January 5, 2015 NCIEC Deaf Interpreter Curriculum

Transcription

1 January 5, 2015 NCIEC Deaf Interpreter Curriculum Panel DISCLAIMER: THE FOLLOWING TEXT IS A ROUGH DRAFT, UNEDITED TRANSCRIPT OF THE CAPTIONER'S OUTPUT FILE. IT IS NOT VERBATIM AND MAY CONTAIN ERRORS. TEXAS CLOSED CAPTIONING ASSUMES NO LIABILITY FOR THE CONTENT OF THIS TRANSCRIPT. ************************ >> Cogen: Hello, everyone. It's great to be here this evening for our webinar entitled NCIEC Deaf Interpreters curriculum. This webinar is brought to you from NCIEC. It's one of six sectors of the NCIEC National Consortium of Interpreter Education Centers I'm Cathy Cogen and I'm director of the

2 national interpreter education center here at Northeastern University in Boston, Massachusetts. We are thrilled to offer this evening's discussion. Maybe a few of you joining us last month are aware of our technical difficulties. We feel, however, that our problems have been solved and we have worked everything out. The Deaf Interpreter curriculum is near and dear to my heart. We started working on this eight years ago, in We had a variety of different teams involved, including deaf interpreters, researchers, educators, all coming together and doing a variety of research and surveys, data collection, and compiling all of that work into building this particular curriculum, which is finally ready for your consumption. We'll start our discussion very soon. First I have a few housekeeping bits that I would like to share with you.

3 If you have any technical activities, issues with captioning, you have a difficulty viewing the group, take a look at the control panel down the side of your screen where you tee materials. If you click on that particular piece it will have a pull down menu and you will see technology, captions, help and more. And you should be able to find information there. Your CEUs, which are available, however you must watch at least 45 minutes of this evening's presentation in order to qualify for CEUs. There will be more CEU information later at the end of this webinar. This evening we will have a panel discussion including four members. If you have any questions, please document your questions and hold on to them until the end. At the last 10 minutes of the webinar we will open the floor to

4 questions, which will be submitted by typing them in the chat box. I will be working from your questions and then the questions will be answered. The video format is very small. If you're having a hard time seeing these tiny little boxes you can expand them by clicking on the double arrow or the double line right on the bottom of the boxes and if you pull that down you will stretch the boxes and be able to see. I believe now we're ready to introduce our moderator this evening. This is Cynthia Napier. >> Napier: Hello, everyone. >> Cogen: If you could please introduce yourself. >> Napier: Hi, yes. I'm Cynthia Napier. This is my sign name. I've been involved in the National Consortium of

5 Interpreter Education Centers since I've been involved in the curriculum development. It's been a very exciting process. We've had I've been an interpreter since the 1980s and I'm happy to be involved in this work as well as having everyone involved our discussion. >> Cogen: Thank you very much, Cynthia. I'm now going to tell you about our three panelists. We have Jennifer Briggs. Rayni Plaster and Keven Poore. All three panelists have been involved in our Train the Trainer that was run last June and they have been interacting with the curriculum in a variety of different ways. So if the three of you would please join us by opening your video boxes. I'm going to step out at this point and let the panel take over. Cynthia? And thank you all very much for joining us this evening. I'm thrilled to have you here.

6 >> Napier: Welcome, panelists. Tonight's discussion will involve five questions, which we'll all go around taking turns answering related to the curriculum. We'll be talking about why we have developed the curriculum and what its uses are and how it has how you guys have all benefited from using the curriculum. >> Plaster: I am happy to share a comment, as usual. I want to provide some history. There have been quite a few comments that I have heard about situations where deaf interpreters are present, but things don't seem to go well. Folks are unsure how the process should unfold protocols are violent and folks are just uncertain about the process. are violated and folks are just unsure about the process. So people learn from the school of hard knocks which is quite frustrating and it's a difficult way to learn lessons, but we want to have opportunities to learn about our

