ASL 790: Sign Language Teaching Internship (3)

Syllabus - Spring 2015

Your Faculty for this Course:

Raychelle Harris, Ph.D.
raychelle.harris@gallaudet.edu

Online: January 20 - May 4, 2015

(this course follows the regular, onsite academic calendar)
COURSE DESCRIPTION

Contact me via our

Blackboard course,
Gallaudet Email, Gallaudet
IM GoogleHangout or
FaceTime through my
Gallaudet e-mail address.
Glide ID: KTL BOUZ

This course is the final professional experience in the Sign Language

Teaching program and is a required field experience consisting a minimum
of forty-five (45) consecutive teaching hours. During this experience, the
student teacher is mentored by an on-site classroom cooperating faculty and
by an university faculty. Students with extensive sign language teaching
experience, and with approval of the department, may undertake an on-thejob internship placement without a cooperating faculty. A required
internship portfolio will be developed which includes theoretical and
practical applications and useful teaching techniques.
Prerequisite: ASL 752
MA-SLED PROGRAM OUTCOMES

My response time is faster

during the day from
Mondays to Fridays.
Other days/times by
appointment only.

Graduates from the MA program in Sign Language Education will:

1) Demonstrate theoretical knowledge and display competence in
classroom settings regarding methodological and socio-political issues
involved in sign language teaching, curriculum development and assessment;
2) Produce graduate level Sign Language and English texts that demonstrate
knowledge of and critical inquiry into key concepts in the sign language
teaching field;

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3) Recognize the importance of the Sign Language teacher as a system change agent and apply this
in practice utilizing effective leadership, advocacy, consultation, and collaboration to influence
change on the individual, group, and organizational and systemic levels; and
4) Demonstrate preparedness to seek and obtain employment as a teaching professional in the
field of sign language education.
Program Outcomes
Course Student
Learning Outcomes:
After completing this
course, students will
be able to:

Student Learning
Opportunities

Assessment
Method

II

III

IV

Critically synthesize
theoretical and
methodological
properties of sign
language teaching

Lesson Planning

Lesson Plan Rubric

Debriefing

Self-Evaluation
Rubric

Self-Evaluation
Journal & Log Rubric
Journal & Log
Participation Rubric
Weekly Discussions

Demonstrate ability to
teach sign language
through evidence of
quality planning and
use of curricular and
assessment tools

Lesson Planning

Lesson Plan Rubric

Field Experience

Teaching Rubric

Journal & Log

Journal & Log Rubric

Attends to and
Field Experience
responds to students in
substantive and
Journal & Log
supportive ways that
scaffold learning and fit Weekly Discussions
with individual learning
styles

Teaching Rubric

Exhibit insightful
analysis and reflection
of teaching

Debriefing

Teaching Rubric

Self-Evaluation

Self-Evaluation
Rubric

Journal & Log Rubric

Participation Rubric

Journal & Log

Journal & Log Rubric
Weekly Discussions
Participation Rubric

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DEFINITION OF TERMS
Student intern: Enrolled in ASL 790 and undertaking an unpaid student teaching internship
(also called intern or teaching intern) under the tutelage of a cooperating faculty.
On-the-job intern: Enrolled in ASL 790 and undertaking a paid teaching internship, without a
cooperating faculty present or needed. Often MA-SLED students choosing this option already
have an ASL teaching job, either full-time or part-time.
Cooperating faculty: On-site classroom teacher/faculty, sits in the classroom & observes, and
assists the intern when/as needed. This is usually only available for unpaid student interns.
Often contact between the University and the cooperating faculty is minimal and only when/as
needed.
Cooperating supervisor: This is usually the onsite department chair or program coordinator.
Often contact between the University and the cooperating supervisor is minimal and only when
needed.
University faculty/supervisor: Your ASL 790 course instructor at Gallaudet University. The
university faculty will be responsible for evaluating and grading interns for academic credit and
graduation.
CREDIT HOUR POLICY COMPLIANCE
ASL 790: Sign Language Teaching Internship course is a non-traditional 3-credit bearing experience
course, which requires a minimum of 112.5 hours of course work.
Academic Activity

