Jennifer Beal, PhD
Associate Professor of Deaf Education, Initial Teacher Preparation and Services at Valdosta State University
From Valdosta, GA
From Valdosta, GA
Dr. Jennifer Beal joined the Valdosta State University faculty in July 2013. She holds a Doctor of Philosophy in exceptional children from Georgia State University, as well as a Gifted Education Certification, an Education Specialist in special education, a Master of Education in deaf education, and a Bachelor of Science in special education, all from Valdosta State University. She holds membership in the National Association of the Deaf, Association for College Educators-Deaf and Hard of Hearing, and College Educators of the Deaf. She sits on the editorial board for the American Annals of the Deaf. She previously taught at the Georgia School for the Deaf, Georgia State University, Valdosta City Schools, and Georgia PINES.
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Associate Professor of Deaf Education at Valdosta State University
During this time period, I earned the following awards and recognitions:
* 2019 Center for Faculty Scholarship, Valdosta State University, $2,000
* 2018 Graduate Faculty Scholarship Fund, Valdosta State University, $743
* 2018 Center for Faculty Scholarship, Valdosta State University, $1,800
* 2017 Valdosta State University Excellence in the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Award nominee
* 2017 Graduate Faculty Scholarship Fund, Valdosta State University, $700
* 2017 Center for Faculty Scholarship, Valdosta State University, $1,000
* 2016 Graduate Faculty Scholarship Fund, Valdosta State University, $629
* 2016 Project Innovation Grant, Valdosta State University, $29,400
* 2015 Faculty Research and Scholarship Committee Seed Grant, Valdosta State University, $5,000
* 2015 Center for Faculty Scholarship, Valdosta State University, $2,000
* 2015 Faculty Internationalization Fund, Valdosta State University, $500
* 2015 Graduate Faculty Scholarship Fund, Valdosta State University, $628
* 2014 Center for Faculty Scholarship, Valdosta State University, $2,000
* 2013 Faculty Research and Scholarship Committee Seed Grant, Valdosta State University, $7,500
July 2013 - Present
School Improvement Grant Coordinator at Georgia School for the Deaf
July 2012 - July 2013
Supervisor for classroom implementation of Foundations for Literacy at Georgia State University
July 2010 - July 2011
Supervisor for practicum student teachers at Georgia State University
During this time period, I earned the following awards and recognitions:
* 2010 The Outstanding Graduate Student Award. Deaf and Hard of Hearing Special Interest
Group, American Educational Research Association
July 2010 - July 2011
Research Teacher at Georgia State University
During this time period, I earned the following awards and recognitions:
* 2008-12 Literacy and Language Fellow, Georgia State University
July 2008 - July 2010
Deaf/HH Teacher at Valdosta City Schools
July 2003 - July 2008
Parent Advisor/Early Hearing Orientation Specialist at GA PINES SKI-HI
July 2003 - July 2008
Action research for teachers across instructional settings
Beal, J. S. (2019, June). Presentation at the meeting of the Institute Designed for Educating All Students (IDEAS), St. Simons Island, GA.
June 2019 -
Presentations
Connecting the Dots: Receptive and Expressive ASL Skills of Second Language Learners
Beal J. S. Presentation at the meeting of the Association of College Educators-Deaf and Hard of Hearing Conference, Chicago, IL.
February 2019 -
Presentations
Interdisciplinary Ideas: Infusing Inquiry-based Learning into University Deaf Education Preparation Programs via Case Studies
Beal J. S., Cannon, J. E., Voss, J., & Guardino, C. Poster presentation at the meeting of the Association of College Educators-Deaf and Hard of Hearing Conference, Chicago, IL.
February 2019 -
Presentations
“Show” it (don’t “tell” it) in ASL
Beal, J. S. Presentation to the American Sign Language Living Learning Community, Valdosta State University, Valdosta, GA.
October 2018 -
Presentations
Raising and Educating Deaf Children
Beal, J. S. Action Research in the Classroom with Deaf and Hard of Hearing Students.
August 2018 -
Publications
Action Research for Teachers of the Deaf across Instructional Settings
Beal J. S. Presentation at the Best Practice in Mainstream Education of Deaf and Hard of Hearing Students, Rochester, NY.
July 2018 -
Presentations
Closing the Gap: ASL Phonological Fluency and Hearing L2 Sign Language Learners
Beal J. S. Presentation at the meeting of the Association of College Educators-Deaf and Hard of Hearing Conference, Tucson, AZ.
February 2018 -
Presentations
The Radical Middle: Collaborative Research that Reaches All Students
Cannon, J. E., Maiorana-Basas, M., Guardino, C., Beal, J. S., Voss, J., & Ballard, M. B. Presentation at the meeting of the Association of College Educators-Deaf and Hard of Hearing Conference, Tucson, AZ.
