Rochester Institute of Technology/National Technical Institute for the Deaf

Rochester Institute of Technology/National Technical Institute for the Deaf
Children gathered around a laptop using the WAY digital library platform

Project Name

Project TREE: Transforming Reading in Early Education for Deaf Children

Location Implemented

Fiji Islands, Papau New Guinea, Philippines

Technology Used

Hardware, Software/Apps

Competition Entered

Ready2Read Challenge

Reading Skill Targeted

Foundational

Status

Winner

Amount Award

up to $300,000

Collaborators/Partners

Deaf Consultancy Pacific – Papua New Guinea and Fiji; Deaf PH Team – The Philippines.

The Challenge

Deaf children worldwide do not receive sign language play to build language foundation skills before they arrive in kindergarten. In short, they are not ready to learn when they start school. They also do not have crucial shared reading opportunities at home to develop emergent reading skills and a family bond. Early childhood professionals often face challenges in finding multilingual instructional strategies, curriculum materials, and assessment approaches for young deaf children.

The Big Idea

Project TREE will produce Sign Language Rhythm and Rhyme (SLRR), an innovative way to play with language visually), and Shared Multilingual Reading Strategies (SMRS), a set of best-practice interactive reading, materials for deaf children and their families. Project TREE will provide training to deaf trainers in Fiji, Papua New Guinea and the Philippines for project implementation and evaluation.

Blogs and Media

Research and Resources

Connect with the Innovator

Website

https://www.rit.edu/

Organization Type

University

Headquarters

Rochester, NY USA