University of Melbourne’s Masters in Learning Intervention

According to Klieve, people come to the course for a variety of reasons. “Some might have some personal experience with deafness within their own family or in their school environment; they may have worked with a child who is deaf or hard-of-hearing and want to know more about how to help those children with a hearing loss. Other teachers come because they do have an interest in speech and language and they really want to improve their understanding in that space.”

The aim of the degree is to provide future graduates with an in-depth understanding of how they can help students with hearing loss better communicate and connect with the world around them. The course also focuses on the relationship between literacy and communication. In addition to developing knowledge on literacy, the course also prepares teachers to better comprehend the technical equipment and information needed to fully understand the needs of students.

It is essential for teachers to be prepared to face all the variables and challenges that arise in any classroom, particularly classrooms including children with difficulties in hearing. “There’s a lot of variety in the children that you may see in mainstream schools or in schools for the deaf, including different kinds of hearing loss,” Klieve explains, highlighting one of the important strong points of the training program.

Source: Education HQ Australia; Australian Teacher Magazine