February 2018 -
Presentations
Geographical Collaboration: Semantic and Phonological Sign Generation of Deaf U.S. and Puerto Rican Students
Beal-Alvarez, J. S., & Figueroa, D. M. Presentation at the meeting of the Association of College Educators-Deaf and Hard of Hearing Conference, San Antonio, TX.
February 2017 -
Presentations
The Current Status of Deaf Education in Puerto Rico: How Can Educators Collaborate for Resolutions?
Figueroa, D. M., & Beal-Alvarez, J. S. Presentation at the meeting of the Association of College Educators-Deaf and Hard of Hearing Conference, San Antonio, TX.
February 2017 -
Presentations
Deaf Congress: Changes in paradigms in deaf education
Beal-Alvarez, J. S. Estrategías de lectura (Reading strategies). San Gabriel Colégio por los sordos, San Juan, Puerto Rico (via video-conferencing).
September 2016 -
Presentations
Developing Wh- Questions with a Deaf Student: An Intervention Using Teacher Modeling, Scaffolding, and Picture Support
Beal-Alvarez, J. S., & Cerecero, M. Presentation at the Valdosta State University Graduate Symposium, Valdosta, GA.
April 2016 -
Presentations
Pre-service Teacher and Interpreter ASL Abilities: Longitudinal Changes in Self-Evaluations and Evaluations of Deaf Students
Beal-Alvarez, J. S., & Trussell, J. Presentation at the meeting of the Association of College Educators-Deaf and Hard of Hearing Conference, New York, NY.
February 2016 -
Presentations
VSU Deaf Education Teacher Candidates
Beal-Alvarez, J. S. edTPA: Presentation to Kiwanis of Valdosta, GA.
October 2015 -
Presentations
American Sign Language: Longitudinal receptive and expressive correlations in school-aged children and youth
Beal-Alvarez, J. S. Presentation at the meeting of the International Congress on the Education of the Deaf, Athens, Greece.
July 2015 -
Presentations
Ready for the Classroom? Assessing Pre-service Teachers’ and Interpreters’ Receptive and Expressive American Sign Language Skills
Beal-Alvarez, J. S., & Scheetz, N. A. Presentation at the meeting of the International Congress on the Education of the Deaf, Athens, Greece.
July 2015 -
Presentations
Data-driven instruction: How do we assess students’ sign language skills?
Beal-Alvarez, J. S., Bean, R., & Wolfe, K. Presentation at the meeting of the Institute Designed for Educating All Students (IDEAS), St. Simons Island, GA.
June 2015 -
Presentations
Pre-service interpreter and teacher American Sign Language abilities: Self-evaluations and evaluations of deaf students
Beal-Alvarez, J. S. Presentation at the meeting of the Association of College Educators-Deaf and Hard of Hearing Conference, St. Louis, MO.
February 2015 -
Presentations
American Sign Language: Receptive and expressive correlations
Beal-Alvarez, J. S. Presentation at the meeting of American Educational Research Association, Philadelphia, PA.
May 2014 -
Presentations
Capturing language: A longitudinal snapshot of deaf students’ receptive ASL skills
Beal-Alvarez, J. S. Presentation at the meeting of the Association of College Educators-Deaf and Hard of Hearing Conference, Washington, DC.
February 2014 -
Presentations
Accessible Materials Project: Sign language video creation and instruction
Beal-Alvarez, J. S., & Huston, S. Presentation at the meeting of the Institute Designed for Educating All Students conference, St. Simon’s Island, GA.
June 2013 -
Presentations
Increased learning time: How do we implement it?
Beal-Alvarez, J. S. Presentation at the meeting of the Institute Designed for Educating All Students conference, St. Simon’s Island, GA.
June 2013 -
Presentations
A Multi-component intervention to increase children’s classifier production
Beal-Alvarez, J. S. Presentation at the meeting of the Association of College Educators-Deaf and Hard of Hearing Conference, Santa Fe, NM.
February 2013 -
Presentations
How effective are technology- based interventions for Deaf/Hard of Hearing students?
Beal-Alvarez, J. S., & Cannon, J. E. Presentation at the meeting of the Association of College Educators-Deaf and Hard of Hearing Conference, Santa Fe, NM.
February 2013 -
Presentations
ASL: Language, literacy, linguistics
Beal-Alvarez, J. S. Presentation at Georgia State University, Linguistics Course, Atlanta, GA.
April 2012 -
Presentations
American Sign Language
Beal-Alvarez, J. S. (2012, April; 2011, July; 2010, July; 2009, April).Presentation at Georgia State University, Linguistics Course, Atlanta, GA.
