Interpreting Skills Series
To support the general skills development of future school interpreters, the Preparing School Interpreters (PSI) Project (H325K210024) funded the design and development of the Interpreting Skills Series, which included content and activities that support the acquisition of interpreting skills. The curriculum of the School Interpreting Series was built upon the knowledge, skills, and attitudes taught in the Interpreting Skills Series to tailor the professional practice of Scholars who would pursue professional employment in schools.
The Interpreting Skills Series was gifted to the ASL-English Interpretation BA program at the University of Northern Colorado in 2022 as a 19-credit-hour, four-course series covering interpreting skills and theory. The courses were designed for delivery during four sequential semesters (summer, fall, spring, & summer).
Developmental Process & Team
The development process for the Interpreting Skills Series used the ADDIE Model and a centralized design approach.
The Interpreting Skills Series curriculum development team (2022) included:
Dr. Leilani Johnson, Ed.D., Director Emerita and grant consultant during the curriculum development process.
LaNae Phillips, M.Ed., Instructional Coordinator for the University of Northern Colorado’s ASL & Interpreting Studies department.
Anna Witter-Merithew, M.Ed., as the instructional designer and primary content expert, who brought prior knowledge of the ASL-English Interpretation BA program curriculum, due to her prior leadership in the original design of that program at the University of Northern Colorado.
The curriculum development team was advised by an Expert Panel, which met regularly with the instructional designer during the development process to discuss design and development considerations and review curricular products to provide counsel and recommendations for improvement.
The Expert Panel included five experts who brought their direct involvement in the preparation of interpreters at the post-secondary level in different regions of the United States, their work as practitioners, and their diverse experiences. Several researchers have contributed scholarship to the field of interpreting and interpreter education. They are well informed about the field’s research, which proved useful in assessing the value and contribution of a range of publications used in the courses. Several experts were program administrators; they provided recommendations on how to address and manage the program parameters.
The Expert Panel (2022) included:
Su Kyong Isakson, M.A.
Assistant Professor and Project Coordinator for the Interpreter Preparation Program at Community College of Baltimore County
Lauri Krouse, M.Ed.
Adjunct faculty at the ASL-English Interpretation BA program at the University of Northern Colorado
Dr. Jeni Rodrigues, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor and Coordinator of the Health Care Interpretation M.S. Program at the National Technical Institute for the Deaf at Rochester Institute of Technology
Dr. Christopher Tester, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor for the Department of Interpretation and Translation at Gallaudet University
Dr. Rosemary Wanis, Ed.D.
Lecturer for the Communicative Sciences and Deaf Studies department at Fresno State University