© W. S. Maney & Son Ltd 2010 DOI 10.1179/146431510X12626982043723 deafness & education international, Vol. 12 No. 2, June, 2010, 54–76 Learning to Learn: An Analysis of Early Learning Behaviours Demonstrated by Young Deaf/Hard-of-Hearing Children with High/Low Mathematics Ability Claudia M Pagliaro, PhD Michigan State University, USA Karen L Kritzer, PhD Kent State University, USA Using a multiple case-study design, this study compares the early learning behaviours of young deaf/hard-of-hearing (d/hh) children with high/low mathematics ability (as defined by test score on the Test of Early Mathematics Ability-3). Children’s simultaneous use of multiple learning behaviours was also examined as were contributing adult behaviours within adult–child interaction episodes that might encourage the development of learning behaviours. Results suggest a relationship between learning behaviours, mediation in the home, and early mathematics ability. keywords Deaf, mathematics, mediation, early childhood, parents, cognition, family Over the past three decades deaf/hard-of-hearing (d/hh) students have consistently demonstrated poor achievement in areas of mathematics, including computation and problem solving (Allen, 1995; Marschark & Everhart, 1999; Nunes & Moreno, 1997), with the most recent median achievement levels at fifth/sixth grade respectively (~ages 10 and 11 years) upon graduation from high school (twelfth grade; ~age 18–21 years), third/fourth grade (~ages 8 and 9 years) upon leaving middle school (eighth grade; ~age 13 years), and second/third grade (~ages 7 and 8 years) upon finishing their elementary years (fifth grade; ~age10 years) (Traxler, 2000). The questions remain, however, as to when this lag in achievement begins and why. Studies show that even before the onset of formal schooling, d/hh children demonstrate delays in mathematics concepts (Kritzer, 2009a; Leybaert & Van Cutsem, 2002; Nunes &