Helping Hands: The effect of 3D-printing on ASL literature instruction

Abstract

This poster presents a convergent mixed methods case study that examines how the use of an American Sign Language (ASL) handshape manipulative affects the ASL poetry created by ASL students at Oklahoma State University. Participants engaged in two instructional settings. Each setting used the traditional methods of teaching ASL poetry; however, the settings differed when participants developed their original ASL poem. The "with handshapes" setting allowed students to use 3D-printed handshape manipulatives as a visual aid, and the "without handshapes" setting did not. Descriptive statistics revealed that participants had overall higher rubric scores in the "with handshapes" setting. Implications for future research are discussed.