April 2012 -
Presentations
American Sign Language classifier production: An in-house assessment
Beal-Alvarez, J. S. Language & Literacy Day: Research on the Challenges of Acquiring Language & Literacy. Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA.
March 2012 -
Presentations
Measuring motion: Adults’ and children’s ASL classifier production using an animated task
Beal-Alvarez, J. S., & Easterbrooks, S. R. Presentation at the meeting of the Association of College Educators-Deaf and Hard of Hearing Conference, Jacksonville, FL.
February 2012 -
Presentations
The new face of teacher preparation in education of Deaf and hard of hearing students: Collaborating to promote and adjust to changes in locus of control
Hughes, E., Klein, D. H., Reynolds, K. E., Maiorana-Basas, M., & Beal-Alvarez, J. S. Presentation at the meeting of the Association of College Educators-Deaf and Hard of Hearing Conference, Jacksonville, FL.
February 2012 -
Presentations
Bridging decoding and comprehension through fluency
Beal-Alvarez, J. S., & Easterbrooks, S. R. Invited Speaker. Presentation at the Opening Doors- Unlocking Potential 2011: Literacy-Language-Learning and Students who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing conference, Charlottesville, VA.
June 2011 -
Presentations
A preliminary study of variation in American Sign Language and signed English of deaf adults
Beal-Alvarez, J. S., & Easterbrooks, S. R. Presentation at the First Annual Educational Psychology and Special Education Doctoral Student Association Research Conference, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA.
March 2011 -
Presentations
A preliminary study of variation in American Sign Language and signed English of deaf adults
Beal-Alvarez, J. S., & Easterbrooks, S. R. Poster presented at the meeting of the Association of College Educators-Deaf and Hard of Hearing Conference, Fort Worth, TX.
February 2011 -
Presentations
What’s so cool about Visual Phonics?
Beal-Alvarez, J. S. Presentation at Georgia State University, Deafness and Literacy course, Atlanta, GA.
January 2011 -
Presentations
Beliefs, practices, and skills of pre- service early childhood educators about inclusion of students with disabilities
Green, K., & Beal-Alvarez, J. S. Poster presented at the meeting of the Teacher Education Division of Council for Exceptional Children, St. Louis, MO.
November 2010 -
Presentations
How can deaf preschoolers access phonics?
Beal-Alvarez, J. S. (2010, October). Presentation at the meeting of the Georgia Association on Young Children, Duluth, GA.
October 2010 -
Presentations
Building foundations for literacy during preschool: Acquisition of alphabetic knowledge and phonemic awareness using print and Visual Phonics
Beal-Alvarez, J. S., & Lederberg, A. R. Poster presented at the International Congress on the Education of the Deaf, Vancouver, British Columbia.
July 2010 -
Presentations
Teaching of deaf prekindergarteners alphabetic knowledge, phonological awareness, and emergent literacy skills
Lederberg, A.R., Beal-Alvarez, J. S., Miller, E. M., Bergeron, J. P., Easterbrooks, S. R., & Connor, C.M. Presentation at the meeting of American Educational Research Association, Denver, CO.
May 2010 -
Presentations
Visualizing and Verbalizing
Beal-Alvarez, J. S. Presentation at Georgia State University, Deafness and Literacy course, Atlanta, GA.
March 2010 -
Presentations
Reading right out of the starting gate
Easterbrooks, S. R., Bergeron, J. P., & Beal-Alvarez, J. S. Presentation at the meeting of the Association of College Educators-Deaf and Hard of Hearing Conference, Lexington, KY.
February 2010 -
Presentations
A Research Project.
Beal-Alvarez, J. S. (2010, January; 2009, August). Presentation in Senior Research class at South Cobb County High School, Austell, GA.
January 2010 -
Presentations
Building Foundations for Literacy in Young DHH Children Using Print and Visual Phonics
Beal-Alvarez, J. S. Presentation at Ph.D. Student Symposium, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA.
November 2009 -
Presentations
Foundations for Literacy Emergent Literacy Curriculum
Miller, E. M., Beal-Alvarez, J. S., & Cannon, J. Presentation at the meeting of the Association of College Educators-Deaf and Hard of Hearing Conference, New Orleans, LA.
March 2009 -
Presentations
Hearing L2 Sign Language Learners: How Do They Perform on ASL Phonological Fluency?
Beal, J. S., & Faniel, K. (2019). Sign Language Studies, 19(2), 204-224.
Publications
Effective practices in teacher preparation programs: Action research reading projects
Beal, J. S. (2018). Odyssey, 34-47.
