cochlea implants or hearing devices. Students with a hearing impairment may experience difficulty with certain sound frequencies and have difficulties when there is significant background noise. Students who were deaf from birth or as the result of illness in childhood may lip-read and/or use sign language (Auslan). A student who uses Auslan as a first language of communication may have difficulty with the grammatical and syntactical structure of English and have a limited vocabulary. Some deaf students are nonverbal while others may speak differently as they cannot hear their own voices. Deaf students and hearingimpaired students may require accommodations and assistive devices to facilitate access to education - an individual needs assessment will determine this. Accommodations may be as simple as preferential seating or as complex as wireless assistive listening devices in the classroom. (Moore 1996) The learning processes of students with hearing impairment may be affected in the different ways. Students who have been deafened in early childhood are very different to students who have lost hearing later in life in terms of educational disadvantage. For example, their range of vocabulary may be limited which in turn may affect their reading ability. Deaf and hearing impaired students tend to be visual learners — and this is difficult in an environment where much essential information is delivered exclusively by word of mouth Oyewumi (2008). Hearing impaired students may need to use assistive technology such as FM systems to participate in class. 21 The impact of hearing impairment is clear in respect of time. Students who need information transcribed from tape must sometimes wait for a significant period of time for this to happen. This means that they may fall behind other students in the class, and confidence and self-esteem may suffer as a result. Students with hearing impairment may appear isolated in the learning environment. The possibility for social contacts and for interaction with other students is often limited, and this isolation or separateness may have an impact on learning. Participation and interaction in tutorials may be limited. Students who cannot hear the flow and nuances of rapid verbal exchange will be at a disadvantage. Students with disabilities frequently carry emotional ,,baggage“ as a result of past learning failures and other ‘put-downs', and this can have a long-term effect on confidence, self- esteem, and on their approach to learning. Students with hearing impairment coming straight from the school system will have been used to a structured, controlled, supportive environment, and may feel uncomfortable taking some of the learning risks associated with the relatively unstructured and unsupportive environment of university. Anxiety about performing in front of others may affect participation in tutorials, particularly for students who have associated speech impairment. Educational theories supporting Modular learning With an increase in acceptance of alternative ways to offer school credits, institutions of higher learning are examining how courses are offered and how to appeal to a broader educational base than simply to those entering formal degree programs in this New 22 industry visits should be given in writing as well as verbally. Allow students to record lectures or, preferably, make copies of your lecture notes available. Flexible delivery of teaching materials via electronic media is also particularly helpful for students who have difficulty accessing information in the usual ways. For deaf students new technology and the internet in particular, can be used to bridge many gaps. Ensure that lists of the subject- specific jargon and technical terms which students will need to acquire are made available early in the course. Any videos or films used should, where possible, be should be captioned. When this is not possible, the teacher may need to consider alternative ways for students with hearing impairment to access the information. In tutorials, assist students who lip-read by having the student sit directly opposite you and ensure, if possible, that they can see all other participants. Control the discussion so that only one person is speaking at a time. Students with hearing impairment, especially those with an associated speech disorder, may prefer to have another student present their tutorial papers. Language abilities are often affected by hearing impairment. Many students with hearing impairment have lower reading levels, and a limited vocabulary, particularly those deafened in childhood. Provide reading lists well before the start of a course so that students with hearing impairment can begin reading early. Consider tailoring these reading lists when necessary, and provide guidance to key texts. Allow assignments or reviews to be completed on an in-depth study of a few texts rather than a broad study of many. Do not 25 make students overanxious about making mistakes, asking questions, getting through the work or meeting learning goals. It may be helpful for students with a hearing impairment to have an individual orientation to laboratory equipment or computers to minimize anxiety, particularly in cases where class sizes are large and where it may be difficult to see or hear the