Stick The Landing: Interpreter Conference

Mdk12terps presents

Stick The Landing

Educational and Community Interpreters Workshop

July 27-28, 2024 9:00 am—4:00 pm

Stick The Landing: to successfully complete a task;

to spend time and effort on something that is difficult;

to successfully complete what is attempted.

Hill Hall

McDaniel College

2 College Hill

Westminster, Maryland 21157

Register online!

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/stick-the-landing-interpreter-conference-tickets-863373492357

Registration (one day) $80.00

Registration (two days) $140.00

Registration (two day tracks) $140.00

Students: Email Dr Monn for discount code before you register

Lunch is included, or bring your own

Vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-sensitive options are available.

Register carefully; 50% refund before July 19; there will be NO REFUNDS after July 20.

Please Note: To register, you will choose your AM/PM OR track from the topics below. Eventbrite will indicate seats available in your session. Be mindful of space limitations. This event is limited to 180 participants.

The Stick The Landing conference is presented by Mdk12terps with special assistance

from McDaniel College and Connections Beyond Sight and Sound.

Presenters:

· Leela Chaitoo, DI

· Bradley Christlieb, CDI

· Edna F. Johnston, MA, EdS.

· Hanna Johnston-Shaw

· Alyssa Lardi, NIC

· Anna Rose, NIC, Ed:k-12

· Richard Rose, MA

· Erin Seipke-Brown, MA, NIC, Ed:K-12; BEI Advanced

· Megan Seipke-Dame, MA, NIC, Ed:K-12; BEI Advanced

· Nicole Shambourger, MA, CI/CT

· Jonathan Silva, NIC

SESSIONS:

Track Options (12 hours each, 1.2 CEUs)

• EIPA Test-Prep Relay: Successfully Completing the Hand-Off From Skill to Skill (All Day, Spoken English)
• Hearing and Deaf Interpreters: Together We Rise (All Day, ASL)

Mix and Match Options (Saturday)

All-Day Sessions:

ASL to English Interpreting: Equivalence is Key! (All Day, spoken English)

NIC: A Practical Approach (All Day, spoken English)

Morning Sessions:

The Language of Power (half day, ASL) (PPO ceus)

Integrating Classifiers into Classroom Interpreting (half day, ASL)

Afternoon Sessions:

ASL Teen Slang (half day, ASL)

More than Just Hands: Using the Fifth ASL Parameter: Nonmanual Markers (half day, ASL)

Mix and Match Options (Sunday)

All-Day Session:

Thinking Beyond the Signs (All day, spoken English)

Morning Sessions:

Feedback: The Other Expressive and Receptive Skill (half day, spoken English)

Prep Your Way to Success…For Every Meeting and Appointment (half day, spoken English)

Afternoon Sessions:

Critical Conversations: Effective Team Interpreting Strategies Both Near and Afar (half day, spoken English)

Is This What Mentorship Looks Like? Identifying Gaps and Encouraging Effective Mentorship Experiences (half day, spoken English)

Interpreting Services:

Voice interpreters will not be provided in ASL sections. If you require reasonable accommodations to access this event, you must contact

Beth Ann Monn by July 1, 2024. Hill Hall is an ADA accessible facility.

Questions about this workshop?

Email [email protected]

Workshop approved by Zaboosh, an RID CMP sponsor for continuing education activities. This program is offered for up to 1.2 CEUs in the professional studies category at the intermediate content level.

Workshop is presented by Mdk12terps, independent provider of professional development activities. Mdk12terps does not discriminate on the basis of hearing status, race, ethnicity, nationality, gender, age, religion, disability, sexual orientation or other protected class. Mdk12terps supports a safe learning environment.

SCHEDULE

8:30– 9:00 a.m. Registration

9:00-12:00 noon

Session One

12:00 – 1:00 p.m.

Lunch

1:00- 4:00 p.m.

Session Two

SESSION DESCRIPTIONS

EIPA Test-Prep Relay: Successfully Completing the Hand-Off From Skill to Skill

Erin Seipke-Brown and Megan Seipke-Dame

In this workshop, participants will review the EIPA skills report and learn to identify patterns across Romans while engaging in discussion, activities designed to develop and hone key interpreting subskills as identified within the EIPA report, and contrastive text analysis. Subskills addressed in this workshop include: use of the ASL pronominal system, indicating who is speaking, verb directionality, marking sentence boundaries, use of non-manual adverbial and adjective markers, and the use of space. Participants will need a smartphone or other personal device they can use to record personal interpreting samples.

