Introducing the Sign Language Flowchart: Towards Enhancing Programming Learning for Students with Hearing Disabilities

Abstract

There is a dependence on software applications in many aspects of contemporary life. Teaching programming to individuals has become one of the focal points in the strategic plans of many countries. It is evident that students with hearing disabilities face difficulties in learning programming, which means a significant percentage of society encounters challenges in acquiring programming skills. The first step in learning programming is understanding flowcharts and using them to design simple programs. Therefore, to address the difficulties faced by students with hearing disabilities, we have translated flowcharts into sign language, resulting in the creation of Sign Language Flowcharts. To scientifically explore the performance of students with hearing disabilities in understanding flowcharts, a series of training sessions was conducted. The results confirmed the difficulties faced by students with hearing disabilities in grasping flowchart concepts. We took the previous results as motivation to develop Sign Language Flowcharts, which is the outcome of translating flowcharts into sign language. The results demonstrate the effectiveness of Sign Language Flowcharts in enhancing the understanding of flowchart concepts for students with hearing disabilities.