Optimizing and Disseminating Proven Reforms in Interpreter Education

Funded by the Fund for the Improvement of Post-Secondary Education (FIPSE) grant #P116B060113

Overview:
Optimizing and Disseminating Proven Reforms in Interpreter Education is a follow-up dissemination project to our successful 2001 – 2005 FIPSE project, Reforming Interpreter Education: A Practice-Profession Approach. Of this project, our external evaluation team leader wrote, “of all the projects I have evaluated over the years, none have ever come close to achieving these results.” That project developed innovative curricular materials and methods for sign language Interpreter Preparation Programs (IPPs), based on the Dean and Pollard's Demand-Control Schema for Interpreting Work (DC-S). (See our publications.) The DC-S approach was then implemented at the University of Tennessee's (UT) interpreting program, which has enthusiastically sustained and expanded these innovations. Word of the successful UT project led to dozens of other programs adopting elements of the demand-control approach but often without sufficient training and oversight to implement them properly. That problem, and the rising number of interpreting programs wishing to adopt DC-S, comprise the impetus for this current , 3-year project, funded by FIPSE.

This FIPSE dissemination project is implementing curricular reforms in 15 sign language interpreter preparation programs (IPPs) across the United States. The reforms are centered on the DC-S approach.. Three expert DC-S mentors are each working with five IPP partners to refine, apply, and expand how DC-S is used in their curricula. The project evaluation team consists of experts in interpreter education and the evaluation of educational programs. At the termination of the project, a DC-S textbook, including guidelines for IPP faculty and materials for classroom use, will be published.

In the project's first nine months, three colleges were added to the original 12-college plan and the details of the collaboration agreement were specified and secured with each IPP. Each program was surveyed as to how and if they presently employ DC-S concepts or methods in their curricula and in which courses, and in what ways, they intend to implement it in upcoming courses during the project period. The three expert mentors attended a training program at the University of Rochester (UR) and have subsequently conducted initial DC-S training workshops at the participating IPPs. The UR project developers have populated a Blackboard project resource Web site with numerous DC-S learning and teaching materials, including documents of many kinds and PowerPoint presentations on various DC-S topics. The three expert mentors are guiding participating IPP faculty in the use of these Blackboard materials and other aspects of DC-S implementation. Implementation across the 15 participating IPPs began in Fall 2007, including in introductory courses, skills-focused courses, ethics courses, and others.

The evaluation team met with the UR developers and refined a detailed evaluation plan that includes creation of a “curriculum map” to track DC-S implementation, faculty and student surveys to document implementation effectiveness and, in project year three, a national IPP survey to assess broader project influence. The IPPs have contributed detailed program information to the evaluation team and the curriculum map is now being created. On August 3, 2007, the project sponsored a pre-conference meeting at the convention of the Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf to spotlight current applications of DC-S pedagogy at IPPs nationwide. Over 100 individuals have attended the all-day pre-conference. A conference proceedings book will be published by June, 2008 and will be available from the project developers at the University of Rochester (see below).

Participating Dissemination Sites: Western Oregon University (Oregon); Mount San Antonio College (California); Phoenix College (Arizona); Johnson County Community College (Kansas); Columbus State Community College (Ohio); Georgia Perimeter College (Georgia); Community College of Baltimore County (Maryland); Oklahoma State University (Oklahoma); Bethel College (Indiana); American River College (California); Hillsborough Community College (Florida); Ohlone College (California); Tulsa Community College (Oklahoma); Goshen College (Indiana); Portland Community College (Oregon).

Key Project Personnel:
University of Rochester Medical Center
Robyn Dean, CI/CT, MA (Project leader)
Faculty Associate in Psychiatry (Psychology)
(585) 275-6572
Robyn_Dean@urmc.rochester.edu

Robert Pollard, Ph.D. (Principal Investigator)
Associate Professor of Psychiatry (Psychology)
(585) 275-3544
Robert_Pollard@urmc.rochester.edu

This project is sponsored by the Fund for the Improvement of Post-Secondary Education (FIPSE), U.S. Department of Education.
FIPSE Website:  http://www.ed.gov/FIPSE/
US Dept. of Education Website: http://www.ed.gov