Shared Signing Science Pictionary Planning Project (SSSPP): Evaluation Report

The overall objective of this planning project was to examine the potential effectiveness of the Signing Science Pictionary (SSP) in increasing the ability of parents and their deaf and hard of hearing children to engage in informal science learning. To achieve this objective, research and development included four goals. 1) Design several SSP-based activities to help family members engage in informal science learning. 2) Examine the potential effectiveness of the SSP in increasing family member’s signed science vocabulary. 3) Find out about the potential effectiveness of the SSP in contributing to children’s informal standards-based science content knowledge. 4) Gain insight into what is and is not effective for use in shaping subsequent shared signing science projects. The project represented an ongoing collaboration between TERC and Vcom3D, who developed and commercialized the interactive 3D SigningAvatar® assistive technology that was used for the project. TERC was responsible for the design of the research instruments, development of the SSP-based activities, and coordination and implementation of trips to a zoo, farm, and nature center located in central Massachusetts and to an aquarium in central Florida. They were also responsible for preparation and analysis of data and reporting. Results of the project show the SSP is indeed effective in increasing the ability of parents and their deaf, hard of hearing, and hearing children to engage in informal science learning. As a result of their participation, parents and children increased their signing vocabulary; children demonstrated increased science content knowledge. Both parents and children thought that using the SSP enhanced their learning and overall visit experience. They described use of the SSP before, during, and after a visit as beneficial, educational, and fun.