Post 5 Chapter 6

(6.2) If you interpret for a student throughout the course of a school day, what strategies could you employ to help your student become increasingly independent and to develop long-term memory storage of things like signs for course specific language, class schedule, etc. Identify at least one strategy for long-term memory storage to: (1) promote metacognition, (2) encourage meaningful learning, and (3) make use of mnemonics.

There are many strategies that an interpreter can employ in order for a deaf student to gain independence and develop long-term memory storage. One strategy is to teach deaf students and hearing students how to communicate through an interpreter. The hearing students can also be taught some sign, which would promote communication and interaction between the students. There are also benefits to hearing students learning sign language, which are are listed in the link. Doing these two strategies will help the deaf student to feel more involved in the classroom. These feelings of involvement allow a student to feel higher self efficacy, more independence, and make it easier for them to store information in long term memory. Allowing for a student to be more involved in the classroom encourages meaningful learning.

Interpreting in Elementary School

Post 4: Chapter 6 EI question

The gold standard for teachers is to get students to store information in their long-term memory. What role do interpreters play in what is stored in the student’s sensory register? working memory? What are some potential issues that may arise?


Educational Interpreters are one of the main people that a deaf child has interaction with throughout the school day. Therefore, interpreters play a large role in helping a student with storing information in long term memory. The student may be a very visual learner so this would change how you could interpret. For example, when interpreting a mnemonic device instead of just interpreting the words into signs, fingerspelling can be utilized. An interpreter could set up the device by spelling the device word vertically, and then going back and spelling the meanings horizontally. Another way that an interpreter could help a visual learner is to write it down so that the student could see the concept. If the child were more of a kinesthetic learner then the interpreter could have the child sign the concept with her.An issues that may arise in storing memory may be that if the concept relies on hearing a deaf child would not understand or would have a harder time understanding. An example of this would be using alliteration for a concept, which would not work at all for a deaf student. Songs could also pose an issue for deaf students and the interpreter meaning that they would not translate well into ASL.
This link is to a review on research that has been done regarding working memory and deafness.
   

Chapter 14 EI Topic

I chose to use the Educational Interpreting case study. It is about the misbehavior of a deaf elementary student named Luke. There are many theories that could explain his misbehavior. It may be that Luke does not want a female interpreter. There are many more female interpreters in the field of interpreting than male interpreters. Particularly with younger boys, I can see how it may be embarrassing to have a female interpret for you. Luke may also feel isolated from the class. Sometimes when children feel isolated they may begin to also isolate themselves. Depending on his age, he may not yet have learned how to effectively communicate his thoughts and feelings, and therefore, acting out in this inappropriate way. It is important that an interpreter use the mode of language that is most effective and beneficial for the student’s comprehension and learning. This link is a good overview of an interpreters role in the classroom according to IDEA. It contains some information about the role of an educational interpreter that I had not previously seen before. I did not realize that providing communication according to the student's language abilities fell under this law.   

Chapter 13 PLE

(13.1) List five areas you will attend to as you work with educational staff to create a learning environment that is conducive to interpreting.


1. Where the interpreter is located:

This is vital for a deaf student to be successful in a classroom. If they cannot see the interpreter and whatever aids the teacher is using to teach then it will be difficult for this student to learn. The interpreter also does not want to be in front of the student the entire day. This can be very tiring for the student. As an interpreter I will be ready jump in when interpreting is needed, but when I am not needed it is good to give the student a break.


2. Where the student is locate:

Deaf students are like everyone else. They have their preferences of where they sit. While they will often sit up front, so as to see better, some may not wish to do this in various school settings. It is important for the student to feel comfortable in their learning environment.


3. Relationship with other students:

It is important that the deaf student does not feel isolated and feels like as much a part of the class as any other student. This will significantly aid in how well the student learns and how much they enjoy school.


4. Relationship with teacher:

It is vital that the teacher have a good relationship with their deaf student. This way if there are any problems with the student, such as disruptive behavior, the teacher will be able to understand the cause (is it cultural or simply the student acting up) and act accordingly.


5. Vocabulary terms:

A student may need extra clarification with terms they do not understand. If a student has a puzzled look on their face then it is necessary to go into further detail to explain the term. It is also nice to have a list of terms before the class begins. This way if there are not signs for the term the interpreter will know how to spell the term, and can better explain the term to the student.


This website contains great information for the role of an educational interpreter, and what they will and will not do in a classroom.

Motivation

     Motivation is crucial in order to for people get things done. I know, for me, that if I have low motivation towards something it will most likely remain unaccomplished (or will be done at the last possible moment). I tend to use the goal theory of motivation most. I make lists for everything... groceries, school, work, things I want to do, things I want to buy... everything. Most of my lists contain performance goals rather than learning goals. In thinking about it, though, I do have learning goals even though they are not written down. While goal theory seems, to me, to be the most influential in my motivation I see how the other theories we talked about in class also play into my motivation. After having to take many science classes I think I will do well in microbiology. This makes it easier to study for this class because I believe that I can do well in it. Based on this I can see how self efficacy theory also plays into my motivation for school. In a classroom I have seen how setting goals, and encouraging self efficacy can be very helpful for students. My sister is a pre-school teacher, and she sets goals for her students and encourages them as they try hard activities like writing. I see how in her classroom her students are motivated to write and read because of these uses of motivation theories.

PLE post 1

     While this class if primarily for teachers I do believe there is much that I can learn. As I have seen teaching is not only restricted to a classroom. With interpreting you never exactly know what kind of assignment you will be given or what you will have to do. It is important to be able to understand how children think and act in various situations. I am excited to learn more about children's cognitive and linguistic development because how these things develop are crucial to how a child will understand their world. I also found this video Classroom Interpreting. It is really cheesy, but if you were wondering what exactly an ASL interpreter does in a classroom the information is pretty good.