A Walk through Peter’s Picture
“Come Along and Jump Right In. Here
is Where the Fun Begins!”
Debbie Golos, Ph.D.
Utah State University
Annie M. Moses, Ph.D.
John Carroll University
Today’s Purpose
•Get to know the Peter’s Picture
educational video series:
•The curriculum
•A tiny bit about the research
•Suggestions for viewers
•Directions for future research
Why was Peter’s Picture
Developed?
• Deaf children need fluent visual language models from
birth-This is critical! (e.g. ASL; Mayberry, 2010)
• Visual language skills (e.g., ASL) have been positively
linked with language and literacy skills (e.g.
Chamberlain & Mayberry, 2008; Hoffmeister, 2000)
• Many deaf children do not have fluent role models for
ASL and Deaf culture.
• While “face to face” is best. Educational media can
provide support by additional opportunities to learn
through visual language and visual strategies
Research on Peter’s Picture
• Recent studies have shown positive effects of the Peter’s
Picture video series which incorporates research-based
strategies to teach early ASL, vocabulary and English print.
• As a result of watching the video(s), D/HH preschoolers:
• Displayed a number of literacy-related behaviors while viewing,
which increased with multiple viewings (Golos, 2010a)
• A significant increase in target vocabulary in ASL and print English
after viewing the same video three times (Golos, 2010b)
• Greater increase in literacy behaviors with teacher mediation (Golos
& Moses, 2011)
• Significant increase pre-post test for sequencing, knowledge of story
elements, vocabulary (Golos & Moses, 2013b)
• Increase in skills with follow up teacher activities (Golos & Moses, in
press)
Summary
• D/HH preschoolers’ knowledge of target words
increased in a range of modes – by connecting
fingerspelling and signing, to pictures and print
• D/HH preschoolers ability to identify characters,
setting, story events, and sequence them
increased
• Increase in targeted knowledge and skills in a
multimedia format without sound and regardless
of their baseline ASL skills or hearing loss
What is Peter’s Picture?
• Four themed-based, interactive, educational
adventure video series
• Each video has the same structure, but differ in the
focal theme and vocabulary words
• Each video is approximately 40 minutes in ASL (all no
sound/one with sound)
• Each video targets key early ASL and literacy skills,
including vocabulary, letter recognition, concepts of
print, comprehension, and grammatical features of
ASL
• Targeted to 3-6 year old children
What Happens at
Peter’s Place?
• Peter teaches children target vocabulary (what
they will do/see on their adventure)
• Peter takes children on adventure to meet his
friend (Letter of the Day= L; “Lucy the
Librarian”)
• At the location, Peter takes pictures of events
• They come home, sequence the pictures, make
a book, play a word game and finally Peter
read’s aloud their books
Designed for Visual Learners
• Deaf friendly and literacy rich
environment
• Models fluent ASL
• Models Deaf cultural rules
• Deaf children interacting with other Deaf
children and adults
• Visual effects (flashing lights, sparkles
etc.)
Based on Theory
• Emergent literacy: language and literacy develop
from a child’s earliest years (e.g., Sulzby & Teale, 1991;
Whitehurst & Lonigan, 2001)
• For D/HH children, greater quantity and higher quality
early experiences are imperative
• Multiliteracies: include varying and multiple
literacy-related and linguistic competencies (New
London Group, 1996)
• Builds upon linguistic (e.g., ASL) and cultural (Deaf)
backgrounds
• Present information using effective visual language and
strategies
Incorporates Research Based
Practices (Golos & Moses, 2013a)
• Interactive: asks questions of the audience/pause/
wait for a response/confirm
• Models a literacy rich environment
• Makes connections between ASL and English print
(e.g. sandwiching/chaining)
• Provides concrete visual information
(pictures/print/real images)
• Makes connections between the story and children’s
lives
• Discusses/models problem solving skills
Targeted Skills Within Each Episode
(Golos & Moses, 2013a)
Episode
Letter of the Day
Vocabulary
ASL/Cultural
Knowledge
Farm, pumpkin,
How to get
corn, flower, tractor attention (tap
shoulder)
Our Trip to the
Farm
F
Our Trip to Paulie’s
Pizza
P
Pizza, cheese,
napkin, pepperoni,
table
How to get attention
(flash lights/tap
table)/Introductions
Our Trip to the
Library
L
Library, librarian,
library card, quiet,
borrow
Introductions/ASL
handshapes, quiet in
library
Our Trip to Country
Bob’s Backyard
B
Backyard, egg, goat, Introductions/How
chicken, rabbit
videophones work,
classifiers-chicken
walk