7 work in a way that is guided and rooted in research. So I think that the NCIEC realized that this was a need and initiated the process that has culminated in this curriculum so that the future progress of deaf interpreters will be such that they'll be prepared and will have tools that they need to work effectively as interpreters. So this Deaf Interpreter curriculum really fills a need. >> Napier: That's wonderful. Jennifer, do you have something to add or Keven? Jennifer, why don't you go first. >> Briggs: Sure. Hello. I'm Jennifer. And historically it's true, when I entered college no one was talking about Deaf Interpreters and then one person who was a CODA said I could become a Deaf Interpreter but I didn't know where to go, how to get started, so through attending workshops I was able to pick up information, but I was usually the only

8 deaf participant and I found is difficult to find my way and I felt that there were gaps in the training that were offered. If you look at interpreter departments within interpreting programs within universities and colleges, there just isn't anything that meets our needs. With the development of this NCIEC curriculum we now have a rich resource which provides us with the opportunity to really delve into our work and become Deaf Interpreters. I sure wish that I had had it available to me and the people who now have it available are very fortunate. >> Napier: That's wonderful. Keven, did you have something to add. >> Poore: I'm in agreement with all of the comments that have been made so far. I work as a community freelance interpreter, as a certified Deaf Interpreter. And when I started working I felt that the 16 hour training that I

9 first experienced was insufficient to begin to really understand the complexities of working as a Deaf Interpreter. But that working with the NCIEC's crummy really learned how to take these skills and apply them to my work. They have a lot of there are curriculums that are designed for hearing individuals who want to become interpreters, but there hasn't really been an opportunity for deaf individuals to also hone the same skills and learn the same skills that hearing interpreters learn working in an academic setting. >> Napier: Those are wonderful comments. Thank you for sharing. Back in June you went to a training called Train the Trainer. How did that session prepare you for the curriculum?

10 >> Briggs: Well, I was very motivated and enthusiastic about learning this curriculum. There was a terrific group of people that worked with us and I met some old friends and new friends there. There was a lot of information that was shared with us and the curriculum had everything that we need to use it in the classroom. That includes pre and post tests. In the past without a curriculum we've had to come up with things on our own, but now we have a package that is complete that will allow us to provide effective training. >> Poore: Yeah, I agree with that. And also it's relatively new having I've been certified for four years, a relatively new CDI and working in the areas that I have been there are a lot of there aren't a lot of CDIs that I can observe their work. So it was a great experience to be able to come together and learn from other people where I had

11 peers that I could look towards and colleagues that I can learn from. So there are other CDIs there working and developing the curriculum and it was an amazing experience that I've been able to internalize and really Ben from it and something I could tangibly take with me in my work. And I was able to develop a network and stay in touch with fellow colleagues who were involved in that training. And that's definitely something that has benefited me not having access to an academic setting prior to this experience in that regard. >> Napier: Would you like to add something, Rayni? >> Plaster:, I would like to add a comment. I've been interpreting over 10 years and it still feels to me that I need that as well. When we come together and well, before we got together I looked at the curriculum and when we got

12 together I got to see it in action during the Train the Trainer event. So that taught us to see how we could respond to the curriculum. It allowed us to see the curriculum from the perspective of both the teacher and the student, to see how students might respond, how we could prepare as instructors. And it was nice for us to be able to see some situations as we were learning so we could anticipate what might happen when we are teaching. I found the Train the Trainer experience to be really fortunate. We were able to learn from those who developed the curriculum. It was a once in a lifetime opportunity to have that kind of experience. They have taught us what they developed and we now were able to discuss with the developers content that they contributed to the curriculum. I mean, there's just no way to explain how exciting that was.