Publications
Case Studies in Deaf Education: Inquiry, Application, and Resources
Guardino, C., Beal, J. S., Cannon, J., Page Bergeron, J., & Voss, J. (2018). Washington, DC: Gallaudet University Press.
Articles
University American Sign Language Learners: Longitudinal Self- and Faculty Evaluation Ratings
Beal, J. S., Scheetz, N. A., Trussell, J. W., McAllister, A., & Listman, J. (2017). Journal of Interpretation, 26(1), 1-27.
Articles
Action research in education: Collaborative, representative, responsible research
Beal-Alvarez, J. S. (2017). In S. Cawthon & C. L. Garberoglio, (Eds.), Research in deaf education: Contexts, challenges, and considerations (pp. 251-276). New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
Publications
Generation of Signs within Semantic and Phonological Categories: Data from Deaf Adults and Children who use American Sign Language
Beal-Alvarez, J. S., & Figueroa, D. M. (2016). Journal of Deaf Studies and Deaf Education, 22(2), 219-232.
Articles
You have to attack this like a lion hunting a gazelle on the Serengeti: Student perspectives on the implementation of a new initiative
Paine, D. G., Beal-Alvarez, J. S., & Scheetz, N. A. (2016). edTPA: Issues in Teacher Education, 25(2), 149-166.
Articles
Longitudinal receptive American Sign Language skills across a diverse deaf student body
Beal-Alvarez, J. S. (2016). Journal of Deaf Studies and Deaf Education, 21(2), 1-13.
Articles
Depicting verbs and constructed action: Necessary components in Deaf adults’ storybook renditions
Beal-Alvarez, J. S., & Trussell, J. (2015). Sign Language Studies, 16(1), 5-29.
Articles
Pre-service teacher and interpreter American Sign Language Abilities: Self-evaluations and evaluations of deaf students’ narrative renditions
Beal-Alvarez, J. S., & Scheetz, N. A. (2015). American Annals of the Deaf, 160(3), 316-333.
Articles
Captions, whiteboards, animation, and videos: Technology improves access
Beal-Alvarez, J. S., & Cannon, J. E. (2015). Odyssey, 16, 4-9.
Articles
Deaf students’ receptive and expressive American Sign Language skills: Comparisons and relations
Beal-Alvarez, J. S. (2014). Journal of Deaf Studies and Deaf Education, 19(4), 508-529. doi: 10.1093/deafed/enu025
Articles
Technology intervention research with deaf and hard of hearing learners: Levels of evidence
Beal-Alvarez, J. S., & Cannon, J. E. (2014). American Annals of the Deaf, 158(5), 486–505.
Articles
Emerging evidence for instructional practice: Repeated viewings of sign language models
Beal-Alvarez, J. S., & Huston, S. (2014). Communication Disorders Quarterly, 35(2), 93-102.
Articles
Increasing children’s ASL classifier production: A multi-component intervention
Beal-Alvarez, J. S., & Easterbrooks, S. R. (2013). American Annals of the Deaf, 158(3), 311-333.
Articles
Literacy instruction for students who are deaf and hard of hearing
Easterbrooks, S. R., & Beal-Alvarez, J. S. (2013). New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
Articles
States’ reading outcomes of students who are d/Deaf and hard of hearing
Easterbrooks, S. R., & Beal-Alvarez, J. S. (2012). American Annals of the Deaf, 157(1), 27-40.
Articles
Grapheme-phoneme acquisition of deaf preschoolers
Beal-Alvarez, J. S., Lederberg, A. R., & Easterbrooks, S. R. (2011). Journal of Deaf Studies and Deaf Education, 17(1), 39-60.
Articles
Expressing meaning: From communicative intent to building vocabulary
Lederberg, A. R., & Beal-Alvarez, J. S. (2011). In P. E. Spencer & M. Marschark (Eds.), Oxford handbook of deaf studies, language, and education, 2nd edition (pp. 258-275). New York: Oxford University Press.
Classwork
Using movement-based sensory interventions to address self-stimulatory behavior in students with autism
Mays, N. M., Beal-Alvarez, J., & Jolivette, K. (2011). Teaching Exceptional Children, 43(6), 46-53.
Articles
Effectiveness of a software program in improving the morphosyntax of students who are deaf/hard of hearing
Cannon, J. E., Easterbrooks, S. R., Gagne, P., & Beal-Alvarez, J. S. (2011). Journal of Deaf Studies and Deaf Education, 16(4), 437- 457.
Articles
Students who are deaf/hard of hearing
Beal, J. S. (2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015). Presentation in SPEC 3000, at Valdosta State University, Valdosta, GA.
Presentations