PhD, Associate Professor I.V. Mikhaylova
Russian State Social University, Moscow

Keywords: chess sports, Russian sign language, rehabilitation, hearing-impaired individuals, inclusive education environment, recreation.

Background. Federal Law “On Education in the Russian Federation” guaranties discrimination-free high-quality education service to health-deficient and disabled individuals, with the education service being individualised by language, methodology and communication tools. Despite that, it should be confessed with regret that the present quality of the higher and secondary general and vocational education services to hearing-impaired individuals is catastrophic in fact. It should be mentioned that at least 300 thousand of people with different hearing impairments are reportedly being trained at the national secondary education establishments. 52 out of 900 Russian universities serve to hearing-impaired individuals. As things now stand, 300 thousand out of 4 million full-time university students are diagnosed with hearing impairments. Many of them will unlikely find jobs in the workable age and, hence, their living standards will be inevitably low. A holistic analysis of the present situation in the national education sector shows that due education models and tools need to be developed and offered to hearing-impaired individuals to give them full and real equality of social opportunities [3].

Methods and structure of the study. Adaptive chess sport is presently ranked among the top five sport disciplines facilitating development of health-deficient and disabled people. The study was based on the assumption that the relevant chess education models easily customisable using relevant verbal, optical, sign and visual communication tools may solve the key inclusion education problems of hearing-impaired individuals. Synergy of the sign and verbal communication tools may be applied to develop the verbal communication skills in the trainees with due logical thinking to facilitate progress of the hearing-impaired individuals and improve their wellbeing.

Objective of the study was to make a content analysis of the modern chess education system applicable to hearing-impaired individuals; design theoretical, practical and procedural basics for the integrated adaptive chess education, sporting and recreation model offered as an efficient education reform tool for the subject individuals.

We have thoroughly analysed the adaptive chess education model integrated in the standard education program for the hearing-impaired children at S.Y. Krivoyazov Kurchatov School #101 in Moscow city and Special Boarding Class II School #48 in Rostov. Their analysts mention the following challenges of the adaptive chess education process:

1. Chess terminology is not always perceivable for deaf students and, therefore, the education process shall be supported by a linguistic system like the popular Russian Sign Language (RSL) that offers the relevant lexical and grammar toolkits;

2.  Healthy educators are normally unable to use the RSL and, hence, are not fully prepared to help deaf children master the chess sport basics; whilst the hearing-impaired education specialists more often than not lack a special education background as required by the Federal Law “On Education in the Russian Federation”; and

3. Presently the national education system is in need of a Federal Standard for Deaf Sports in application to the chess sport discipline.

Education specialists of Special Boarding Class II School #48 in Rostov have confirmed that the modern information-and-communication-technology-based education models supported by the relevant verbal, sign and adapted verbal communication tools are highly beneficial for the schoolchildren’s education progress [4]. In view of the modern global trend of the hearing-impaired people’s education based on the bilingual approach, the research team of the Physical Education Department of Russian State Social University (RSSU with 28 hearing-impaired students being trained in it in the academic year of 2017-18) has made an attempt to create a holistic inclusive environment for this special group of trainees [2].  

Study results and discussion. A special RSL Research Laboratory was established at RSSU to provide an education base and develop education models and methods for hearing-impaired people, plus a conceptual education concept to train sign language interpreters. Chess House offers special group and individual correction sessions in its computerised training classes, with the education process being duly equipped with innovative didactic toolkit including Chess Planet website; Chess Lessons from Anatoliy Karpov software; Schematic Thinking electronic database; and special chess software tools and manuals [1]; plus a special roadmap was designed for the adaptive education process including the following stages:

1. Design and experimental stage that offers a special corrective education course to the hearing-impaired individuals at the special RSL Research Laboratory, Foreign Language and Psychology departments – to help them master the modern sign language; with the inclusive visual education environment being upgraded and adapted for effective education of hearing-impaired individuals.

2. The implementation stage that implies the practical adaptive chess education model being implemented with the relevant information-and-communication technologies effective in the well-developed inclusive visual education environment of the Chess House based on a ‘come-and-see’ principle.