13 The networking, the support, the exchange of information and ideas, it really made an impact. And I felt like I was supported in such a way that my own skills as a teacher were enhanced. It was just really remarkable. >> Napier: Oh, wonderful. For me as a trainer, it was wonderful to get that experience as well and to be involved in teaching everyone. So that was fantastic experience, I agree. As a Deaf Interpreter and an instructor, how has this helped you having this curriculum available to you? Keven, would you like to start that piece of the discussion? >> Poore: Yeah. As I've mentioned before, I am a relatively new CDI and being able to look at other people's work and look at the curriculum helped me to look internally

14 to figure out how to better improve my own skills. And it's provided me with a lot of amazing resources. Being taught allows me to understand the process of what that experience is to be a student and thusly I is can apply that to my own teaching when I educate other individuals and I remember what that experience is like to learn from that. Studying the curriculum and then being able to apply it or share it with other individuals is really something that helps me to understand how complex the learning process is. And sometimes when you go when you're working in isolation or if you don't necessarily have a connection to a network of people it can be difficult to figure out how to apply those skills. >> Plaster: And this is a great tool for me and not to flounder within working and teaching other individuals.

15 >> Any other commentary. >> Plaster: We have reflections after we do a job, but I think that my experience is now that as I prepare for a job I think about how do I assess the consumer? I think about the checklist that is included in the curriculum. Maybe there are things that I have been doing in the past, but there may be some things that I haven't done. So through all of the review of the content of this curriculum and then the instruction, I really feel that I have become a better interpreter. I approach jobs differently, I assess them differently afterwards. I confer with my team in a different way. So all of these things have made a big impact. Also, the experience at the Train the Trainer gathering and the curriculum are just awesome. I don't have to reinvent the wheel, which we've been doing for quite some time. We have to search for resources, look for research,

16 identify data. Now it's all in one place, ready for us. Plus the quality of the information that is included is awesome. >> Napier: Jennifer? >> Briggs: Yes, I agree with Rayni. And many of these resources are outstanding. Right now I'm teaching in the interpreting department and, you know, of course many of our students are hearing, but in the back of my mind I've been thinking that deaf students would benefit from a different type of resource and now those are available to me from the curriculum. And I can use those also with my hearing students as well. So those populations tailored for the deaf students, and they're developed from the perspective of Deaf Interpreters, so rather than having hearing and Deaf Interpreters at odds, we now have a tool that can help us to look at a situation from different

17 perspective and work together without any friction within the two perspectives. Also, it's really enhanced my teaching and my interpreting. Having all this material in one place is allowed me to be a bit of a mediator and I have a perspective from those Deaf Interpreters and students and hearing interpreter students. And I'm able to find references and resources when there may be a dispute. And that's a great resource as well. >> Napier: Keven, do you have anything to add to what's been brought up so far? >> Poore: No, I agree with everything that's been said so far. >> Napier: Okay. Moving on to another question. How is it you use the curriculum currently?

18 >> Briggs: Well, right now I am using the curriculum and I hope to get a program off the ground at NTID in our interpreting department so that whenever a deaf student enters our interpreting program we'll have the materials ready for them. That's our goal. We don't want deaf students to feel isolated in a hearing classroom, so for example, we have six course modules and I think that these courses can be used by both hearing and deaf students, but there are others that would be best just for hearing students or just for deaf students. So we want to have the six modules from the deaf interpreter curriculum available for the deaf students so that both cohorts of students can benefit from the program mutually. And we're looking forward to this being effective.

19 >> Napier: That sounds like a fantastic idea. How is this, Keven, that you're using the curriculum. I'm curious from your experience and personal perspective. >> Poore: Before going to the training in Michigan, we were asked to set up I established a syllabus for the fall course that I was teaching. And I was teaching a section of classes so I had that experience to draw from when I went to the training in Michigan. But once I went to the training, I came back realizing that I had to change all of my plans, so it was what I had learned. But I had a completely because of I had to completely reinvent the curriculum that I had planned to teach. The six modules really were elaborated in detailed ways that I can use what I've learned to enrich the experience of teaching to a group of future Deaf Interpreters.