Hours

Teaching

40+

Course Readings & Viewings

10+

Weekly Discussions

15+

Internship Package

5+

Debriefing Sessions

6+

Lesson Planning, Material Development & Assessment

30+

Self-Evaluation

5+

Journal & Log

15+

TOTAL

126+ hours

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GRADING DISTRIBUTION AND LETTER GRADE EQUIVALENT

Letter
Grade
A+

GPA
Value

Definition
4.0

4.0

A-

3.7

B+

3.3

Percent Range
97.6 - 100

Outstanding

93.6 - 97.5
89.6 - 93.5
87.6 - 89.5

Good

3.0

B-

2.7 Unsatisfactory

79.6 - 83.5

C+

2.3

77.6 - 79.5

2.0

73.6 - 77.5

0.0 Failing, No Credit

73.5 or below

XF

0.0 Academic Integrity Policy Violation, No Credit

83.6 - 87.5

Note: The grade average you see in your course grading center at the end of the course will translate into the
letter grades above. No end-of-course requests or negotiations for grading alterations, rounding-off or extra
credit will be responded to. Strive to do your best on each assignment. A B- grade or below indicates you
have performed unsatisfactorily in the course, and this puts you on academic probation and possibly academic
dismissal from the program. A B- or below indicates automatic retake of the course, that is, if you are not
dismissed from the program.
The grading system for graduate students can be found in the graduate catalog here.
Incomplete Grade Disclaimer:
A grade of Incomplete [I] is given only when student performance in a course has been satisfactory, but
the student is unable to complete the requirements of the course. The decision to give a grade of I is
made by the instructor with approval from the coordinator, and only reserved for extraordinary
circumstances (hospitalization or death in family). A student must be passing the course and have no
more than 25% of the course requirements remaining before the possibility of an incomplete will be
considered. To be eligible for credit in a course which an I is recorded, students must complete the
requirements of the course by the end of the final day of classes of the following semester or a date
agreed up on in writing with the instructor; otherwise, the grade will automatically become an F. The
student and instructor must provide Registrars Office with written notification of the agreed upon
date before the time limit indicated above.
For all other questions, concerns, grievances or disputes that are not covered in this syllabus, please refer to
the current University Graduate Catalog.

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COURSE MATERIALS
Interns are required to obtain all of the materials and readings required in the syllabus provided by
their student teaching internship site.
For weekly discussions, we will be covering a variety of the below internet-based articles. Your
instructor will specify which ones to read and discuss via Glide. Please let your instructor know if
there is an article (in either ASL or English) you are interested in discussing with your classmates.
Inside Higher Education
Foreign Language for Foreign Policy? November 23, 2010
Area Studies Mismatch April 12, 2014
Languages without Language Faculty February 21, 2007
Broader Vision for Languages May 24, 2007
A Tough Job Outlook January 5, 2011
*Instructor reserves the right to add new viewings and readings to course as the course progresses in
order to support spontaneous learning and direction of inquiry taken by the course participants.
GRADING ALLOCATION
Assignment

Weight

Additional Details

Languages

Internship Package

Required

On-site Syllabus
Internship Contract & Due Dates

English

Lesson Plan

20%

Lesson Plan & Materials #1 (5%)

Lesson Plan & Materials #2 (15%)

English

Teaching Observation
& Debriefing

40%

Teaching Observation #1 (20%)

Teaching Observation #2 (20%)

ASL

Discussions

10%

Weekly Discussions via Glide

ASL

Self-Assessment

15%

Mid-semester

ASL

Journal & Log

15%

Weekly Journals

English

*Details for each assignment above are discussed below*

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INTERNSHIP PACKAGE (Required)

Prior to (or as soon as you begin) your teaching internship, you are required to submit your:
1) the syllabus of the course youre teaching,

2) your contract and

3) your estimated due dates for your assignments in this course.

The below chart is a general guide as you schedule your assignments. The last day of this course
is Monday, May 4th, 2015. Keep that in mind as you schedule your due dates.
Approximate Weeks
W
during the Spring Semester 1

W
2

Lesson Plans

W
3

W
4

Observation & Debriefing

W
5

W
6

W
7

W
8

W
9

W
10

W
11

W
12

W
13

Self-Assessment

W
14

W
15

Discussion

Journal & Log

Note: The feedback given to you during your first teaching observation & debriefing will need to be
applied to your self-assessment which comes second, and the feedback given to you at the first
observation and your own self-assessment will need to be applied to your third teaching observation
and debriefing. Reviewing your feedback from your university supervisor and your own selfassessment and applying them to subsequent evaluations is an important part of the teaching internship
experience.
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LESSON PLAN (20%)

