Effects of Schema-Enriched Communication in Teams With Diverse Hearing Status

Area of Science:

• * Educational Psychology
• * Human-Computer Interaction
• * Communication Studies

Background:

• * Investigates knowledge sharing and problem-solving in diverse student teams.
• * Focuses on teams with deaf or hard of hearing (DHH) and typical hearing (TH) postsecondary students.
• * Explores the impact of communication strategies on team performance.

Purpose of the Study:

• * To evaluate the effectiveness of schema-enriched communication and computer-based messaging.
• * To assess their influence on knowledge sharing and problem-solving in mixed-hearing teams.
• * To compare outcomes across different team compositions (all DHH, all TH, mixed).

Main Methods:

• * Four-member teams of postsecondary students (DHH and TH) solved a complex problem.
• * Investigated three team compositions: all DHH, all TH, and two DHH/two TH.
• * Measured shared written information, matrix creation, information recognition, and solution quality.

Main Results:

• * Schema-enriched communication significantly enhanced teams' sharing of written information.
• * It also improved the creation of information matrices and recognition of shared data.
• * The quality of the team's problem solution was positively impacted by enriched communication.

Conclusions:

• * Schema-enriched communication is a beneficial strategy for improving team collaboration and performance.
• * This approach effectively supports knowledge sharing and problem-solving in diverse student groups.
• * Findings highlight the importance of tailored communication methods for inclusive educational settings.