20 I am using the I am using the modules as it was designed in the curriculum, as it was designed, but I am making some modifications to make it a 72 hour training. And I really was able to draw on that experience of what I learned in order to make the curriculum more intense when I went back. And for the first set of students have been a bit of a Guinea pig group with me so I have been testing out how I've learned and how to apply it in order to see how things would could go with them, so it's been a work in progress, but it's definitely been a learning experience. >> Napier: Rayni, we haven't heard from you regarding the curriculum yet. >> Plaster: Our program here is a bit unique. Our goal our program is located at Gallaudet University in the Gallaudet Interpreting Services department. And our program is called the Results Visiting Interpreter program,

21 RVI. This program has rigorous application process and we may select a few participants each year and we give them one year of work experience on a daily basis for about nine months following the academic schedule from August until May. So we feel this will be vital to our program because our goal is to prepare career interpreters. We have an interest in certification, of course, because it means that interpreters are accountable and that's essential for our field, however, we want to prepare interpreters for a future career. So we're so grateful this has been developed. We are starting with a few modules in August because the participants come in August before they begin to work. So in early August we will use a few of the modules to provide a foundation and then the others will be offered throughout the year and we will provide follow up. So for example, we may have a

22 combination of two units in one module and then we will go over the following unit and modules during the rest of the year. So that is how we anticipate spreading it out and making sure that the curriculum fits the participants that we have in the RVI program. And then our final training for the year is going to happen in March and that will be the deaf hearing teams curriculum. And our approach is to spread the training out over the year. We have our RVI group and we also have here at Gallaudet University a community of Deaf Interpreters and so we have opened some of these trainings to that community of Deaf Interpreters. And we also house the regional interpreter education center here at Gallaudet University and we always invite them to participate in our trainings as well. We also have a special interest in collaboration with NAOBI and we want to provide training to their interpreters

23 as well. Just recently I went to Atlanta for the NAOBI conference and we did a session on deaf interpreting and that session was based on the curriculum. Is focused on the competency and asked us to consider themselves as potential deaf interpreters if they had those competencies. So those are two examples that I have share of what we're doing. >> Napier: Oh, that's wonderful to hear. Sounds like a really good approach. Now, do you feel as though teachers of the deaf interpreting curriculum should themselves be practitioners? >> Briggs: Yes, I do. I think that Deaf Interpreters have experience and the instinct that's necessary to teach this curriculum. And for those of us who participated in the Train the Trainer event have been exposed to this content and the folks who developed the curriculum in such a way

24 that I simply can't imagine that somebody who didn't attend the Train the Trainer event would have the insight to use this curriculum as well as being a Deaf Interpreter themselves. We still are working together since we met. I do think you need to be a Deaf Interpreter and have had experience with the Train the Trainer approach in order to use the curriculum effectively. >> Napier: Okay, great. Thank you. Moving on to Keven. Why do you think it's important for Deaf Interpreters or users of this curriculum to be Deaf Interpreters? >> Poore: I agree with what Jennifer said as well. I use the curriculum in my everyday practice and to be able to educate another individual about it and how they might face different situations in their own profession, not only related to interpreting linguistically, but the dynamics, other effects and skills that are inherent that a Deaf Interpreter actually

25 has in their lives. There's that mutual understanding that deaf people have when you enter a room together. And without that particular schema or that particular experience I don't understand how it would be possible for someone to just simply take the curriculum and be able to teach it or to be able to teach from a non deaf perspective because there's something so innate, intrinsic and natural about communicating in that way. When I educate, when I teach it's from my experience. It's from what I've seen. So it's not only the literature and the academics and the research, but it's also what I've experienced as a deaf individual and as a deaf interpreter. >> Napier: Rayni, do you have anything to add to this discussion? >> Plaster: Of course. I do think it's important to mention that formative competencies are essential. How