demonstrator. In considering alternative forms of assessment, equal opportunity, not a guaranteed outcome, is the objective. You are not expected to lower standards to accommodate students with a disability but rather are required to give them a reasonable opportunity to demonstrate what they have learned. Once you have a clear picture of how the disability impacts on learning you can consider alternative assessment strategies. When their range of vocabulary is limited, students may require the use of a thesaurus or dictionary during exams. A personal computer with spelling and grammar functions may be required. There is need to provide alternatives to those assignments which are based on interviews or questionnaires, and be flexible with assignment deadlines, particularly if students have had to wait for taped material to be transcribed. There is also need to provide extra time in examinations, particularly extra time for reading questions. Some students will prefer to have questions and instructions ,,signed“ to them. Factors supporting the learning process include parent concern and teacher cooperation. The Use of Sign Language for Distance Education for Deaf Students 26 One of the major breakthroughs in Deaf education before the advent of the twenty-first century is the method of writing sign language texts in SignWriting and encoding it in SignWriting Markup Language (SWML). SignWriting was developed by Sutton (2002) as a result of her reverence and admiration for the erudition and beauty of all signed languages. Costa and Dimuro (2002) define SignWriting as an applied writing system for Deaf sign languages made of a collection of "intuitive graphical-schematic symbols and simple rules for combining them to represent signs" and SWML as"an XML-based language written in SignWriting used to encode sign language texts" in a manner that does not depend on computer platform and an application (p. 202). Sign language texts, therefore, can be both obtained as output from and "entered as input" to any type of computer program that perform "any kind of language and document processing", including translation, animation, search, spell-checking, dictionary automation, analysis and generation, and storage and retrieval (Costa & Dimuro,2002,p.202). Through this process, the entire field of computational linguistics and natural language processing based on text is opened to the sign languages for the Deaf community. With a great emphasis on the visual representation of position and movement, SignWriting is a symbolic writing system that naturally forms iconicity (Cripps, 2008). 27 thinking, thus would do many of the cognitive tasks poorly. This claim reaffirms the argument that when Deaf individuals use a pictographic writing system, they are at an advantage. Currently, this pictographic written system is no longer used in oral languages. Cripps (2008) argued that "the support for a pictographic system for ASL would erode when one considers the evolution of writing systems for the hearing populations over time" and any necessary writing system for deaf children and adults should only be a pictographic type (p. 76). Currently, writing systems formed for ASL sometimes oppose each other but remain a favored writing system. This has been true up until now, when the application of any writing system is not well received by both the deaf community and the mainstream education system. Reading and writing are two of the crucial skills that Deaf students need to develop. According to Enns (2006), "what disables deaf people is not that they cannot hear, but that they cannot read and write" (p. 7). Often, the intricacies encountered by Deaf individuals during their pedagogic course and linguistic therapy, and their frustration in their writing skills development affect their approach to written language (Fabbretti & Tomasuolo, 2006). Available instructional approaches facilitate the successful preparation of pre- service Deaf education teachers in online settings. Exclusively suitable for training, online learning enables programs to use teaching approaches for the development of master Deaf education teachers. It also enables them to integrate up-to-date technology, consistently provide all students with equal access, guide students to learn independently, support 30 effective communication skills among them, and build a collaborative learning network (Smith & Allman, 2010). The approach most often followed by writing instruction is either product or process. The attention of the teacher and the learner is focused by the product approach on the representation of the skills by the learner’s complete compositions and the instructed rules the learner was enabled to apply (Tompkins, 2000). It is also focused by the process approach on the learner’s view from concept inception to complete composition (Schirmer & Ingram, 2003). Deaf college students who were interviewed "overwhelmingly indicated that they did make a plan, outline, or web before starting to compose" (Brokop & Persall, 2009, p. 7). According to the study of Kluwin and Blumenthal (1992) with 325 Deaf children in grades four to 10, the product approach to writing instruction is less effective than the process approach, which means “instructing students to work through the same stages of composing