Hearing and Deaf Interpreters: Together We Rise

Bradley Christlieb and Leela Chaitoo

Emergency services organizations, legal environments and other human services are beginning to see the need for the hearing/deaf interpreter team and the crucial role of the Deaf interpreter. This workshop will introduce the participants to strategies for requesting the Deaf interpreter, the importance of pre-conference and preparation, and will use brief interpreting scenarios to familiarize the participants with the structure and process of a smooth relay interpreted event.

ASL to English Interpreting: Equivalence is Key!

Nicole Shambourger

Through lecture, interactive discussion, and a hands-on approach, participants will explore how linguistic knowledge and situational variables affect the decision-making process while working on an ASL->English interpretation. Together, we will view source messages, apply the concepts learned, and practice the process of producing an interpretation with an equivalent message.

ASL Teen Slang

Edna Johnston and Hanna Johnston-Shaw

Deaf teens keep pace with hearing as they construct slang and manipulate language. This workshop introduces interpreters to the most current ASL jargon through direct instruction, discussion, role play and other activities

Critical Conversations: Effective Team Interpreting Strategies Both Near and Afar

Anna Rose

Interpreting often requires us to place our trust in the hands of our team interpreter. However, many interpreters struggle with the critical conversations necessary in order to have a successful teaming experience. In this workshop, we will explore the most effective ways of communicating our needs within the teaming dynamic, including asking for support, feedback and ethical discussions. In addition, we will explore how these elements are impacted when teaming in a remote environment, and what tools are available to us when having to support from a distance.

Feedback: The Other Receptive and Expressive Skills Anna Rose

Through lecture, demonstration and question/answer, participants will be provided with strategies to provide and receive feedback on interpreting assignments. Strategies will be shared for non-evaluative critique, relationship building and incorporation of suggestions.

Integrating Classifiers into Classroom Interpreting Richard Rose

An engaging review and demonstration of the fluid and consistent use of ASL classifiers during instruction, conversation and storytelling events in the classroom. Participants will be asked to demonstrate, individually and in teams, how to increase their use of classifiers during an interpreted passage.

Is This What Mentorship Looks Like? Identifying Gaps and Encouraging Effective Mentorship Experiences

Alyssa Lardi

Are you a student, intern, or new interpreter unsure of how to successfully work with a mentor? Or maybe you are an experienced interpreter but you feel unqualified or under-prepared to provide guidance to the new generation of interpreters? This workshop is for you! Together we will break down what the benefits of mentorship looks like from all sides, as well as how both mentors and mentees can optimize their growth from participating in a mentorship. We will also define what “mentoring” means and explore possibilities for informal mentoring among colleagues. Practitioners and students of all levels are encouraged to attend; we are a collaborative field by nature and are always striving to improve ourselves and each other

Language of Power (0.3 PPO Ceus)

Edna F. Johnston

The power of language. The language of power. What’s the difference? What is privilege and who has it? How do the jobs we take, and the words/signs we choose reflect our innate privilege and how does this privilege impact our behaviors and understanding of others? This workshop is an interactive, dynamic approach to revealing how who you are and where you’ve been impacts what you do.

More than Just Hands: Using Nonmanual Markers, the Fifth ASL Parameter

Richard Rose

Understanding the concepts of this crucial part of structure improves your ASL practice! Using one of six ASL parameters that are often overlooked ~ Non-Manuals Sign (NMS) or known as Non-Manual Markers (NMM), grammatical semantic features OTHER THAN HANDS. Without NMS/NMM the signs themselves can only minimally form a comprehensive construction in ASL grammar.

NIC: A Practical Approach

Jonathan Silva

New interpreters often struggle to demonstrate skills they have learned while under the stress of a testing environment. Furthermore, many interpreters pursuing certification with RID perceive the NIC as something that is nearly impossible to pass. The reality is that the NIC is not only achievable but it is a great instrument to measure how we perform under pressure. This workshop will present a holistic view of the NIC and outline core skills one must demonstrate in order to be "minimally competent". During the course of this training, we will learn just how tangible the NIC is and formulate a personalized plan for passing. The core skills of quality interpreting will be reviewed, along with a discussion of the ethical framework the NIC employs when evaluating interpreters.

