Seeing Through Space: ASL Fluency and Spatial Cognition in Education

Melody Schwenk

In my dissertation, I investigate how fluency in American Sign Language (ASL), a visual-spatial language with grammar that explicitly encodes spatial relationships, may influence spatial reasoning skills crucial for STEM achievement. Prior research suggests that fluent signers excel at tasks like mental rotation, wayfinding, and perspective-taking, but the underlying cognitive and neural mechanisms remain unclear. To address this, I propose a behavioral and EEG study with 65 adults, stratified by hearing status and ASL proficiency (Deaf fluent signers, hearing fluent signers, deaf non-fluent signers, hearing non-fluent signers and hearing non-signers). Participants will complete spatial cognition tasks, including a 2D Shepard–Metzler mental rotation test, Virtual SILCton navigation (assessing egocentric and allocentric navigation), and a perspective-taking task. During these tasks, I will record EEG to measure neural markers: mu-rhythm desynchronization (8–13 Hz) at sensorimotor sites, indicating mental preparation and motor simulation during spatial transformations, and frontal–parietal coherence (4–13 Hz), representing how effectively frontal executive regions coordinate with posterior spatial-processing areas. I hypothesize that higher ASL proficiency will predict improved spatial task performance, deeper mu desynchronization, and stronger frontal–parietal coherence, effects that persist along a continuum of ASL fluency rather than depending solely on early exposure. Results could reveal that the spatially rich grammar of ASL provides a cognitive scaffold, enhancing sensorimotor and neural network efficiency. These insights may directly inform educational practices by encouraging curricula integrating spatial language experiences, signed or spoken, to strengthen students' spatial reasoning skills, foundational to academic and professional success in STEM fields.

About Melody Schwenk

Melody F. Schwenk is a doctoral candidate in Educational Neuroscience at Gallaudet University, where her research examines the neural mechanisms underlying spatial cognition in Deaf and signing populations. Her dissertation explores how American Sign Language fluency shapes mental transformation and spatial navigation strategies, using behavioral tasks and EEG analysis to uncover the cognitive and neural correlates of visual-spatial language experience. Melody's work integrates methods from cognitive neuroscience, linguistics, and Deaf education, with the broader goal of informing accessible STEM instruction and advancing inclusive research design. She is currently supported by the NIH F31 Ruth L. Kirschstein Predoctoral Fellowship. Melody's academic background includes graduate training in clinical psychology, education, and cognitive science. Before entering research, she worked as a special education teacher and behavior therapist, experiences that continue to shape her translational and equity-focused approach to research. Born and raised in Queens, New York, Melody is a lifelong Mets fan, a dedicated mentor, and an advocate for Deaf-led research. Her favorite co-authors include four very opinionated dogs - one of whom, Apollo, is a Goldendoodle who believes he's training for a Golden Glove and frequently interrupts EEG preprocessing in pursuit of fly balls. In all seriousness, Melody is honored to join the NAEd/Spencer community and grateful for the opportunity to contribute to the future of education research through a neuroscience lens.