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

本项目旨在为国家利益服务，增加大学生口译员的生物科学词汇知识，使他们能够流利、准确地为失聪或听力障碍的学生口译生物内容。由于缺乏以手语授课的高等教育课程，使用美国手语（ASL）作为主要交流方式的学生充分参与STEM（科学，技术，工程和数学）学习的唯一途径是使用合格的手语口译员，他们可以有效准确地解释STEM内容。然而，研究表明，许多手语口译员缺乏足够的技能，无法为学生提供全面的STEM内容，无法准确地翻译这些内容，而且往往没有STEM相关的培训或经验。该项目建立在前两个IUSE: EDU探索和设计项目的成果之上，并解决了这个问题。开发活动将完成一套独特的手语生物科学词典（SBL），使口译学生能够开发一套美国手语生物科学词汇，还有一些视频，帮助他们使用和理解手指拼写的五项原则，以及一套视频教程，使教师能够将手指拼写的原则纳入他们对口译学生的教学中。研究将包括研究材料的使用和有效性，在开发地点与拉马尔大学聋人研究和聋人教育本科口译学生一起实施，并在另一个地点与东肯塔基大学（EKU）口译培训计划（ITP）的学生一起实施。该项目的成果将具有重要意义，因为它们将为Lamar和EKU内外的后续项目提供方向，这些项目将包括其他STEM内容领域，其他ITPs和全国范围内的口译学生。该项目具有重要而深远的潜力，不仅可以提高失聪或听力障碍学生对包括STEM内容的课程的参与，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)创建一个包含人类签名者而不是化身的SBL，并整合了五个拼写原则；2)完成视频教程；3)实施材料，并对材料的使用和有效性进行形成性评价；4)根据测试结果对材料进行修改；5)传播项目成果，并开始与网站合作，将其整合到他们的口译项目中。评价将包括两项研究，一项在Lamar，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美国手语生物科学词汇。第二阶段将检验五项拼写原则在提高学生的拼写流畅性和准确性以及他们流利准确地解释典型生物科学讲座的能力方面的应用效果。许多学生口译员在手势语的重要组成部分——手势语拼写上遇到了困难。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下一个。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拥有高技能的口译员，他们是有效的手指拼写者，能够快速有效地解释包括许多没有建立标志的术语在内的正在进行的上下文。该项目有可能使耳聋或听力障碍的本科生更容易获得生物科学内容，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项目支持研究和开发项目，以提高所有学生STEM教育的有效性。通过参与学生学习轨道，该计划支持有前途的实践和工具的创建，探索和实施。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值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.