Prep Your Way to Success…For Every Meeting and Appointment

Alyssa Lardi

As interpreters, we know there is so much we cannot control. We are often not provided with sufficient information before and during assignments, so what can *we* do about it? This workshop will explore various pre-assignment controls interpreters can take before and after accepting an assignment, and discuss the impacts of insufficient preparation on the Deaf participants. We will also discuss the importance of developing communication channels with agencies, requestors, and school staff especially for ongoing work. Participants will learn strategies for prep in general, prep in unknown situations, and prep for unfamiliar/highly technical settings.

Thinking Beyond the Signs

Jonathan Silva

Fingerspelling – More More More? Have you heard that you need to fingerspell more? Perhaps you received your assessment results and your feedback included commentary about fingerspelling. Fingerspelling serves many purposes in ASL, and the linguistic rules associated with fingerspelling do not change when interpreting in education. Rather than to simply fingerspell more, let’s dive into when, why, and how we fingerspell in a manner that adheres to the principles of ASL while serving to support DHH children in mainstream settings. Thinking Beyond the Signs: As we all know, meaning within languages goes much deeper than the words or signs being used. While words and signs are foundational building blocks of language and meaning, there are other elements that drive or influence their function. Prosody is a word we often hear in educational interpreting spaces because it is a common weakness for emerging interpreters hoping to score well on their EIPA. Join us as we delve into prosodic features within ASL and hone our ability to convey meaning that beckons us to think beyond the signs.

PRESENTER BIOGRAPHIES

Leela Chaitoo, DI

Leela Chaitoo is a New York City native and Deaf interpreter for more than 10 years, currently working in Gallaudet Interpreting Service in Washington DC. Her interpreting career is in various fields: educational, technology, Business-related, financial-related, human/customer services, social services, and mental health.

Bradley Christlieb, MA, CDI

My name is Bradley Christlieb. I was born and raised in Arkansas but graduated from a deaf school in Tucson, Arizona. I am proud to be an alumnus and graduated from Gallaudet with two degrees, BA and MA. I have been a staff interpreter with Gallaudet Interpreting Services since January 2023, working as a freelance interpreter since 2012. I am excited and looking forward to working, collaborating, and/or mentoring with you all now and beyond.

Edna F. Johnston, EdS

Born in Maryland, Edna has a large deaf family with roots in Alabama and Indiana. After graduating from Maryland School for the Deaf, Edna received two bachelor’s degrees in ASL Studies and English Literature from Gallaudet, a master’s degree in Deaf Education from McDaniel College, and an Educational Specialist degree in Administration and Supervision from Gallaudet. From 1993 to 2005, Edna was a tenured faculty at Columbia College Chicago in the ASL-English Interpretation Department. She returned to Maryland as ASL Specialist (ECE through 12) and a high school and middle school teacher (English, ASL Linguistics, and ASL Literature) at MSD. Edna occasionally teaches ASL and Deaf Studies at post-secondary level including Towson University, Community College of Baltimore County, Frederick Community College, and Gallaudet University. She presents workshops nationally including ASL Weekends with ASDC. Two of Edna’s secret talents are acting and imitations. Awarded the “Best Actress” honor at Gallaudet, she has served as ASL Master for several theaters including Shakespeare Theater in Washington DC. She was a Technical Editor for several books and a consultant/presenter for educational interpreters in the DMV area. Edna is married with four children aged 21-8 and enjoys DIY shows even if she does mess up house projects at times. Her philosophy has always been to “change the environment, not yourself”.

Hanna Johnston-Shaw

Hanna is a sophomore at Gallaudet University with tentative plans to double major in Social Work and Linguistics. When in high school, she was very involved in extracurricular activities such as Jr. Black Deaf Advocates, Jr. NAD, and Student Body Government. She is also an avid athlete having played varsity volleyball, basketball, and softball. Her favorite sport is volleyball doing all the digs and serves! She loves interacting with all kinds of people and is looking forward to “seeing” you at the workshop!

Alyssa Lardi

Alyssa Lardi, NIC is an alum of Bloomsburg University and has been an ASL/English Interpreter since 2018. She has worked in the DC and NYC metro areas, specializing in the government, technical, and performance settings. Her favorite assignments to take are those with Deaf professionals or anywhere she can bring a mentee! Alyssa is passionate about bridging the gap between graduation and certification, and encouraging teamwork and intentionality as we work in this field. She is currently a member of a fantastic designated interpreting team, and serving as President of Long Island RID.