26 deaf individuals who are interested in becoming deaf interpreters understand what this work looks like is important. If I bring them something that doesn't make sense, then they can't move forward. We need to be able to engage in a dialogue so that we can convey the information from this curriculum to them. And deaf people in general come from a wide variety of background, have a wide variety of experiences, have different levels of privilege and power. And that is all true, but we share one key feature, and that is how we negotiate and learn about the world. And that is something that applies to all of us, not just me. So Deaf Interpreters bring that to the work. No one else does. When we're interacting with consumers, we bring that perspective. And this unique character is also something that we bring to the curriculum, in the training. We can use

27 examples that relate directly to the participant's experience because it's shared. I think that that is crucial. Now, hearing instructors I have heard that there are some deaf people who have gone to interpreter training programs and have tried to make it work, but it takes a lot of effort on the part of the deaf individual because they're learning from what I call a hearing discourse approach where information is provided. Then deaf people have to translate that information. And then how does a hearing interpreter's approach vary from a deaf person's approach? And the deaf student has to figure that out as well. So all of the labor involved in learning is on the shoulders of the deaf student. I feel that that is unfair. And a deaf person deserves to have interpreter instruction in the way that they can connect with the information in a meaningful way.

28 And deaf interpret hers should be available to provide mentorship and guidance in that process. >> Napier: Oh, I agree with that 100%. You've spoken all about how you've organized your program and how you've been using the curriculum and you've had an awful lot to say about how this curriculum can be applied and used, so how is it this curriculum could be integrated with the programs that exist already? >> Plaster: Well, you did mention something previously when you were talking about if you have a deaf student in an interpreter training program and let's say the teacher is teaching simultaneous interpreting or consecutive interpreting, how folks are uncertain about how to provide that instruction for a student who is deaf. It may be that in the classroom there's only one or two deaf students. Now,

29 here at Gallaudet we're lucky, we may have two or three, but in most programs that's not the case. So this curriculum is available to supplement courses so that deaf interpreters will have something it that relates directly to them. And the the content may not always conform with the syllabus and the learning objectives for a particular course. I use a conical sign for the word syllabus. I don't know if you guys do or not. But in any event, you could undertake things where students get together on a weekly basis, go through the units of the modules. You may have a situation where you could have an online interaction and then face to face. The curriculum offers a lot of readings and materials, videos that students can access on their own time. And there are many different ways, perhaps in a hybrid approach or an integrated in an ITT or a live face to face instruction

30 through a series of classes, local RID chapters could use this material or local interpreting groups could get together and talk about different topics. And if you need more information or technological support of course I'm sure everyone on the panel would be happy to provide some assistance. So those are a few ideas that I can come up with about how this curriculum could be used right away. >> Napier: Those are all very helpful ideas. Does anyone else have anything to add to that particular list? Jennifer? >> Briggs: Yes. I mentioned earlier how there's some overlap between the modules for deaf and hearing students. And sometimes courses may or may not fit both of those populations. I could see ethical decision making or Deaf Interpreter/hearing interpreter teams where you could have

31 a coed classroom for deaf and hearing students. So in the situation where you mentioned that there's one or two deaf students in a class, an internet online option where you could bring together more students might be an approach that could be used. I'm sure there are a variety of ways that could be used. This is brand new, so here at NTID we're just looking at all of the possibilities, however, there is a challenge and that is writing the learning objectives and all of that needs to take place here in the institution, but I'm sure that we'll be successful. I think that given time right now offering this as a series, as Keven mentioned, he's got an 80 hour series that he thinks is the best option. I think that it's absolutely true and the 80 hours may not be enough. If you just look at the material in the curriculum you can't cover all of this in a day workshop. You know, one module may last

32 four or five days, depending upon the content that you offered. So I want to encourage people to go to workshops, but yet this is more than a 40 hour commitment, as Keven said, we're looking at 80 hours. And I think that is important to keep in mind. Of course, workshops are an avenue, but I think that you will find more and more academic programs are going to integrate this context into the program, but it will take some time. The seed has been planted. Now we have to nurture it and not let it fade. We need to keep thinking of ways to engage with it. >> Napier: Those are great words of wisdom. Keven? >> Poore: Yeah. I have two comments that I would like to make. One relating to my experience in Philadelphia specifically. I've talked with the ITT here about how the content can be used and negotiated within their own

