Increasing Undergraduate Student Interpreters' Fluency and Accuracy in Interpreting STEM Content

本项目旨在为国家利益服务，通过增加本科生口译员的生物科学词汇知识，使他们能够流利准确地为聋哑人或重听学生解释生物学内容。由于缺乏以手语授课的中学后课程，将美国手语(ASL)作为主要交流方式的学生要充分参与STEM(科学、技术、工程和数学)学习，唯一的方法是使用合格的手语口译员，他们能够有效和准确地解释STEM内容。然而，研究表明，许多手语口译员缺乏足够的技能，无法让学生完全接触STEM内容，无法准确解读，而且往往没有STEM相关培训或经验。该项目建立在前两个IUSE：EDU勘探和设计项目成果的基础上，并解决了这一问题。开发活动将完成一个独特的手语生物科学词典(SBL)，使学生口译员能够开发ASL生物科学词汇，制作帮助使用和理解手指拼写五项原则的视频，并制作一套视频教程，使教员能够将手指拼写原则纳入学生口译员的教学。研究将包括在开发地点与拉马尔大学的聋人研究和聋人教育本科生口译学生以及在第二地点与东肯塔基大学(EKU)口译培训计划(ITP)的学生一起实施时，对材料的使用和有效性进行研究。这一项目的结果将具有重大意义，因为它们将为拉马尔和EKU内外的后续项目提供指导，这些项目将包括STEM的其他内容领域、其他国际传播技术计划和全国范围内的口译学生。该项目具有重要和深远的潜力，不仅可以增加聋人或重听学生参与包括STEM内容的课程，而且可能有助于鼓励他们从事STEM职业。该项目有五个目标：1)创建包含人类手势者而不是化身的SBL，并整合指纹拼写的五项原则；2)完成视频教程；3)实施材料，并对其使用和效果进行形成性评估；4)根据测试结果对材料进行修改；5)传播项目交付成果，并开始与网站合作，将其纳入口译计划。评估将包括两项研究，一项在拉马尔，一项在EKU，每项研究将分为两个阶段。第一阶段将评估SBL是否有助于学生掌握ASL生物科学词汇。第二阶段将考察手指拼写五项原则的应用在提高学生手指拼写的流利性和准确性方面的有效性，以及他们流利而准确地理解一堂典型的生物科学讲座的能力。许多学生口译员很难掌握手语的重要组成部分--手指拼写。他们的手指拼写通常看起来像打字，因为他们不知道如何从一个视觉音素转移到另一个视觉音素。随着越来越多的聋人和重听学生进入高级STEM课程，消除障碍的一种方法是配备高技能的口译员，他们是有效的指纹拼写者，可以快速有效地解释正在进行的上下文，这些上下文包括许多没有既定手势的术语。该项目有可能使聋哑人或重听大学生更容易接触到生物科学内容，从而可能有助于支持他们追求生物学(或其他STEM)专业和职业。NSF IUSE：EDU计划支持研究和开发项目，以提高所有学生的STEM教育的有效性。通过参与的学生学习路径，该计划支持有前景的实践和工具的创建、探索和实施。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This project aims to serve the national interest by increasing the bioscience vocabulary knowledge of undergraduate student interpreters to enable them to interpret biology content fluently and accurately for students who are deaf or hard of hearing. Due to the lack of postsecondary courses that are delivered in sign language, the only way for students who use American Sign Language (ASL) as their primary method of communication to engage fully in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) learning is through use of qualified sign-language interpreters who can interpret STEM content effectively and accurately. However, research shows that many sign- language interpreters lack adequate skills to provide students with full access to STEM content, are unable to accurately interpret it, and often do not have STEM-related training or experience. The project builds on outcomes of two previous IUSE: EDU Exploration and Design projects and addresses this issue. Development activities will result in completion of a unique Signing Bioscience Lexicon (SBL) for enabling student interpreters to develop an ASL bioscience vocabulary, videos to aid in use and understanding of the five principles of fingerspelling, and a set of video tutorials to equip instructors to incorporate the principles of fingerspelling into their teaching of student interpreters. Research will involve study of the materials’ use and effectiveness when implemented at the development site with Lamar University’s Deaf Studies and Deaf Education undergraduate interpreting students, and at a second site with students enrolled in Eastern Kentucky University’s (EKU) Interpreter Training Program (ITP). Outcomes of this project will be significant in that they will inform direction of subsequent projects, within and beyond Lamar and EKU, which will include other STEM content areas, other ITPs, and interpreting students nationwide. This project has the important and far-reaching potential of not only increasing participation of students who are deaf or hard of hearing in courses that include STEM content, but also may be instrumental in encouraging them to pursue STEM careers. The project has five goals: 1) Create an SBL that incorporates a human signer rather than an avatar and integrates the five principles of fingerspelling; 2) Finalize the video tutorials; 3) Implement the materials and conduct a formative evaluation of use and effectiveness; 4) Make modifications to the materials based on test results; 5) Disseminate project deliverables and begin working with sites to integrate them into their interpreting programs. The evaluation will include two studies, one at Lamar and one at EKU, each of which will be divided into two phases. Phase One will evaluate whether the SBL helps students in the mastery of ASL bioscience vocabulary. Phase Two will examine the effectiveness of the application of the five principles of fingerspelling in increasing students’ fingerspelling fluency and accuracy and their ability to interpret a typical bioscience lecture fluently and accurately. Many student interpreters struggle with fingerspelling, an important component of sign languages. Their fingerspelling often looks like typing, as they do not know how to move from one visual phoneme to the next. As more deaf and hard of hearing students enter advanced STEM programs, one way to remove barriers is to have highly skilled interpreters who are effective fingerspellers and who can rapidly and effectively interpret ongoing contexts that include many terms that do not have established signs. The project has the potential to make bioscience content more accessible to undergraduates who are deaf or hard of hearing, and thus may be instrumental in supporting their pursuit of biology (or other STEM) majors and careers. The NSF IUSE: EDU Program supports research and development projects to improve the effectiveness of STEM education for all students. Through the Engaged Student Learning track, the program supports the creation, exploration, and implementation of promising practices and tools.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.