that skilled writers employ" (Brokop & Persall, 2009, p. 5). In a study by Wolbers (2008), Deaf students significantly benefited from balanced and interactive writing instruction, specifically in terms of contextual language, word identifications, revision, and primary traits. Even before the advent of the twenty-first century, the use of technological advancements has been an asset to the improvement of education for students with disabilities. More and more educators provide interactive 31 learning experiences through online chat, which is an advantageous environment that highly motivates students (Holmevik & Haynes, 2000; Kearsley, 2000). Training Teachers for Hearing Impaired Students Factors related to deaf education teachers might explain a significant inconsistency in theachievement of deaf students across all learning levels (Marschark, Lang, & Albertini, 2002). Millett and Mayer (2010) also argue that capitalizing on the potential of modular or online learning is becoming more and more critical to the abilities of the universities to maintain the "small, specialized, professional education programs" that they offer (p. 218). When it comes to these aspects, it is important to have well-trained and effective teachers because the number of ESL students, as well as the number of students with different types of disabilities, are increasing (Plantyet al., 2009). It is expected that the need for teachers of deaf students will grow considering the execution of "universal newborn hearing screening programs, intensive early intervention, improvements in amplification technologies, and greater possibilities for mainstreaming" (Millett & Mayer, 2010, p. 219). On the other hand, it continues to be a small area not only in line with general programs for teacher preparation, but also with other specific 32 working in oral settings as the ones whose adopted practice model and essential beliefs are strongly related. On the other hand, Brown and Paatsch (2010) did not explain related factors that might come into play in the beliefs of teachers, such as the teaching setting requirements and student learning qualities. Better understanding of the factors that influence the sense of efficacy of deaf education teachers strengthens training programs and the general development of these teachers. Findings on the efficacy beliefs of deaf education teachers take into consideration an analysis of prospective factors that influence the efficiency and incorporation of teachers with the more extensive existing research base on the self-efficacy of teachers. Synthesis This chapter reviewed literature from the context of the entire Distance education environment, including all fields of study that offer modular deliver mode of learning in this New Normal. Specifically, this chapter reviewed literature related to: Modular Distance Learning, and studies of effective modular teaching and learning methods, 35 benefits and motivational factors for students’ and teachers’ perceptions of modular courses, barriers, challenges, and criticism of distance education, standards of evaluating academic, and experiences of hearing impaired students undertaking modular distance learning. Exploring these areas can aid in the development of structures and modes of operation in distance education during this amidst of pandemic. While every theme discussed above is important, none really address the main idea behind this proposed research, which is the lived experiences of hearing impaired students undertaking distance education. Surprisingly, in spite of the growing research in education and modes of hand-outs, there are but a few literature reviews related to studying at home for hearing imapired students. Preceding studies conducted in this field have constructively discussed qualitatively the experiences of students learning in their respective homes, but mentions nothing concerning hearing impaired student’s experiences. Research on the perceptions of deaf modular learners has not been addressed in the literature. Although a great deal of research has been conducted on deaf students in the Kindergarten through 12th-grade environment, the lived experiences and academic impacts on hearing impaired students remain deficient. 36 CHAPTER 3 Research Methodology This section presented the methodology to be utilized in the study. It included the research design, the participants of the study, the research instrument, the validity and reliability procedure, and the data gathering procedure. Each part is discussed below. Research Design 37 The identified articles were screened for relevance by examining titles and abstracts. Differences between the authors in their judgment of relevance were resolved through discussion. The reference lists of the relevant articles were also checked to identify potential additional relevant articles. The articles were categorized as “relevant” when they were clearly eligible, “maybe” when it was not possible to assess the relevance of the paper based on the title and abstract, and “not relevant” when further assessment was not necessary. An independent assessment of the relevance of all the articles categorized as “relevant” or “maybe” was carried out on the full texts by three authors (B.O., A.Z., and S.K.). For each relevant study, the outcome