Submit one draft lesson plan for in-depth
evaluation and feedback which will be 5% of your
grade. After feedback and grading, re-submit your
previously submitted and now revised, lesson plan
for the remaining 15% of your grade.
See lesson plan rubric for
requirements. A video explaining
the requirements is also on
Blackboard.
You can re-submit a lesson plan previously
submitted or create a new one. Lesson plan #1
(5%): around 4th and 5th week of instruction and
Lesson plan #2 (15%), around 12th and 13th week of
instruction.

TEACHING OBSERVATION & DEBRIEFING (40%)

The university faculty will observe the intern teach
two times either in person or video streaming
feed, at different intervals throughout the
semester. Suggested observation times could be
either 5th or 6th week and 13th or 14th week of
the interns teaching. The observation timing can
be adjusted, as long as there is sufficient time
between observations for the intern to apply
feedback immediately. At least one hour of
active teaching will be observed for each
meeting. Active teaching includes introducing
new content, discussing the new content, having
students practice and apply the new content as
the teaching intern gives feedback. Having the
students complete a quiz or test is not active
teaching. After the observation ends, the intern and university faculty will meet for at least an hour to
debrief.
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1)
First observation (20%): The first observation will be between the university faculty and the
teaching intern. The teaching rubric above will be used. A video explaining the teaching rubric is in the
course Blackboard.
2)
Second observation (20%): The second observation will be between the university faculty and
the teaching intern. The teaching rubric above will be used. A video explaining the teaching rubric is in
the course Blackboard.
Special Note: For video-based observations, interns are responsible for testing the internet connection
(a wired Ethernet connection provides the best video quality possible) for a live observation via
videochat software (e.g. FaceTime, Fuze Meeting, GoogleHangouts) agreed upon between the university
supervisor and intern.
DISCUSSIONS (10%)
On a weekly basis for a total of 10 weeks, your instructor will share a prompt (a website link, a video
article, or a question/commentary) about the sign language teaching field via a group-based Glide
message. You are to respond and participate in a dialogue about the topic. The instructor will collect
Glide IDs from all of the students in ASL 790 then create a Glide group for the semester. We will not
have a discussion during the Gallaudet
University spring break: March 16 - 20. One
lowest grade will also be dropped, which you
can use towards your spring break (or any
other week youd like).
See the discussion rubric for more details. A
video explaining the requirements is on
Blackboard.

SELF-ASSESSMENT (15%)
Film yourself teach for at least several hours. Pick five brief
clips from your teaching video that you thought you did well,
and five teaching clips that you believe you could improve.
Then add your commentary next to the actual video. See
below photo for an example. Total maximum video running
time, including the original teaching clips and the
commentary video clips is 10 minutes.
Check the self-evaluation rubric for more details.
A video explaining the requirements is on Blackboard.
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Heres a sample format for your self-assessment submission. Most students share this file with me via
DropBox or GoogleDrive.
your
teaching
video

commentary

JOURNAL & LOG (15%)

Journal: Students are expected to summarize
their internship experience on a weekly basis
(for 10 weeks) in English through a journal log
provided by this course. You will have one
lowest grade dropped, which you can use
towards your spring break (or whenever youd
like). A GoogleDrive document link for your
journal & log will be assigned by the instructor.
Check your journal rubric and a video
explaining this assignment on Blackboard.
Log: Your on-site internship faculty verifies
your attendance by adding their signature to
the end of the sheet. At least 45 internship teaching hours are required. This does
not include transportation, meetings with cooperating faculty, or lesson planning/assessment outside of
the classroom/site.
If your internship course happens to fall slightly under 45 hours, talk to your university faculty about
how you plan to meet the 45-hour requirement. A few hours of out-of-class tutoring or hosting an ASL
activity are examples of acceptable ways to help meet the 45-hour requirement for this course. An
automatic withdraw-failing (WF) grade for the course will be granted to students who are unable to
verify at least 45 hours of teaching.
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COURSE POLICIES AND PROCEDURES

