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Distance learning: deaf education collaboration model.

Article Excerpt
Abstract

There is a critical shortage of teachers in California. During the 1999-00 school year, the US Department of Education reported approximately 2500 teachers of deaf and hard of hearing were needed. In 1999, the majority of teachers serving deaf and hard of hearing students in the rural northern California areas were not credentialed in the area of Deaf Education. Some of the reasons included the following: the long distance to a university that offered the credential, limitations of employers regarding release time to travel to school and high costs of commuting. Teachers are now able to obtain a low incidence teaching credential through distance learning while receiving the support of administration collaboration and consulting across university campuses.

Background: Teacher Shortages in Low Incidence Disabilities

There exists in California a critical shortage of teachers (300,000 are needed in the next decade, according to the California Department of Education). This shortage exists nationally. During the 1999-00 school year, the US Department of Education reported approximately 2500 teachers of deaf and hard of hearing (D/HH) were needed. It has been estimated that by 2005, the U.S. will need additional 267,000 teachers for special education students, or approximately 24,000 for D/HH students. Teaching special education has demonstrated to have the 11th highest growth rate among careers in this country (Passell, 1995). According to the California Commission on Teacher Credentialling (CTC) in 1997, the number of students in special education is increasing while the number of teachers being credentialled to teach these students is either leveling off or decreasing, depending on the area of disability. In 1997, The Commission on Teacher Credentialling adopted a new model of professional preparation for special educators in an effort to reduce the teacher shortage. One of the reasons for the new model of teacher preparation included the decision of the Commission on Teacher Credentialing to no longer require to complete a multiple or single subject credential prior to entry into a specialized credential programs such as deaf education or learning disabilities. There were three years of pre-service professional preparation prior to becoming a special education teacher before this new model went into effect.

The Need for Distance Learning

Distance education used to be fairly simple to define. Keegan (1986) defined distance learning as the semi-permanent separation of teacher and learner, the use of technical media and the provision of two-way communication. Interest in distance education in teacher education has grown enormously in the past 30 years due to the teacher shortage gap across the United States (Shrum, 2002). Distance education for preservice teachers is accessible for those who cannot attend weekly lectures or seminars for reasons of geography, health, employment, or complicated lifestyles. Most of these individuals are already teaching in the classroom and lack the professional preparation needed to retain their employment. One of the challenges for distance learning is few current or future teachers have experienced learning with or from computers (Carlson & Gooden, 1999). While today's teachers are expected to access, utilize and...

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