measures applied to assess listening effort were extracted and categorized into subjective, objective, or physiological indicators of listening effort. We identified and extracted the findings addressing Q1 or Q2 from all relevant studies. The results of each study were evaluated with respect to the two hypotheses (HP1 or HP2) based on Q1 and Q2. When HP1 was supported (i.e., hearing impairment was associated with increased listening effort during speech understanding relative to normal hearing), statistical results were reported in the category “more effort” (+). Results that did not show significant effects of hearing impairment on listening effort were categorized as “equal effort” (=). If hearing impairment was associated with a reduction in listening effort, the results were reported as “less effort” (—). HP2 stated decreased listening effort due to hearing aid amplification. Results supporting, refuting, and equivocal with respect to HP2 were respectively reported as “less effort” (+), “more effort” (—), and “equal effort” 40 (=). Any given study could provide more than one finding relating to Q1 or Q2. General information related to PICOS was additionally extracted, such as on population (number and mean age of participants), intervention (type of hearing loss and configurations and processing), outcomes (methods to measure listening effort and test stimulus), and control and study design (test parameters). An outright meta-analysis across studies with comparable outcomes was not feasible, because the studies were too heterogeneous with respect to characteristics of the participants, controls, outcome measures used, and study designs. However, we made across studies comparisons based on the categorized signs (+, =, —) of evidence from each study, to get some insight into the consistency of the reported outcomes. Study findings and study quality were incorporated within a descriptive synthesis and by numerical comparisons across studies, to aid interpretation of findings and to summarize the findings. Participants of the Study The participants of the study will be the five (5) students with Hearing Impairment disability who are most involve in having difficulties in this pandemic while continuing education through Modular Distance Learning in Sagay National High School. There are two (2) male and three (3) female participants. For each student with hearing impaired, a comparison student was sought who was of the same age and gender, who had a similar level of academic qualifications before joining the School, and who was taking at least one of the same courses. The selection process included each potential Deaf student Al responding to a request for participation letter indicating whether they meet the criteria and wished to participate in this voluntary research investigation: ¢ Hearing Impaired Students — who belong to the Senior High School level category and taking at least one of the same strand. e Students participating in the study must have been deaf from birth and were required to use American Sign Language or Philippine Sign Language as their primary communication method in everyday interaction. ¢ They must be accommodated appropriately with a teacher guide as they take relevant information to attain. e Lastly, each student was required to have completed at least one traditional classroom-based lecture course as well one modular or online course. Purposeful sampling is a technique widely used in qualitative research for the identification and selection of information-rich cases for the most effective use of limited resources (Patton, 2002). This involves identifying and selecting individuals or groups of individuals that are especially knowledgeable about or experienced with a phenomenon of interest (Cresswell & Plano Clark, 2011). In addition to knowledge and experience, Bernard (2002) and Spradley (1979) note the importance of availability and willingness to participate, and the ability to communicate experiences and opinions in an articulate, expressive, and reflective manner. 42 depicted graphically. During the interview sessions, the researcher performed a content validity test by checking whether the data presented by the participants are in line with the research topic requirements. Welman et al. (2005) suggested that content validity increases the logic of the answers as they build toward the research objectives. From the validity checks done during the interview process, it appeared that the data was highly reliable for measuring the experiences that Deaf students gained while undertaking their education by distance learning. The reliability of NVivo as an appropriate tool for qualitative analysis can be tested by inserting test data and comparing them to the presentations made concerning the attributes to the corresponding cases (Richards, 1999). With such tests, it becomes clear that the system is accurate in the presentation with trustworthiness, and if manipulated, can weed out values that should not be presented in charts and graphs. Data Gathering Procedure Mutch (2005) contended semi-structured interviews allow the researcher to refine the questions and clarify any areas about which the participant 45 may be uncertain. Mutch defined a semi-structured interview as one where “a set of guiding questions