Biography

Dr. Mayer is a Professor in the Faculty of Education at York University and Academic Co-ordinator of the Teacher Preparation Program in the Education of Deaf and Hard of Hearing (DHH) students. She is an Associate Editor for the Volta Review, a member of the Editorial Board for the Journal of Deaf Studies and Deaf Education, the American Annals of the Deaf and the Reading Research Quarterly, and on the Advisory Council of the Central Institute for the Deaf. Her research focuses on language and literacy development in deaf learners, early literacy and early intervention, cochlear implantation, bilingualism, and models of teacher education. In 2016 she was awarded the Sister Mary Delaney Lifetime Achievement Award in recognition of her work in teaching, research and service in the preparation of teachers of DHH students by the American College Educators of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing. In 2017 she was recognized as a Research Leader at York University, and in 2018 was awarded an Honorary Professorship in the Division of Human Communication, Development and Hearing at the University of Manchester in the UK. Current projects include investigations of Theory of Mind in the written language of deaf learners, and a 3-year SSHRC funded study to update the evidence base with respect to the literacy outcomes of deaf students.

Scholarly Interests

Dr. Mayer's research interests include language and literacy development in deaf learners; early literacy development and early intervention; cochlear implants in deaf education; bilingualism and bilingual models of literacy education; signed language and literacy development; theory of mind and written language; and models of teacher education.

Faculty & School/Dept

• Faculty of Education - Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing - Graduate Studies

• Faculty of Graduate Studies, Linguistics and Applied Linguistics - Applied
• Faculty of Graduate Studies, Education -
• Faculty of Graduate Studies, Critical Disability Studies -

Courses Taught

• Deaf Studies - Introduction (ED/DEST 3770)
• Language and Literacy Development 1 (ED/LLDV 3735)

Selected Publications

• Mayer, C., Trezek, B. & Hancock, G. (2021). Reading Achievement of Deaf Learners: Challenging the Fourth Grade Ceiling. . Journal of Deaf Studies and Deaf Education (26(3)), 427-437. doi:10.1093/deafed/enab013.
• Mayer, C. & Trezek, B. (2020). Literacy Outcomes in Sign Bilingual Programs: Current State of the Knowledge. American Annals of the Deaf (164(5)), 560-576. doi:10.1353/aad.2020.0003.
• Chilton, H., Mayer, C. & McCracken, W. (2019). Evidence of Theory of Mind in the Writing of Deaf Children. Journal of Deaf Studies and Deaf Education, 24(1), 32-40. doi:10.1093/deafed/eny027.
• Mayer, C. & Trezek, B. (2018). Literacy Outcomes in Deaf Students with Cochlear Implants: Current State of the Knowledge. Journal of Deaf Studies and Deaf Education, 23(1), 1-16. doi:doi:10.1093/deafed/enx043.
• Mayer, C. (2017). Written Forms of Signed Language: A Route to Literacy for Deaf Learners? . American Annals of the Deaf , 161(5), 552-559. doi:10.1353/aad.2017.0005.
• Mayer, C. (2016). Teaching Writing: Principles into Practice.. In P. Moeller, D. Ertmer & G. Stoel-Gammon (Eds.), Promoting Language and Literacy in Children who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing (pp. pp. 359-382). Brookes Publishing
• Mayer, C. & Trezek, B. (2015). Early Literacy Development of Deaf Children. Oxford University Press
• Mayer, C. (2015). Total Communication: Looking back, moving forward. In M. Marschark & P. Spencer (Eds.), The Oxford Handbook of Deaf Studies in Language: Research, Policy, and Practice (pp. pp. 31-44). Oxford University Press
• Mayer, C. & Wells, G. (1996). Can the linguistic interdependence theory support a bilingual-bicultural model of literacy education for deaf students? . Journal of Deaf Studies and Deaf Education, 1(2), 93-107. doi:10.1093/oxfordjournals.deafed.a014290.

Selected Presentations

• (2021, June). Literacy Achievement of Deaf Students: Current State of the Knowledge. Presented at: Invited paper presentation, Hearing and Speech, Cologne, Germany
• (2019, September). Educating Deaf Children Now: Research Evidence Informing Practice.. Presented at: Invited keynote presentation. Annual Conference of the Itinerant Teachers of the Deaf, Royal Institute for Deaf and Blind Children, Sydney, Australia.
• (2019, September). Literacy Achievement of Deaf Students with Hearing Aids and Cochlear Implants. Presented at: Invited keynote presentation. Satakieliseminaari 2019, Helsinki, Finland.
• (2017, March). Myths, Mantras and Misunderstandings: Moving Forward in Optimising Literacy Outcomes for Deaf Students. . Presented at: Invited keynote speaker, Positive Futures for Deaf Children: Optimising Outcomes, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK
• (2016, October). Listening for Literacy. Presented at: Invited presentation, Knooppunt Nijmegen CI Kinderen: Hearing and Implants - 5 years, Radboud University Medical Centre, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.

Awards

• Sister Mary Delaney Lifetime Achievement Award , American College Educators of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing - 2016
• Honorary Professorship in Deaf Education , Division of Human Communication Development and Hearing, Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK. - 2018
• Literacy Achievement of Deaf Learners: Updating the Evidence Base., SSHRC Insight Grant - 2018-2021

Professional Affiliations

• Journal of Deaf Studies and Deaf Education: Member of Editorial Board
• American Annals of the Deaf: Member of Editorial Board
• Reading Research Quarterly: Member of Editorial Board
• The Volta Review: Associate Editor
• Ontario College of Teachers: Member
• Central Institute for the Deaf, St. Louis, Missouri : Advisory Council Member Professional Development Program and Online Learning