Instructor and Class Times

Instructor: Doug Stringham
Class Period: TR 5:30–6:45 pm, CB 313
E-mail: dstringham (at) gmail.com

(You may contact me at any time via e-mail or by arranging a meeting time before or after class. Please no phone calls.)

Required Texts

Please bring your text, handouts, and notetaking materials to class each day.

• Although not a “text,” you’ll need a GoREACT account to store/display video of your assignments, exams, and lab work. If you don’t have an account, sign up for a GoREACT account right now. Required
• Student handouts containing resources, class assignments, and instructor-selected supplemental readings. Available from the class schedule and/or passed out in class, these may be distributed on an infrequent basis. These handouts are important; exam materials will also come from these resources. Required
• Video texts from Patrie, C. (2004). Effective Interpreting series: ASL Skills Development. San Diego: DawnSign Press. Readings, class discussions, postings, and lab assignments will be taken primarily from this volume. (Unfortunately, this class text is only available in limited distribution; available from UVU Bookstore, DawnSign Press, or Harris Communications.) Highly Recommended

Available in the UVU bookstore or on the Internet at a variety of online bookstores and resellers. See class schedule for links.

How is my work evaluated? (or, in other words, “How do I get an A?”)

Your final grade, however, is not based on your perception of nor what you think about your acumen and ability, it is based on your demonstrated ability to produce equivalent signed-to-spoken-English work.

Course final grades are determined by combining both

• scores on all of the submitted assignments and exams
• considering assessed performance on your student-teacher contract
• class participation (team presentations/discussions, in-class engagement, and accountability; ‘in-class participation’ does not constitute coming to class and sitting, unengaged, for 75 minutes)

Most importantly, you should remember that making decisions in interpreting situations or producing interpreting work is really all about efficient and fluent problem solving: identifying and then applying knowledge to resolve communication differences.

ASL3370: Sign-to-Spoken-English Interpreting is largely a skill-based course; grades are based on demonstrated acumen and ability, not how well you think you interpret and/or your knowledge about interpretation.

While some portions of your coursework and exams will test for specific factual who-when-where information (‘remembering’ skills), far less important is your ability to regurgitate facts and figures. Instead, assignments and exams are designed to identify how well you internalize principles, cultural and technical knowledge, and process understanding, and then apply them to create solutions to various situations (‘applying’ and ‘analyzing’ skills). Learn more about higher-level learning in course FAQs.

Scoring criteria are clearly defined on assignment handouts or exams; you’ll know what you need to do to earn the grade you want. Ultimately, your grade is a reflection of personal effort and internalization of concepts learned in the course.

Grading Breakdown

University Policies and Students with Disabilities

• University policy prohibits children in the classroom or children unattended in the halls. Make whatever arrangements you must in order to comply with this policy.
• Failure to come to class does not constitute withdrawal from the course. If circumstances make it impossible for you to complete this course, then you must officially withdraw. Otherwise, you may receive a grade at the end of the semester you did not intend.
• Students who need accommodations because of a disability may contact the Accessibility Services Department (ASD), located on the Orem Campus in LC 312. To schedule an appointment or to speak with a counselor, please contact the ASD office at (801) 863-8747 V or (801) 221-0908 VP. Academic accommodations are granted for all students who have qualified documented disabilities. Deaf/Hard-of-hearing individuals should email nicole.hemmingsen (at) uvu.edu or text (385) 208-2677. Services are coordinated with the student and instructor by the Accessibility Services Department.

Student Success Resources

If needed, there are several campus resources available:

• if you need technical help with Canvas, including some self-serve/diagnostic assistance
• health, mental health, and learning assistance
• tutoring, writing, and getting a handle on self-paced learning opportunities like in this course
• support or assistance with reporting options and student rights

Course Requirements and Expectations

These are the instructor’s expectations of you:

1. Become BFF with technology. Current technologies enable our cognition and communication; you’ll need to familiarize yourself with:
   • the ASL department language lab’s capabilities (video/audio capture, file transfer, etc.) or obtain consistent access to a digital video camera where you can retrieve files and upload them to
   • (optional) a videosharing account (YouTube, Vimeo, Blogger, etc.) that you may use to display your work and accept discussion and commentary or
   • a GoREACT account to store/display video of your assignments, exams, and lab work (if you don’t have an account, sign up for a GoREACT account
   • a reliable email account (hopefully the one you gave the instructor)
   • the course Canvas page (you’ll submit assignments here) and the class website; check in on a daily basis
2. Because of the focused and specific nature of this course, classwork will be conducted in spoken English a majority of the time. You should consider our official classroom language environment, however, to be bilingual. Due to the nature of what we’re studying, we may also conduct discussions in ASL or whatever MCE in which we’re working; you should be prepared to switch back and forth between ASL and spoken English when needed. Please respect the importance of maintaining this policy.
3. You’re taking this course for your own reasons. But despite our diversity, it is important that we strive to form a community of safety, reflective practice, openness, collegiality, and trust. Our cohesiveness influences how rich the idea exchange is in our assignments and discussions. Thin skins, quick offense, and lack of participation make it difficult to achieve this interactive environment.
4. Salient, intelligent, self-expressive, and self-paced skills are requisite for this course. In short, I can help lead you to water, but you have to want to drink. This is a junior/senior-level class; as such, it is assumed that you can maintain a certain level of self-mastery, scholastic discipline, and responsibility. The attitude and success of this course is dependent on your preparation and interactivity:
   • Please come to class on time — not five to ten minutes late — and be prepared
   • You should read and study the appropriate unit in the text for each class period (see class schedule), submit postings and comments, and complete assignments
   • Be prepared not only to answer questions, but also to ask them. Being ill-prepared sets the class back and undermines our classroom community.
5. Academic Integrity. Your assignments and classwork are graded on an honor system; ‘completing classwork’ indicates that you have actually read, spent time in the lab, and/or made a serious attempt to complete an assignment. Note: cheating, plagiarism, or any dishonest work violates this honor system as well as university policy will result in the automatic failure of the assignment and/or the course. When in doubt, cite it out. Further punitive action(s) for cheating may also be levied by university administrators.
6. Class attendance is important and necessary. Because this class is only held for 75 minutes twice a week, it is, of necessity, faster-paced. When you miss a class, you are responsible for all materials presented, i.e., lecture notes, changes in class schedule, and assignments. Assignments are due on their due date by 11:59 pm; if you’re unable to submit an assignment, I urge you to figure out an alternative method. However, if there are compelling circumstances, let’s talk about it.

This is what you may expect of the instructor:

1. The instructor will not waste your time. You are spending at least 10% of your day (and however much more outside of class) and a fair amount of tuition to learn these principles, data, and connections to y/our profession. That is a great deal of trust and the instructor takes this seriously. The time together in class is an investment, not a check on a list.
2. The instructor will be fair. There are no preconceived notions about the skills, abilities, and knowledge that students individually bring into the class community. Indeed, grades are given based on merit progress up (or down) one’s own scale.
3. The instructor will evaluate each student on his or her own merits. As such, grades on curves or comparisons to other students are counterproductive and set false standards. If you earned an 85, you will receive an 85, not an interpretation of someone else’s 85.
4. The instructor will treat students with respect. Just as it is expected of you, so too, you have the right to expect this of the instructor. Belittling, faultfinding, or demeaning student’s thoughts and feelings is inappropriate.
5. However, the instructor will provide as much honest evaluation and assessment feedback as possible.
   • Interpretation and transliteration is an emotionally and physically demanding profession; developing the ability to accept discussion and formative feedback about your work is a recommended goal at this stage in your training. In the spirit of respectful treatment, this also means that evaluations and/or offline discussions of inaccurate, inequivalent, or substandard performance are also open for collegial dialog. This is a great opportunity to receive mentored, external, and professional observations of your work.
   • This also means, however, that while students can expect in-class feedback on produced work, there isn’t sufficient time to provide diagnostic-level feedback on each assignment, every time.

Fall 2019 Full disclosure: I may have out-of-state travel responsibilities I am fulfilling this semester. I will inform you about these absences and we will work out contingencies. Thank you in advance for your patience.