Course curriculum

  • 1

    Course content

    • PowerPoint

    • Deaf Interpreters in School Settings: A Solution

    • Quiz

    • Evaluation

Course information

Course description: 

Research conducted in 2019 across a range of educational settings identified three primary positionalities of Deaf interpreters within classroom environments. This presentation will explore these roles in depth, examining how each shapes access, language development, and student engagement. Participants will consider the unique contributions and impact of Deaf interpreters, including their role in supporting language modeling, cultural mediation, and meaning-making for Deaf students. The session will also highlight effective teaming strategies between Deaf and hearing interpreters, with a focus on collaboration. Grounded in a student-centered, whole-child framework, this presentation invites participants to rethink how interpreter roles can be leveraged to support meaningful language and learning outcomes.

Agenda:

10 minutes: Introduction to presentation/presenter and what is a Deaf Interpreter

20 minutes: Positionalities

10 minutes: Benefits and impact

10 minutes: Strategies

10 minutes: Rowley/Endrew Case Law and advocating for a DI at IEP meetings


Learner outcomes:

Participants will be able to:

  1. Describe the three different positionalities of DIs in the classroom

  2. Explain at least one way DIs are beneficial in school settings

  3. Define two ways that interpreters can work together to prepare their work with each other

Instructor(s)

Rosemary Wanis

Rosemary Wanis is a Certified Deaf Interpreter living in Central California with her parents and adult daughter. She was born Deaf to hearing parents in Egypt and immigrated to the US as a child. Learned ASL in college and graduated with a BA in Psychology, then she went to Gallaudet University where her identity as a Deaf person grew. She obtained her Masters in Social Work and Masters in Administration & Supervision in 1998 at Gallaudet. After graduation, she returned to California. There, she earned her Doctorate in Educational Leadership from Fresno State in 2018. Rosemary became a Certified Deaf Interpreter in 2005 and in 2014 became a trainer using the NCIEC Deaf Interpreter Curriculum. Rosemary is adjunct faculty at four different colleges teaching Interpreting, Deaf Studies, and Deaf Education. She has been involved with the Center for Atypical Language Interpreting since 2018 as a meta-facilitator and is currently the Secretary of the National RID Board of Directors.

Speaker disclosures:

Financial disclosures: Dr. Wanis is receiving royalties from Language First for presenting.

Nonfinancial disclosures: Dr. Wanis is the secretary of the RID Board of Directors.

This course is licensed for individual use only. Group viewing, sharing access, or distributing course materials is strictly prohibited. Each participant must have their own registration to attend or view.