Anna Rose

Anna has spent her first 12 years in the interpreting field working in various settings including platform, state government and post-secondary education. She holds the NIC and Ed:K-12 certifications from RID and completed Troy University’s Master Mentor Program in 2014. Interpreting in the field of Educational Law and for Deaf-run/Deaf-centered organizations are where Anna currently spends her time professionally. An alumni of both Towson University and CCBC-Catonsville, Anna enjoys giving back to the field and community that she has gotten so much from. Anna’s happy place is being a wife of one, a mom of five, and anything involving guacamole.

Richard Rose

Hailing originally from New England, Richard “Ricky” Rose and his four siblings are all proud alumni of the American School for the Deaf in West Hartford, Connecticut. Ricky holds a Bachelor’s degree in Social Work from Utah State University (2000) and a M.A. from Gallaudet University (2008). He presents and teaches on a variety of topics from Deaf Culture to ASL for both interpreter training programs and professional interpreting organizations; his passion being supporting hearing parents of Deaf/HoH children and community allies in their acquisition of ASL. He recently retired from Gallaudet University’s ASLPI as an ASL Proficiency Evaluator and works as an ASL Consultant. Ricky resides in Maryland with his wife and their combined five children.

Megan Seipke-Dame

An educational interpreter and interpreter educator with 24 years of experience in K-12, Video Relay Service, post-secondary, theatrical, and freelance settings, Megan is also a national presenter, interpreter mentor, and consultant for educational interpreting stakeholders. Seipke-Dame holds a Master’s in Interpreting Studies as well as graduate certificates in Educational Interpreting and Teaching Interpreting from Western Oregon University and Bachelor’s degrees in Business Administration and Sign Language Studies (Interpreting concentration) from Madonna University. Her credentials include: National Interpreter Certification (NIC) and Educational Interpreting certification (Ed:K-12); BEI Advanced certification; EIPA Elementary (PSE 5.0 and ASL 4.3), Secondary (PSE 4.6) and State of Michigan Endorsements in Medical/Mental Health

Erin Seipke-Brown

An educational interpreter and interpreter educator with 25 years of experience in K-12, Video Relay Service, post-secondary, theatrical, and freelance settings, Erin is also a national presenter, interpreter mentor, and consultant for educational interpreting stakeholders. She holds a Master’s in Interpreting Studies as well as graduate certificates in Educational Interpreting and Teaching Interpreting from Western Oregon University and a Bachelor’s degree in Sign Language Studies with an Interpreting concentration from Madonna University. Her credentials include: National Interpreter Certification (NIC); Educational Interpreting certification (Ed:K-12); BEI Advanced certification; EIPA Elementary (PSE 4.5 and ASL 4.3); Secondary (PSE 4.4); State of Michigan Endorsements in Medical/Mental Health and DeafBlind

Nicole Shambourger, M.A., CI/CT

Nicole Shambourger, a nationally certified sign language interpreter, is an interpreter educator and mentor with over 20 years of professional experience in diverse settings. She holds a master of arts degree in interpreting studies - with an emphasis in pedagogy - from Western Oregon University. She is an adjunct professor for Gallaudet University’s Department of Interpretation and Translation (DoIT) and the Community College of Baltimore County’s (CCBC) Interpreter Preparation Program. Her published research credit is on the topic of working from ASL to English for African American/Black Deaf signed language users. Nicole works in private practice and is a part-time staff interpreter for the U.S. Department of Labor. She is passionate about mentoring interpreters and giving back to the Deaf community.

Jonathan Silva, NIC

Jonathan Silva is a native user of ASL who holds NIC and several EIPA assessments with scores of 4.5 and above. Jonathan currently spends most of his time working in the K-12 and university settings but his passion is working in the community and platform interpreting. Over the past 10 years he has been presenting workshops that focus on interpreting in the educational setting, the EIPA, NIC, professional feedback, and conveying meaning. With a deep concern for the growth of emerging interpreters and the health of the Deaf community, Jonathan is actively engaged in mentoring and development groups in his immediate area and with colleagues across the country.

Educational Objectives

Having participated in this workshop, learners will be able to:

EIPA Test-Prep Relay: Successfully Completing the Hand-Off From Skill to Skill

· Dissect subskills by identifying the building blocks within the skill for the purpose of integrating them into skill-honing activities.