Skill Across Videos
(Golos & Moses 2013a)
Skill or Knowledge Area
Concepts of Print
Sequencing
Vocabulary (related to
print)
Story Elements
Deaf Culture
How Skill or Knowledge Area
is Addressed
Asking about and explaining that books
have titles, where to start reading, and
direction of print
Explicitly sequencing the 5 main events
that take place during each adventure
Asking about, discussing or explaining the
meaning of title, sentence, page, word,
story, book
Discussing characters (who they are),
setting, and solving problems within the
plot
Demonstrating/discussing turn taking and
ways of getting attention; Modeling Deaf
characters interacting with each other in
ASL and in a Deaf culturally friendly
environment. Modeling Deaf characters
communicating through videophones
Episode Structure
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Introduce Characters
Wake Up Dance
Intro to Letter of the Day-Vocabulary
Jump to….Adventure (always bring something
home)
• Pizza: What do? Set the table, Eat pepperoni
pizza, make individual pizzas to bring home
Peter’s Place-Sequence Pictures
Make Book
Play Word Game
Story Time
Say Goodbye
Peter’s Picture: Our Trip to Paulie’s Pizza
Actors: Peter Cook
Rika Roo: Erin Ferguson
Paulie: Curt Radford
Children: Savannah, Robbie, Alex and Bella
Written, directed and produced by Debbie Golos PhD
Co-Script writer: Nicole Sager; Co Curriculum Developer: Annie Moses PhD
ASL Director: Judy Catron
Filmed/Edited by Stage 12
Funding Provided by Sorenson Communications Inc
Peter’s Picture: Our Trip to Country Bob’s Backyard
Actors: Peter Cook
Rika Roo: Erin Ferguson
Country Bob: Ben Jarashow
Children: Savannah, Robbie, Alex and Bella
Written, directed and produced by Debbie Golos PhD
Co Curriculum Developer: Annie Moses PhD
ASL Director: Judy Catron
Filmed/Edited by Stage 12
Funding Provided by Sorenson Communications Inc.
Peter’s Picture: Our Trip to the Library
Actors: Peter Cook
Lucy: Ellen O’Hara
Rika Roo: Erin Ferguson
Children: Savannah, Robbie, Alex and Bella
Written, directed and produced by Debbie Golos PhD
Co Curriculum Developer: Annie Moses PhD
ASL Director: Judy Catron
Filmed/Edited by Stage 12
Funding Provided by Sorenson Communications Inc
Research Based Practices For
Viewing Peter’s Picture Series
• View each episode multiple times with children
• Focus on difference skills in different episodes
• Have children watch the video without teacher
interaction
• Watch the video again and encourage active
engagement
• In subsequent viewings, pause, question and
discuss
• Encourage children to interact with print on screen
• Encourage children to sign along with the main
character (Peter: “Let’s Sign this Together!”)
• Provide follow up activities
Limitations &
Directions for Future Work
• Prior studies utilized a pretest/posttest design without
a control group
• Measures did not include a validated early literacy
instrument and/or measure of general early literacy
skills
• Procedures included a limited amount of exposure to
the educational videos
• Additional skills that were targeted in the video were
not measured (e.g., letter recognition, concepts of
print, Deaf culture knowledge, grammatical
constructions in ASL)
Conclusions
• Deaf children’s can learn language and literacy from
educational videos in ASL
• True for children regardless of hearing loss or ASL skills
• Supports that all deaf children can benefit from visual
language and visual learning strategies
• Future research should include developing and measuring
effectiveness of supplemental materials teachers can use
with videos and examining how their integrate strategies
into daily classroom routines
• Test learning for both deaf and hearing children comparing
with and without sound
The Research
• Golos, D & Moses A. (in press).
• Golos, D. & Moses, A. (Fall, 2013a). Developing preschool deaf
children’s language and literacy learning from an educational
media series. American Annals of the Deaf, 158 (4): 411-425.
DOI:10.1353/aad.2013.0039
• Golos, D. & Moses, A. (2013b). The benefits of using educational
videos in American Sign Language in early childhood settings.
Learning Landscapes. 6 (2) 125.
• Golos, D., & Moses, A. (2011). How teacher mediation during
video viewing facilitates literacy behaviors. Sign Language Studies,
12 (1) 98-118.
• Golos, D. (2010a). Engagement behaviors of deaf preschoolers
while viewing an educational video in ASL. American Annals of the
Deaf, 155 (5) 360-369.
• Golos, D. (2010b). Literacy behaviors of deaf preschoolers during
video viewing. Sign Language Studies, 11(1) 76-99.
Where Can I Get Peter’s
Picture?
• http://peterspicture.com/
• For more information contact:
Debbie.golos@usu.edu