Now this is when we get to share our REAL LIFE experiences and then pull em apart to see why they worked! Please use the comments section below to share 2 situations when a more ACTIVE approach to Educational Interpreting resulted in,
1.) Meeting the educational goal AND satisfying all the consumers (teacher & student)
2.) Not meeting the educational goal BUT still satisfying all the consumers (teacher & student)
Be sure to include the controls you used that made the experience satisfying for your consumers. An example can be found at this link Ethical Choices: Activity 3 Comment Example.
EdTerp :)
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**Please remember, DO NOT USE any identifiable information in your comments. This includes any information about the school or district. Comments will be reviewed for these purposes before they are posted.
1. I was interpreting for math and the teachers lessons were not very visual. I spoke with the teacher of the deaf and she said she would follow up. After a week, I realized that the TOD was innundated with IEP deadlines so I offerred to consult with the mainstream teacher in how to make the lesson more visual. TOD approved and I approached the teacher in a friendly way (since I had already developed a good rapport with her previously) and asked if I could talk with her. I shared my observations and suggestions regarding visual accessibility. The next class the mainstream math teacher took off. Lessons were much more visual and in the end she asked to collaborate with me on certain lessons. And the best part ... our deaf students were not only more motivated to try, their academic progress improved significantly!
ReplyDelete2.) I had a similar experience with that on the sample doc. The mainstream sub teacher was suuper akward around our deaf student and it got so bad that I actually quietly asked to see him outside. I started the conversation with "how to work with an interpreter" and then went into mutual respect and audism. I offerred some common ground in which the teacher could use to relate with our deaf student (in an effort to try to repair the damage he had caused in the relationship with his akwardness). Our deaf student was soo awesome that he didnʻt hold a grudge and they talked story most of the period ... and other kids in the class joined in too. This conversation started new friendships for the deaf and hearing students in the class. However ... NO ONE completed the work.
ReplyDeleteExample of meeting the goal and satisfying the consumers:
ReplyDeleteI have always made it a point to allow deaf students to have input and feel in control of the services I provide as much as possible. If you want me to move to a particular place, not interpret a song because you just want to watch the video, or if you want to space out and tune out the lecture, those are the choices every student should be allowed to make. Sometimes interpreters have a way of insisting that they know what's best and without meaning to they rob the student of the opportunity to make choices. I knew I was going to be absent for a school assembly, so I reminded the student to talk to the sub interpreter about placement and what you want the sub to do. In times past this student was obligated to sit in the very front with the kindergarteners and the interpreter stood next to the speaker. When I came in to relieve the sub, she briefly explained the student had insisted on sitting in a particular place and the interpreter standing in a particular place to the side. The sub admitted she didn't think it was ideal in the beginning but it all worked out. The educational goal of the student having access to the assembly was accomplished, as well as the student building independence and self-advocacy, and everyone was satisfied with the arrangement.
Example of not meeting the goal and satisfying the consumers:
I was working with a student group filming a psa video. After discussing the script and who could do certain parts, one student suggested the Deaf student be given a non-speaking role because their speech was not always intelligible. I piped up and suggested the student could speak and captions could be added to the video. Over the course of several days the group was falling behind, and one day the Deaf student was working on independent work. I saw the other group members get up to go work on the group project but they did not call the Deaf student. I even made eye contact with one of the children as they exited the room. The Dead student was oblivious. Later I informed the teacher of what transpired. The teacher called the group together and stressed that the group project must be done together. Any video filmed at the exclusion of another student was to be thrown out. The students realized every group member was important. The project suffered and had to be submitted incomplete, but I believe those students learned a valuable inter-personal lesson. They all continued to be friends after the incident. The Deaf student was very forgiving.