33 curriculum and how they can use that to educate and maybe even develop a separate track. And it's an ongoing dialogue that I will continue to be involved with to help develop the curriculum there. And eventually that curriculum might be able to stem into a separate curriculum for deaf students as well as hearing students and that the program can really grow. We use a lot of CDIs here in Philadelphia and it's quite a bit of work, but I have noticed that there aren't a lot of resources for CDIs who work here and there are not many CDIs who are necessarily rooted or based out of Philadelphia. And that makes it difficult with educating CDIs about deaf interpreter education. In Pittsburgh, five hours from here, they use a multifaceted approach for educating Deaf Interpreters where they have teams and mentorship boards, they work together

34 in more of a ground a ground based approach to education. But the deaf community also needs to be included and educated in what's happening because otherwise misinformation is spread and people walk away with the wrong notion about Deaf Interpreters or how to use interpreters and when it is appropriate to request a Deaf Interpreter. So working with Pittsburgh and having their team based approach versus the curriculum based approach, I think it will be a long process here in Philadelphia and Pennsylvania to really educate people about how to use CDIs. Maybe we can have a bit of a CDI revolution, so to speak. >> Where did Cynthia go!!?? >> Poore: So anyway, I've been encouraging this process over six to eight months and hopefully we'll be able

35 to establish a more a formal training based on what I've been doing plus incorporating the curriculum that I've learned at the Train the Trainer. And also meeting with the community and having them more involved and having a more national level approach that we'll be able to create standardization and having a strong foundation within this education. And in a community that doesn't use CDIs as often, it's important that they get exposed to the benefits of using it so that we'll be able to really develop and spread the word and spread the correct information about the field. >> Plaster: Yes, I'd like to add something here. With respect to skills, I have noticed that since we've been running this program for the last three or four years we get about I would say anywhere from maybe 15 to 30, 40 applications each year. And often I see that there are Deaf

36 Interpreters who are struggling with simultaneous interpretation. They're working in a consecutive interpreting environment, but for work here at GIS there must be some foundational skill in simultaneous interpretation. And so we provide well, using the curriculum we find all the information is useful, but the skills application is also very important. In Denver the ILI training featured a talk by Sharon Newman Solo where she talked about practice is practice, meaning that you can learn for the first time something brand new about interpreting in a real life situation and have an impact on their lives. Not something that you want to do. So where do Deaf Interpreters have the opportunity to practice their skill? They don't have many opportunities. So the DI curriculum does have a module which is focused on

37 processing and skills development, simultaneous and consecutive interpreting. There's a lot of information, tactile interpreting, using international sign, using A.S.L. to a foreign sign language, so the point is if you apply the curriculum or not, the key here is to provide opportunities to develop skills. If you don't use anything else from the curriculum but the skills application component, it can improve deaf interpreter skills. You can teach people how to film their work, how to identify their skills and gaps just like hearing interpreters do. I think that a skills lab where students can focus once a week on their skills or in a deaf interpreter group, if the interpreter training program has a lab, maybe setting it aside for Deaf Interpreters to use. There's lots of ways to do this, but I think that there's an approach in our field where we train and then dismiss people to go in the field. And they're

38 not ready yet. They haven't had a chance to develop the skills that they need. And we need to figure out how to help people make decisions in situ, in the situations so that they know how to approach the work. So I think a skills lab is really key if we want people to improve as Deaf Interpreters they have to focus on their skills. >> Briggs: Yes, I do have some additional comments that I would like to make. Skills are crucial and having the deaf community and hearing communities understand the value of Deaf Interpreters. I think that that people have looked down on deaf interpreting because of the minimal training requirements that have been in place for so long. So if we can demonstrate that people that Deaf Interpreters have the training and the skills requisite for the demands of their work, they will achieve parity and will be perceived as professionals.

