IN PUBLICA COMMODA, CREATING BARRIER-FREE EDUCATIONAL STATISTICS VIDEOS FOR HIGHER EDUCATION: INSIGHTS AND EVIDENCE FROM DEAF PEOPLE USING GERMAN SIGN LANGUAGE (DGS)

Abstract

To address diversity-sensitive higher education, we provide the first results exhibiting the importance of the use of German Sign Language (Deutsche Gebärdensprache, DGS) in lecture videos of elementary statistics courses. We examined whether deaf individuals preferred lecture videos in DGS over those with captions. Results from quantitative and qualitative analyses on the basis of survey data and interview material in DGS indicate a clear preference for teaching materials in DGS. While the limited sample size (n = 10) did not allow for detailed modeling of the underlying reasoning, this study puts forward some indicative results and directions for future research, like assessing objective learning outcomes by employing pre- and post-tests and employing eye-tracking for more in-depth analysis of learning behaviors.