· Identify skill patterns that fall across EIPA Romans in order to hone specific skills that will impact the test-taker’s overall EIPA score.

· Produce an interpreting sample and identify examples of ASL sentence boundaries, verb directionality, and non-manual adverbial and adjective markers.

· Describe strategies to increase the inclusion of speaker identification and use of the ASL pronominal system when interpreting.

Hearing and Deaf Interpreters: Together We Rise

· Identify and describe situations in which a DI/CDI would be beneficial

· List and justify the information required to pre-conference with the DI/CDI

· Describe strategies that can be used to ‘feed’ information to the working DI/CDI

· Evaluate the effectiveness of their onsite practice scenarios

ASL to English Interpreting: Equivalence is Key!

· Demonstrate the use of appropriate language register which reflects the speaker’s style, age, and culture.

· Evaluate the effectiveness of their interpretations.

· Identify linguistic features present in the source message.

· Develop a list of effective strategies for use in a variety of settings.

ASL Teen Slang

· Identify ten slang terms in current use by the deaf teen population

· Provide an English translation for a repertoire of teen jargon

· Perform a short signed utterance using newly introduced slang

· Distinguish the difference between profane and school-appropriate language forms of slang_

Critical Conversations: Effective Team Interpreting Strategies Both Near and Afar

· Analyze their own needs when teaming and create and practice specific and clear language to ask for these supports of their team interpreter.

· Identify the impacts of remote interpreting on the teaming dynamic and how to mitigate for these challenges both via technology and effective self-advocacy skills.

· Describe proactive approaches to ensuring team logistics are in place prior to the beginning of an assignment, and how to pivot when the unexpected occurs.

Feedback: The Other Receptive and Expressive Skill

· Identify types of feedback approaches

· Describe strategies for giving/receiving information on an interpreted product

· Describe the role of relationship building in the feedback process

Integrating Classifiers into Classroom Interpreting

· Identify appropriate classifier for use as person or object;

· Appropriately label classifier during discourse;

· Demonstrate appropriate movement or interaction of ASL classifier with persons or objects in passage;

· Demonstrate use of plural classifiers

Is This What Mentorship Looks Like? Identifying Gaps and Encouraging Effective Mentorship Experiences

● Identify and apply communication techniques for establishing a successful mentoring relationship.

● Employ a framework for setting expectations on sharing feedback and how to incorporate skills into their interpreting practice.

● Address tension and have productive conversations throughout the mentorship.

Language of Power

· Identify and define various perspectives on privilege based on gender, hearing status, race or other characteristics

· List strategies for empowering deaf consumers in a variety of interpreted events

· Identify underpinnings of racism, audism, sexism, and ableism in current society

· Create a personal action plan to revisit and remove oppressive language

More Than Just Hands: Using Nonmanual Markers, the Fifth ASL Parameter

· Using receptive skills, indicate five specific NMS as the fifth ASL Parameter

· Identify NMS that we "add" to SIGNS to produce the context/meaning.

· Use correct verbs, adjectives, and other adverbs to modify the meaning of content

· Communicate understanding of the content when observing use of proper NMS in using ASL grammar.

NIC: A Practical Approach

· Identify what foundational skills must be present in their skillsets in order to achieve national certification.

· Describe existing ethical frameworks and employ them in discussions to better prepare them for the NIC.

· Self-identify which hard skills they need to develop in order to pass the NIC, and will establish personal benchmarks.

Prep Your Way to Success…For Every Meeting and Appointment

· Evaluate job offers, search outside sources for information, and determine if you’re an effective match for an assignment,

· Name and utilize different techniques for gathering information about an assignment both before and upon arrival, including check-ins for ongoing work, and

· Employ search tactics & build a resource library when preparing to interpret in an unfamiliar setting

Thinking Beyond the Signs

· Use linguistic rules for fingerspelling within ASL, noting specifically when fingerspelling is employed in ASL.

· Identify critical components of an educational lesson that must be fingerspelled for an effective interpretation, while adhering to the rules of ASL.

· Identify changes in inflection, tone, intonation, and affect in educational lessons presented in spoken English.

· Employ non-manual features of ASL in order to represent prosodic information contained in educational lessons.

Event Venue & Nearby Stays

McDaniel College, 2 College Hill, Westminster, United States