39 And it's important that people who are interpreters understand how to connect with a wide variety of consumers. Now, hearing students have to learn this in the interpreter training program, but those of us who are deaf already know how to use our skills to make effective interpreting happen. So I think that this curriculum helps to form mall lies that process and it will help hearing communities to understand what deaf interpreters bring to the equation and hearing interpreters will have respect for Deaf Interpreters and recognize the skills that we possess. As I said, we planted a seed. We have to be patient while that seed takes time to grow. It could take 10 years. With everyone's positive work, attitude and goals, I think we can make this very effective. If not, what's going to happen? I think that's something that we all need to consider.

40 >> Napier: That is an amazing comment. That's very important to think about our skills and how that effects the interpreting and the curriculum. >> Cogen: This has been a great discussion. I want to make sure, however, that we have plenty of time for questions. So if you have questions, I'd like to show people before that, however, where to find the curriculum. So once I show you where to find the curriculum we will then open up to question and answer period. So hold on just a second. I'd like to briefly explain where to find it. You should have all gotten a link to the curriculum under the materials listing. So if you go to DIInstitute.org, their homepage that you see in front of you, you can actually click on that group photo right there. If you click on the group photo it will bring up a list of the curriculum. That's one way to find the curriculum just by clicking on that group photo.

41 Another option in order to find the curriculum is to go through the tabs at the top of the page and where it says curriculum you can learning center you can click down and finding interpreting curriculum as the first heading beneath that. Another option is at the very bottom you can click on the curriculum there and it will bring you also to the Deaf Interpreter curriculum. We have a page available with all the people who were involved and who were working on consultation and training. So we have the consultants and trainer directory available, which I have at the bottom of the page. So the Deaf Interpreter curriculum and then below that if you click on it you will see what I have here below. And that right there is the directory of who can help you learn more about the Deaf Interpreter curriculum. And who can consult, help you work

42 on your programs and fitting the curriculum in with the program or establishing a new one. Now I'd like to thank you all for your wonderful discussion and I would like to open up to a more general discussion. Again, please type any questions you may have and send them that way. Okay. The first of a multitude of questions here. It's from Harrison Jones. And the question is whether or not the curriculum is has an internship component. I'm a hearing interpreter who often works in a mentoring relationship with interns. Oh, if everyone could hold your questions for a second, my screen is feeding rapidly. >> Plaster: Oh, people are posting a lot of questions so you have to follow the scrolling text. Okay.

43 >> Cogen: So this gentleman works as a mentor and in an area where there are only a few CDIs. Somehow he ends up every once in a while he ends up being a mentor working with a CDI or with a deaf interpreting intern. Not yet a CDI. So would this curriculum be helpful in mentoring deaf interns? Especially if there are no CDIs available to support these particular students who are in hopes of becoming CDIs. >> Napier: So answers out there. The curriculum is designed so that interpreter education programs already have internships. So it's not a specific component of the curriculum. So the internship component is not included in this curriculum, but it certainly could inform an internship course within an existing interpreter education program.

44 >> Plaster: I can speak to the piece about internship mentor ship. It requires a different level of interpreting skills. Really you should not be a Deaf Interpreter doesn't have to be a deaf person who can be the mentor. For a long time I know I worked with somebody who was not I don't think it's required. I think if there is a Deaf Interpreter who wants to be a resource, with mentorship you want to learn about particular things. There may be specific topics in the curriculum that would be beneficial. You could look for a specific topic in the curriculum, but definitely I think the curriculum would support any mentorship or instructional approach for Deaf Interpreters. I think it can be used in that way. >> Poore: Yeah. Within the deaf community within the community based education, the curriculum does really offer a lot of support. I often have students come to observe