3. At the synergic stage designed to help the hearing-impaired individuals trained in the inclusive chess education environment of RSSU their bilingual competences are developed with assistance of universal specialists including Grand Masters of chess.

At the design and experimental stage (January to June 2017) of the adaptive chess education piloting experiment, we completed a content analysis of the existing legal and regulatory framework for the subject activity; designed and piloted a theoretical adaptive chess education model for the hearing-impaired; and trained volunteer specialists highly competent in the chess basics and RSL. Furthermore, we printed out an education and training manual “Adaptive chess sport basics” and monograph “Modern chess training methods”; and designed a special advanced professional education course “Adaptive chess sport, education and recreation basics”.

Conclusion

Content analysis of the first stage of the model piloting experiment gave us the reasons to make the following conclusions:

1. The adapted chess mega-discipline will be greatly beneficial for the health-impaired students’ academic progress in the multilevel academic curriculum designed as required by the third-generation Federal State Education Standards.

2. Chess sport shall be implemented as a mandatory education discipline in the national special education system.

3. The inclusive chess education model implemented at RSSU creates a foothold for the new adaptive chess education model being implemented as a state-supported social program in the Russian Federation.

To make the education process highly effective, we recommend to:

• Offer group chess education services with participation of healthy peers;
• Give preference to modern visual game tools and information-and-communication didactic technologies; and
• Efficiently apply the relevant verbal and non-verbal communication tools to facilitate students’ understanding of the missions and goals of every practice; with the training process being supported with video records followed by due logical contemplations and analyses.

References

1. Mikhaylova I.V., Shmeleva S.V., Makhov A.S. Primenenie infokommunikatsionnykh sredstv obucheniya v mnogoletney podgotovke sportsmenov-shakhmatistov [Information communication teaching aids in long-term training of chess players]. Teoriya i praktika fiz. kultury, 2015, no. 5, pp. 70–72.
2. Mikhaylova I.V., Makhov A.S. Sozdanie federalnoy innovatsionnoy ploshchadki po formirovaniyu modeli i ideologii operezhayushchego adaptivnogo shakhmatnogo obrazovaniya v vuze [Creating federal innovative platform for dissemination of model and ideology of advanced development of university adaptive chess education]. Teoriya i praktika fiz. kultury, 2015, no 10, pp. 56-58.
3. Mikhaylova I.V., Shmeleva S.V., Makhov A.S. Tekhnologiya adaptivnogo shakhmatnogo obucheniya detey-invalidov [Adaptive chess educational technology for disabled children]. Teoriya i praktika fiz. kultury, 2015, no. 7, pp. 38–41.
4. Sheronov V.V. Metodika nachalnogo obucheniya igre v shakhmaty uchaschikhsya s ogranichennymi vozmozhnostyami zdorovya [Elementary chess education methodology for students with impairments]. Adaptivnaya fizicheskaya kultura, 2011, no. 4 (48), pp. 18-22.

Corresponding author: helga@chessy.ru

Abstract

Objective of the study was to assess benefits of chess education, competitions and recreational chess practices with their educational and heuristic aspects as the innovative and multifactor toolkit for the integrated social adaptation of hearing-impaired individuals. The author offers standard and experimental training models applicable in the adaptive chess education service for the hearing-impaired. The study was designed to facilitate training of this group in an inclusive education environment supported by a variety of tools including Chess Planet website; Chess Lessons from Anatoliy Karpov software; Schematic Thinking electronic database; special chess software tools and manuals; plus a special roadmap. The relevant communication technology was applied in the chess education model to combine communicative mimics with verbal and written communication tools. The adaptive chess education model designed based on the relevant verbal and sign communication experience in addition to sign language translations is considered an important link in transition from the Russian Sign Language (RSL) to efficient verbal communication based on a ‘come-and-see’ principle. Practical implementation of the theoretical adaptive chess education, competition and recreation model may facilitate due social, economic and emotional adaptation and wellbeing of the hearing-impaired individuals.