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Kristi Blacker

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Kristi Blacker

Kristi Blacker

Kristi Blacker is an Augustana College alum (2006) with degrees in Deaf Education and Elementary Education. She has worked in the field of Deaf Education as a teacher of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing for 11 years (plus another year as a resource teacher in a public school). She taught at the Idaho School for the Deaf and the Blind (ISDB) in Gooding, Idaho from 2007 to 2014 teaching middle school and high school English/language arts. Then she received her Master's degrees as a Reading Specialist and in Deaf Education from McDaniel College in Maryland. Upon returning to Idaho, she began working for the Idaho Educational Services for the Deaf and the Blind (IESDB) as a preschool and kindergarten teacher in a self-contained classroom within a public school from 2016 to 2020. During that time, she was introduced to the Fingerspelling Our Way to Reading program as her kindergarten students were part of the program's research study. She continued to use the program while at the school and became a trainer for the Fingerspelling program in 2019. She has continued to provide virtual and in-person trainings to educators to further enhance the field of Deaf education. She also works as an adjunct professor for Idaho State University (ISU) teaching a language acquisition in ASL course and currently stays at home with her three young children

Presentation(s)

Fingerspelling Our Way to Reading

Research shows a strong relationship between fingerspelling and print word recognition. There is evidence that fingerspelling may provide an alternative pathway to decoding the printed word by building phonological awareness and providing a direct relationship between fingerspelled words and printed English words. The Center on Literacy and Deafness (CLAD) has developed an innovative fingerspelling program for young deaf and hard of hearing students. The program enhances phonological awareness of fingerspelled words, which increases expressive and receptive fingerspelling skills and improves identification of printed words. Results of the research and Fingerspelling our Way to Reading program as well as an overview of daily activities will be shared.

Objectives:

At the conclusion of the session, participants will be able to:

  1. Describe how fingerspelling phonological awareness provides a pathway to decoding the printed word,
  2. Recognize the effects of a systematic program designed to promote fingerspelling phonological awareness and improve reading skills.