STEM in American Sign Language: Producing Concept-Motivated Signs Supports Learning

Deaf and hard of hearing (DHH) students often lag behind their hearing peers in STEM classes. This delay maybe caused by a variety of factors, including delayed access to language, and a lack of STEM learning resources available in American Sign Language (ASL). Current efforts to create STEM resources in ASL either emphasize connections to English using strategies like fingerspelling, or emphasize connections to concepts through signs that use visuospatial elements to depict the idea. Past research suggests that hearing students show improved learning when using gestures that clearly depict and embody STEM concepts. Our research investigated whether signed lessons that emphasized connections to English, or visuospatial concepts, would lead to increased learning and more embodied understanding of STEM topics. In Study 1, we developed and validated pairs of video lessons for four topics, using iterative feedback to create equally clear videos in two distinct signing styles: English-motivated (EM) and Concept-motivated (CM). In Study 2, we used these video lessons to compare within-participant learning from the two signing styles. Our results showed participants’ scores increased from pre- to post-test, indicating learning, but there were no differences based on signing style. However, when we examined participants’ signed summaries, we found that production of more CM signs was related to higher post-test scores, whereas the production of more EM signs was not. This result suggests the benefits from embodied learning occur when the signs are closely linked to the concept and that those benefits are maximized when learners produce the signs themselves.