are used but where the interview is open to changes along the way” (p. 225). The researcher was also given an opportunity to present non-verbal cues to participants through a smile or gesture, making participants feel more comfortable; any signs of discomfort can also be noticed in advance. This control number was used to maintain the confidentiality of the participants as well as to ensure that responses correspond to the particular participants in the study. Personal information was not included. Questionnaires were designed for the Participants. These observations reflect a rich and detailed description of the setting most commonly used by the Deaf participants while attending modular courses as well as personal opinions and reflections of lived experience. For this type of research, such interviews were most informative, and the researcher was able to measure what information was necessary and what to discard. The semi-structured interview protocol was used with all participants to maintain an orderly method of query that would aid in identifying trends and themes. Interview questions were designed to fit the participants’ capabilities, as well as their knowledge of the topic. The ultimate goal of the interviews and surveys was to gain as 46 much relevant information from the participants as possible (Lichtman, 2010). It should also be noted that the interviews were face-to-face interactions between the researcher and the participants. Data Analysis Data analysis comprised organizing, analyzing, and synthesizing the data gathered from the interview responses, transforming the data into clusters and themes-based invariant constituents that emerged from the data collection phase. The participants were interviewed and the researcher gathered textual data and analyzed these using the seven- stage process of data analysis, which results in elaboration of ‘shared practices and common meanings’ (Van Manen, 1997). The first phase deals with reading and understanding the interviews and their data for a wholesome comprehension. In the second phase, the interviews are summarized by interpreting them or coding them as per one’s understanding. Thirdly, the transcribed interviews are analysed by the researcher. Fourth stage makes the researcher to look for disagreements and find solutions by interpreting and revising the interviews. In the fifth phase, the researcher looks for ‘shared practices and common meanings’ by comparing and contrasting the interview data. There are themes involved in the interview data, which are 47 Introductory Protocol To facilitate our note-taking, we would like to audio tape our conversations today. Please sign the release form. For your information, only researchers on the project will be privy to the tapes which will be eventually destroyed after they are transcribed. In addition, you must sign a form devised to meet our human subject requirements. Essentially, this document states that: (1) all information will be held confidential, (2) your participation is voluntary and you may stop at any time if you feel uncomfortable, and (3) we do not intend to inflict any harm. Thank you for your agreeing to participate. We have planned this interview to last no longer than one hour. During this time, we have several questions that we would like to cover. If time begins to run short, it may be necessary to interrupt you in order to push ahead and complete this line of questioning. Introduction You have been selected to speak with us today because you have been identified as someone who has a great deal to share about teaching, learning, and assessment on this campus. Our research project as a whole focuses on the improvement of teaching and learning activity, with particular interest in understanding how faculty in academic programs are engaged in this activity, how they assess student learning, and whether we can begin to share what we know about making a difference in undergraduate education. Our study does not aim to evaluate your techniques or experiences. Rather, we are trying to 50 learn more about teaching and learning, and hopefully learn about faculty practices that help improve student learning on campus. A. Interviewee Background 1. Where do you physically reside when participating in class activities or assignments? (ex — at home, in the library, on campus, etc.). Answer: 2. What kind of atmosphere do you prefer while studying? (ex — quiet with limited visual distractions, in a busy and crowded mall, in the privacy of your bedroom, etc.). Answer: 3. What role does the teacher deliver the mode of Modular for you as a hearing Impaired Student? (ex — as the facilitator, as an active participate, just someone that grades assignments). Answer: 4. What negative experiences do you face in Modular Distance Learning along with the COVID-19 pandemic? 51 Answer: 5. What perception of an Distance learning environment does a hearing impaired student perceive as positive? Answer: 6. What do you perceive they are missing academically in class? Answer: 7. How do feelings of social isolation in an modular environment impact your academic involvement? Answer: 8. Based upon experience, what would you recommend/suggestion in the school system to improve modular distance learning prior for a SPED student like you? Answer: 52