My Teaching Philosophy
As a teacher and as an interpreter, it is my responsibility to provide access to education. This access to education should be an enjoyable experience for all individuals involved. The task of providing such experience is difficult, yet rewarding if successful. All should share the rewards of this experience. I see the teacher-student relationship as a two-way street, where I as the teacher leave the classroom learning just as much as the students.
My goal is to change the framework of interpreter education from a model that has been based around a master-apprenticeship role, into a program that is more egalitarian, and allows for better flow of communication and information between the professor and their students. As a teacher, I also vow to continue to be a practitioner in the field in which I teach. I believe that leading by example is the most influential means of teaching. In order to do this, I employ a number of teaching methodologies to engage students in learning. I will provide a few examples.
As a student, I learned best when I was applying what I learn outside of the classroom to real world situations. As an instructor, I use a pedagogical approach known as situated learning to achieve meaningful learning. This approach is a type of experiential learning (Merriam & Bierema, 2014) that is context specific. It is a common phrase in the interpreting profession that both translation and ethical decision making depends on the context, therefore I teach by providing those contextual factors in the safety of authentic environments at the appropriate times for students. This includes inviting diverse Deaf and hearing (who are unfamiliar with ASL) consumers to make the experience more authentic. I foster a protective environment where students feel safe to make mistakes and learn from those mistakes while not doing harm to the consumers they are serving.
In addition, I embrace the idea according to Dean and Pollard that the field of interpreting is a practice profession, and thus the curriculum that I teach incorporates this idea. A practice profession is one that requires the practitioner to have knowledge and technical skills as well as to provide services in a dynamic context where they employ minute-to-minute ethical decision-making skills that have an impact on the consumers and the situation (Dean & Pollard, 2005, 2011). Infusing both experiential learning and reflective practices as other practice professions do is the educational approach I am modeling. My teaching allows students to not only have experiential learning opportunities, but will also relate those experiences to the interpreting profession through practicing safely in authentic environments under my supervision. Authentic environments include mock interpreting outside of the classroom with Deaf and hearing consumers. When engaging in these methods of education, I incorporate the valuable structure that includes in the constructs of the Demand-Control Schema when discussing decision making for interpreters.
I consistently challenge myself to remain open-minded, welcoming new ideas and suggestions. A psychologist by the name of Carl Rogers coined the term, “Unconditional positive regard.” This term is an approach that means, “There are no conditions of acceptance.” To me this means that as an instructor I need to respect each student’s feelings and experiences, and that I need to accept them as is.
Related to the idea of assessment, I do not and will not see myself as the sole assessor of learning. It takes a village in order to become a professional interpreter, and thus this will also be a collaborative effort where I will rely on the students, my colleagues, Deaf/hearing consumers, peers, and myself to determine success. Assessment is an integral part of ensuring that the goals you are establishing are met. Using guidance from others will help with quality control inside and outside of the classroom. Continuing to incorporate novel ideas and philosophies and reflecting upon them with appropriate assessment tools is necessary to keep up with the times.
Finally, I vow to continue being a practicing interpreter in order to keep myself abreast with changes in the field. The amount of knowledge and experience that I continue to gain by being practitioner will only enrich both my work as an interpreter and also my teaching in the classroom. This will also help to build and maintain relationships within the Deaf community and the Rochester community at large.
Dean, R. K., & Pollard, R. Q. (2005). Consumers and service effectiveness in interpreting work: A practice profession perspective. In M. Marschark, R. Peterson, & E. A. Winston (Eds.), Sign Language Interpreting and Interpreter Education (pp. 259– 282). Retrieved from https://intrpr.github.io/library/dean-pollard-practice- professions.pdf
Dean, R. K., & Pollard, R. Q. (2011). Context-based ethical reasoning in interpreting: A demand control schema perspective. The Interpreter and Translator Trainer, 5(1), 155–182. doi:10.1080/13556509.2011.10798816
Merriam, S. B., & Bierema, L. L. (2014). Adult learning: Linking theory and practice. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Rogers, C. R. (2007). The necessary and sufficient conditions of therapeutic personality change. Psychotherapy: Theory, Research, Practice, Training, 44(3), 240-248. doi:10.1037/0033-3204.44.3.240
Swabey L. & Malcolm K. (Eds.) (2012). Beyond "interesting": Using demand-control schema to structure experiential learning In, In our hands: Educating healthcare interpreters (pp. 77-104). Washington, D.C.: Gallaudet University Press.
