
31. Dr. Leala Holcomb -- Equitable Literacy Instruction for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Students
01/29/24 • 49 min
My guest today is Dr. Leala Holcomb, a researcher of deaf education at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, who accepted my invitation to teach us all about what true equity and inclusion looks like when supporting deaf children’s language and literacy development. At Dr. Holcomb’s request, I interviewed them in writing via a collaborative online document, and I have hired a voice actor, Ginna Hoben, to read Dr. Holcomb’s words for this podcast interview. As with all episodes, a transcript of this episode is available at my website, JenniferSerravallo.com/podcast.***
To read a transcript and see the instructional videos referenced in the episode: www.jenniferserravallo.com/podcast (and click on the thumbnail of this episode).
For more about Dr. Holcomb: https://www.lealaholcomb.com/
To read more about being deaf in a mainstream school, Dr. Holcomb recommends Rachel Zemach's book The Butterfly Cage and her website.
***
Leala is a researcher of deaf education at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Lealawas a former educator of deaf children in an early childhood program, which inspired the creation of Hands Land. Hands Land is a non-profit organization that promotes language play through signed rhyme and rhythm. Leala has collaborated on initiatives in Viet Nam, Hong Kong, Morocco, and Rwanda as the deaf education expert. Leala providesprofessional development to teachers nationally and internationally on a wide range of topics pertaining to deaf education. Leala is currently a Co-Editor of the special issue, “Translanguaging in Deaf Communities” in the Languages journal and an Associate Editor for the Journal of Deaf Studies and Deaf Education journal. Leala won several awards for their work as an early career researcher and got invited to be a keynote presenter at several conferences. Leala is specifically interested in exploring deaf-centered ways of teaching and learning.
Thank you to Alex Rose for audio editing this episode.
My guest today is Dr. Leala Holcomb, a researcher of deaf education at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, who accepted my invitation to teach us all about what true equity and inclusion looks like when supporting deaf children’s language and literacy development. At Dr. Holcomb’s request, I interviewed them in writing via a collaborative online document, and I have hired a voice actor, Ginna Hoben, to read Dr. Holcomb’s words for this podcast interview. As with all episodes, a transcript of this episode is available at my website, JenniferSerravallo.com/podcast.***
To read a transcript and see the instructional videos referenced in the episode: www.jenniferserravallo.com/podcast (and click on the thumbnail of this episode).
For more about Dr. Holcomb: https://www.lealaholcomb.com/
To read more about being deaf in a mainstream school, Dr. Holcomb recommends Rachel Zemach's book The Butterfly Cage and her website.
***
Leala is a researcher of deaf education at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Lealawas a former educator of deaf children in an early childhood program, which inspired the creation of Hands Land. Hands Land is a non-profit organization that promotes language play through signed rhyme and rhythm. Leala has collaborated on initiatives in Viet Nam, Hong Kong, Morocco, and Rwanda as the deaf education expert. Leala providesprofessional development to teachers nationally and internationally on a wide range of topics pertaining to deaf education. Leala is currently a Co-Editor of the special issue, “Translanguaging in Deaf Communities” in the Languages journal and an Associate Editor for the Journal of Deaf Studies and Deaf Education journal. Leala won several awards for their work as an early career researcher and got invited to be a keynote presenter at several conferences. Leala is specifically interested in exploring deaf-centered ways of teaching and learning.
Thank you to Alex Rose for audio editing this episode.
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A quick end-of-year announcement from Jen Serravallo
An end-of-year announcement from Jen Serravallo, host of To the Classroom Podcast.
Listen to any episodes you missed, or read a full transcript at jenniferserravallo.com/podcast
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More episodes in Jan 2024.
Next Episode

32. Zaretta Hammond -- The Science of Learning: Culturally Responsive Teaching and the Brain
Today’s guest is the brilliant Zaretta Hammond, author of Culturally Responsive Teaching and the Brain. We’ll talk about the science behind her recommended “six core design principles” that she calls “culturally responsive brain rules”. Later, I’m joined by my colleague Jerry Maraia for a continued conversation about practical takeaways.
***
To learn more about Jennifer Serravallo: www.jenniferserravallo.com
To read a transcript of this episode: www.jenniferserravallo.com/podcast
Learn more about Culturally Responsive Teaching and the Brain, Zaretta Hammond's book
***
Zaretta Hammond is a former classroom English teacher who has been doing instructional design, school coaching, and professional development around the issues of equity, literacy, and culturally responsive teaching for the past 18 years. She teaches as a lecturer at St. Mary’s College’s Kalmanovitz School of in Moraga, California.
In addition to consulting and professional development, she has been on staff at national education reform organizations, including the National Equity Project and the former Bay Area School Reform Collaborative (BASRC). She has trained instructional coaches in reading development, especially targeted at students of color and English learners. She has also designed national seminars such as the three-day Teaching with A Cultural Eye series for teachers and school leaders. She is regularly invited to present at regional and national conferences. She has authored articles that have appeared in publications such as Phi Delta Kappan.
Along with a focus on culturally responsive teaching, Ms. Hammond has a strong research agenda around literacy, vocabulary development, and equity. She has designed culturally responsive tutor training programs aimed at volunteer reading tutors for a variety of non-profit organizations. She currently designing a literacy program to accelerate low reading skills among high school students. She holds a Masters in Secondary English Education.
She also writes the popular ready4rigor.com blog. Zaretta is the proud parent of two young adult children, both of whom she taught to read before they went to school. She resides in Berkeley, CA with her husband and family.
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