1. Professionalism: As an intern, you are representing Gallaudet University, creating a relationship between
your internship site and Gallaudet.You are paving the way for other potential, future interns. A crucial
component for a successful internship experience is punctuality and rigorous attendance for all internship
classes. Other equally important components of a successful internship experience include professional attire
and collegiality, and most importantly, dedication to teaching, the curriculum and your students.
2. Attendance Policy: If you are to be late to (or miss a class), you are to follow the policies at your
internship site, and to notify your cooperating faculty (if you have one) or program / department supervisor
and your university faculty immediately. If you do not notify your university faculty of your tardiness or
absence(s), and your university faculty learns from your internship site supervisor, you will receive an automatic
F for the course (see academic integrity policy below for more details). If this absence affects your contract
and due dates, please revise immediately and resubmit with the required signatures.
3. Student Responsibilities: Students are expected to actively participate by participating online discussions,
attending class and completing assigned activities, participate in class discussions, serve in groups, complete
assignments on time, respect diverse perspectives and opinions, and support opinions and answers with
reasons, explanations and documentation from a variety of sources.
4. Academic ASL/English: Use academic ASL/English in your assignments throughout the semester.You are
required to submit edited assignments.Visit Tutorial & Instructional Program (TIP) for opportunities to improve
your work before submission. They require advance notice to give feedback on submissions, so plan accordingly.
Unedited work will also be graded accordingly. I reserve the right to return heavily unedited work for a zero.
Professional academic discourse requires giving credit to original authors for their ideas, so citations are
required. The citation and reference format required for assignments in English is American Psychological
Association (APA) format. For more details, please see the academic integrity policy listed below.
5. Assignment Submissions: Assignments are due by the due dates. Assignments not submitted on time will
receive a zero. Graded work is final. No make-ups or extra credit. Once you submit your work, the work will
be graded as is. There are no other opportunities for revisions in this course, as it is the final professional
experience of your graduate studies.Your first evaluation may be a learning experience, and you are
encouraged to apply what you learn from your first evaluation towards your second and third for an improved
grade.
6. Peer Network: Each student is responsible for getting access to and understanding what is expected of
each assignment. Please form a network with your peers. If you need information about assignments or class
schedule, go to your course Blackboard and ask other classmates to learn about what you missed.
7. Communication: I welcome emails, GoogleIMs/video calls, text/videos sent to me via iMessage, calls via
FaceTime, Glide messages, but will not accept or respond to excessively colloquial register choices in either
language. This is your opportunity to practice ASL and English in academic settings, on a consistent basis. See
#4 for more details.
8. Text Submissions: I will accept text-based submissions in the following format: .pages, .docx, .pptx,
and .key. I will also accept .pdf submissions. Please be aware that .pptx, .key and .pdf do not allow for the same
level of feedback I can give via the tracking and comment function available in .pages and .docx formats.
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9. Video Submissions: Your university faculty reserves the right to give a major deduction or a zero for
video submissions that are subpar in quality (e.g. the left side of your body is not visible, the focus is off, or
constant unnecessary camera movement), and/or unedited submissions. If you decide to use portions of your
internship video publicly (e.g. Teaching Sample for your ASLTA certification and/or website portfolio), you will
need to have your students agree to and sign a release form to be developed between you and your
cooperating faculty and/or cooperating supervisor. Please contact your university for an official release form.
A sample contract can be found here.
10. Internship Contract Revisions: Understandably, emergencies may happen which may inadvertently alter
the dates in your contract. Talk to your university faculty immediately to see if your request will be approved.
11. Technology: This is a paper-free classroom. All assignments are to be posted on Blackboard or as
instructed. The Gallaudet Technology Services Help Desk can assist you with technical issues throughout the
course. You are to upload all of your assignments to Blackboard including links to videos. For large files,
upload them to GoogleDrive or DropBox, and share links via Blackboard with my Gallaudet e-mail address.
DVDs, thumb drives, CDs, external HDs or any other format will not be accepted.
University Policies
All university policies may be found in the Graduate Catalog. The standards of professional behavior and
communication discussed in the catalog will be mandated in this course and program.
Academic Integrity Policy
All students must read and understand the Gallaudet University Graduate School Academic Integrity
Policy. This policy applies to both ASL and English.
Academic Accommodation Policy
Students are to request accommodation through the Office for Students With Disabilities (OSWD) at
the beginning of the semester prior to course start date. This is to be communicated immediately with
the course instructor in order to ensure accommodations are being made right away.

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