My goal is to change the framework of interpreter education from a model that has been based around a master-apprenticeship role, into a program that is more egalitarian, and allows for better flow of communication and information between the professor and their students. As a teacher, I also vow to continue to be a practitioner in the field in which I teach. I believe that leading by example is the most influential means of teaching. In order to do this, I employ a number of teaching methodologies to engage students in learning. I will provide a few examples.
As a student, I learned best when I was applying what I learn outside of the classroom to real world situations. As an instructor, I use a pedagogical approach known as situated learning to achieve meaningful learning. This approach is a type of experiential learning (Merriam & Bierema, 2014) that is context specific. It is a common phrase in the interpreting profession that both translation and ethical decision making depends on the context, therefore I teach by providing those contextual factors in the safety of authentic environments at the appropriate times for students. This includes inviting diverse Deaf and hearing (who are unfamiliar with ASL) consumers to make the experience more authentic. I foster a protective environment where students feel safe to make mistakes and learn from those mistakes while not doing harm to the consumers they are serving.
In addition, I embrace the idea according to Dean and Pollard that the field of interpreting is a practice profession, and thus the curriculum that I teach incorporates this idea. A practice profession is one that requires the practitioner to have knowledge and technical skills as well as to provide services in a dynamic context where they employ minute-to-minute ethical decision-making skills that have an impact on the consumers and the situation (Dean & Pollard, 2005, 2011). Infusing both experiential learning and reflective practices as other practice professions do is the educational approach I am modeling. My teaching allows students to not only have experiential learning opportunities, but will also relate those experiences to the interpreting profession through practicing safely in authentic environments under my supervision. Authentic environments include mock interpreting outside of the classroom with Deaf and hearing consumers. When engaging in these methods of education, I incorporate the valuable structure that includes in the constructs of the Demand-Control Schema when discussing decision making for interpreters.
I consistently challenge myself to remain open-minded, welcoming new ideas and suggestions. A psychologist by the name of Carl Rogers coined the term, “Unconditional positive regard.” This term is an approach that means, “There are no conditions of acceptance.” To me this means that as an instructor I need to respect each student’s feelings and experiences, and that I need to accept them as is.
Related to the idea of assessment, I do not and will not see myself as the sole assessor of learning. It takes a village in order to become a professional interpreter, and thus this will also be a collaborative effort where I will rely on the students, my colleagues, Deaf/hearing consumers, peers, and myself to determine success. Assessment is an integral part of ensuring that the goals you are establishing are met. Using guidance from others will help with quality control inside and outside of the classroom. Continuing to incorporate novel ideas and philosophies and reflecting upon them with appropriate assessment tools is necessary to keep up with the times.
Finally, I vow to continue being a practicing interpreter in order to keep myself abreast with changes in the field. The amount of knowledge and experience that I continue to gain by being practitioner will only enrich both my work as an interpreter and also my teaching in the classroom. This will also help to build and maintain relationships within the Deaf community and the Rochester community at large.
Dean, R. K., & Pollard, R. Q. (2005). Consumers and service effectiveness in interpreting work: A practice profession perspective. In M. Marschark, R. Peterson, & E. A. Winston (Eds.), Sign Language Interpreting and Interpreter Education (pp. 259– 282). Retrieved from https://intrpr.github.io/library/dean-pollard-practice- professions.pdf
Dean, R. K., & Pollard, R. Q. (2011). Context-based ethical reasoning in interpreting: A demand control schema perspective. The Interpreter and Translator Trainer, 5(1), 155–182. doi:10.1080/13556509.2011.10798816
Merriam, S. B., & Bierema, L. L. (2014). Adult learning: Linking theory and practice. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Rogers, C. R. (2007). The necessary and sufficient conditions of therapeutic personality change. Psychotherapy: Theory, Research, Practice, Training, 44(3), 240-248. doi:10.1037/0033-3204.44.3.240
Swabey L. & Malcolm K. (Eds.) (2012). Beyond "interesting": Using demand-control schema to structure experiential learning In, In our hands: Educating healthcare interpreters (pp. 77-104). Washington, D.C.: Gallaudet University Press.