45 my work and that provides an opportunity for them to see the curriculum or to see a process in action. And it can be challenging because I do teach upwards of 14 students at a time so I have to make sure I divvy up the schedule so people have the opportunity to come and observe. So I understand the struggle with a lack of CDIs available for that kind of mentoring or interning experience. But over the course of five to six months and even after the curriculum is over, I still will accept people to come to observe my work and to join in on that experience so they can have an opportunity to experience mentorship and interning. But it's definitely part of the process so the curriculum allows flexibility in order to have that component available. And it's also important that it's based on the student's needs to make sure that they're a right fit for the job and the work that they're going to be doing. And that also that the

46 hearing interpreter is amenable having a deaf intern there as well and to understanding how what the goal of the curriculum is and what the goal of having a deaf intern available is. There may be 180 or so CDIs certified all over America, which is really not that many when you think about the vast need. So you have to be creative with how you use those resources. >> Briggs: I would also like to add at Gallaudet you have this mentorship program which is available. I'm here in Rochester and it's difficult. There are only three CDIs here. I work full time and most of the time I'm working in mental health or medical situations, and so those require confidentiality, which does not allow for interns to accompany me. So I think Gallaudet right now has a large concentration of seeds who can serve as men of CDIs who

47 can serve as mentors, so I would urge people to go to the Gallaudet program if there's nothing available in your communities as is the case here in Rochester. >> Cogen: Great. Thank you for your answers. Reading through the list of questions I have in front of me, there are several that have similar thoughts. So if I could follow that particular thread and put them together. Several people are curious about hearing interpreters and how to change their attitudes. And how that perspective from the hearing interpreters who really don't know how to work with Deaf Interpreters can be supported in being more open and accepting. And if there are those who are really open and accepting already to working with Deaf Interpreters, how that could be made to work out better. Would this be accomplished through the curriculum or in some other way? So that's the concept of that question.

48 >> Napier: Module six is hearing interpreters/deaf Interpreter teams. So this could be ideal for a workshop where you bring together hearing interpreters and Deaf Interpreters to learn together and work together. I don't remember the rest of the question. >> Plaster: Cynthia, also I do want to mention that the NCIEC does have a module for Deaf Interpreter/hearing interpreters teams. There's a module available for that. >> Sorry, I think my screen is freezing up a little bit. But I think there's already a module ready free of charge that you can get from the NCIEC. Am I right, Cathy? >> Cogen: That is true, yes, that is the case. And I'm thinking once the webinar is finished I can send out information regarding that particular module. I can certainly do that.

49 And I realize that we have so many questions here. We have certainly quite the list and we only have four minutes left as we are running out of time. So I'm thinking I can download all the questions and we can prepare some answers and send those answers to people after the webinar. So if we haven't gotten to your question, please don't worry. We will answer them after the webinar. I'll get those back to you. At this particular point I would like to thank the entire panel for their open discussion of our Deaf Interpreter curriculum. Thank you Cynthia for moderating our three panelists and thank you three panelists for participating in our discussion. You've given us an awful lot to think about. If you have any questions that come to light later, please contact us at NCIEC.edu.

50 Also like to thank our interpreter team for today. We have Anna Gauthier. >> Thank you, interpreters. >> Cogen: Lauren Parlapiano. And Trudy Schafer. I would also like to thank our captionist, Polly Fife. I'd also like to thank the Northeastern Regional National Interpreter Education. And if you have any questions about CEUs, please contact Bonnie Kaplan. When this webinar is closed, you will receive an and that will include a link for your evaluation. Once you click on it, you will pull up the evaluation. Please fill out the evaluations and once that is done, another form will come your way for CEU requests. Please fill that form out and send that on its way. It will be in the process of bringing your CEUs to you.

51 Remember once again that you have to have participated in our webinar for at least 45 minutes to be qualified to get CEUs. And remember, our funding is from the federal department of education. And they have been supporting us for the past four years. And I'd like to thank them very much for making this such a success and thank all of you for participating. Good job, panel. Have a good night. >> Thank you, bye. (End of webinar)