Robert J. Hoffmeister
Associate Professor Emeritus
Dr. Robert Hoffmeister is an associate professor emeritus of Deaf studies at Boston University Wheelock College of Education & Human Development. Dr. Hoffmeister focused his research on five principal areas: the acquisition of American Sign Language (ASL) by Deaf children; Deaf people as a bilingual/bicultural minority group; problems in the education of the Deaf; the effects of implementing public laws on Deaf children; and the improvement of interactions between hearing parents and their Deaf children.
Education
PhD, University of Minnesota (Research Development and Demonstration Center in Education of Handicapped Children), Emphasis on Psychology, Language, and the Deaf
MEd, University of Arizona, Emphasis on Education of the Deaf
BS, University of Connecticut, Emphasis on Mental Retardation, Psychology, and Language
Selected Publications
Hoffmeister, R. (2008). Border Crossings by Hearing Children of Deaf Parents.. In Bauman, D., (ed.) Open Your Eyes, Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press.
Hoffmeister, R. (2004). Including Deaf People as Part of the Learning Process in Families with Deaf Children. In Clara, L. (ed.) Educating Deaf Children in Portugal, Lisbon, Portugal: Educational Press.
Hoffmeister, R. (2004). Forward to Miller, R., Deaf Hearing Boy, Washington, DC: Gallaudet University Press. Hoffmeister, R. (2007) Language and the Deaf World: Difference not Disability. In (ed) Brisk, M. & Mattai, P. Culturally Responsive Teacher Education: Language, Curriculum & Community, Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Kourbetis, V., and Hoffmeister, R. (2004). Residential Schools for the Deaf in Greece: A Sign of Diversity a Promise of Unity. In Harvey Goodstein, Brown, L. (ed.) The Deaf Way II Reader, Washington, DC: Gallaudet University Press.
Kourbetis, V., Hoffmeister R., Simpsa, T. Greek Sign Language Curriculum as a first language for Deaf students, Proceedings of the 4th National Conference of the Greek Educational Society ” Greek Pedagogy and Educational Research” Alexandroupoli, May 28-30th, 2004, (2004).
Shantie, C. & Hoffmeister, R. Why Schools for Deaf Children Should Hire Deaf teachers: A Preschool Issue. Journal of Education, 182, 3, 2001. P. 37-48.
Lane, H., Hoffmeister, R. & Bahan, B. A Journey into the Deaf World. Dawn Sign Press, San Diego, CA. (1996).
Hoffmeister, R., Ewolt, C., Israelite, N., and Greenwald, J. A Review of the Literature on the Effective Use of Native Sign Language on the Acquisition of a Majority Language by Hearing Impaired Students. A Final Report to Minister of Education, Ontario. (October, 1989).
Hoffmeister, R. and Gee, J. (Eds.) Special Edition on American Sign Language Discourse. In Discourse Process: A Multidisciplinary Journal (1984).
Selected Presentations
Hoffmeister, R. Sign language in Deaf children: development and education. Keynote Lecture, 20th International Conference on the Education of the Deaf, Maastricht, The Netherlands, July 18, 2005.
Hoffmeister, R The American Sign Language Assessment Instrument (ASLAI). Paper Presented at the 20th International Conference on the Education of the Deaf, Maastricht, The Netherlands, July 19, 2005.
Kourbetis, V., Hoffmeister, R., and Bernardino, E., Assessing Verbs of Location and Verbs of Motion in Greek Sign Language. Paper Presented at the 20th International Conference on the Education of the Deaf, Maastricht, The Netherlands, July 19, 2005.
Brendel, S., Hoffmeister, R., and Fish, S., Deaf children acquiring ASL classifiers: Errors and Pattern of Development in a Signed Language. Xth International Congress For the Study of Child Language, Berlin, Germany, July 28, 2005.
Fish, S., Hoffmeister, R. & Thrasher, M. Knowledge of rare vocabulary in ASL (L1) and its relationship to vocabulary knowledge in English (L2) in Deaf children, Paper presented at the Xth, International Congress For the Study of Child Language Berlin, Germany, July 28, 2005.
Brendel, S., Hoffmeister, R. , and Fish, S., Deaf children acquiring ASL classifiers: Examples of three real object representations, Paper Presented at the 20th International Conference on the Education of the Deaf, Maastricht, The Netherlands, July 19, 2005.
Gabrielson, Hoffmeister, & Fish, 2005 Acquisition of Verb Agreement in American Sign Language: A special focus on non-native signing children. Paper presented at the 3rd Annual Hawaii International Conference on Arts and Humanities, January 2005.
Hoffmeister, R, Greenwald, J., Czubek, T., & DiPerri, K. (2003) Establishing a Dual Language Program for Deaf Children: What is needed? Paper presented at the Annual Symposium on Language & Education of the Deaf, Sioux Falls, SD: Communication Services for the Deaf, October 19.
Hoffmeister, R. The American Sign Language Assessment Instrument: Its content and its development. Presentation to the Mass Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Advisory Board, January, 2003.
Hoffmeister, R. & Bernardino, E. A participação do Surdo nas propostas inclusivas. Paper presented at Primeiro Congresso Nacional de Educacao Especial da ASUL na Area da Surdez: O Surdo e a Linguagem que o Cerca (ASUL’s First National Congress of Special Education in the field of deafness: The Deaf person and the Language that surrounds him/her) ASUL: Associacao de Surdos de Uberlandia (Deaf Association of Uberlandia/MG), April, 2003.