Professional Development
This Professional Development webpage demonstrates my acknowledgment that school interpreting is it's own competence that I must be willing to hone throughout my professional practice. Even as a student of interpreting, I already realize the importance of professional development as a foundation of both the interpreting and educational fields (C10). Being an interpreter is being a life long learner.
School Interpreting Series (SIS) Standards
SIS Competency 10
Participate in academic activities that lead to the post-graduation pursuit of professional credentials, professional development in education and interpreting, and supervision and accountability. (Knowledge, Skill, & Attitude)
This page includes professional development for:​
This page also includes an overarching reflection.​​
Interpreting Resources
​The 10th SIS Competency calls for the awareness and knowledge of resources that can support me as I transition from a student to a practitioner in the field. Lifelong learning is not only a personal value, but also one that is crucial for the success and effectiveness of an interpreter. These interpreting resources represent just a handful of the different ways I can practice professional development now and in the future. As a student, the awareness of these resources has benefitted me as a way to begin to make connections and get involved with current research and conversations in the field. Once I graduate and become an interpreter, I can utilize these resources as a way to prepare for credentialing exams and performance assessments and to improve my skills in weak areas. They include a resource center, research journal, professional organization, and dictionary that will be beneficial to me as I begin on this journey.
​​As a future school interpreter and a member of UNCO's OSEP Scholar Cohort 3, the EIPA is an important tool and metric for me. The EIPA assesses an interpreter's skills specifically in the classroom setting and assigns them a score that can inform a school whether they are a qualified candidate. Taking this assessment will be an important step to complete early in my career to demonstrate my readiness for the classroom to potential employers. The EIPA Training Center is a resource that I can use to prepare for the assessment, but also throughout my entire career for deliberate practice.
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The EIPA Training Center has a plethora of resources that can guide interpreters in their preparation for the assessment or just to sharpen their skills in educational interpreting. They have workshops that can be completed online and for CEUs as well as classes that can be taken at any time. They also have practice materials in a variety of scenarios that interpreters can use for their own individual practice. They include videos of students signing in ASL and PSE to practice voicing and a variety of classes of different subjects at different grade levels so interpreters can work to improve their skills in specific settings. Having all of these resources in one library makes it easy for interpreters to further develop their skills in educational interpreting.
This resource will be incredibly beneficial to me as I prepare for the EIPA and beyond. Deliberate practice is an imperative aspect of being an effective practitioner. I will use this resource to strengthen my skills in voicing for different age groups and different signing styles. The videos of various lessons in a variety of subjects will benefit my practice in managing the interpreting demands that I will experience in the classroom. I will also be able to keep up to date with current best practices in the educational interpreting field by participating in the workshops and courses they have available. The EIPA Resource Center is a valuable resource for interpreters before and after taking the assessment.
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Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf's (RID's) Journal of Interpretation (JOI)
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RID publishes the JOI annually as a way to promote the progression of the field and distribute the research that will benefit the practice of interpreting. Pieces included in the JOI are research articles, letters, essays, and manuscripts that provide new findings and/or commentary on the field as a whole. Articles are peer-reviewed and approved by the board of editors. RID also maintains a database where practitioners can look back at previous editions. This is beneficial as practitioners can look at previous conversations and topics that were important in the field throughout the years since 1981. This can provide context for the way that we currently approach interpreting and also show the next generation of interpreters what areas haven't been researched in a while or that need more focus. School interpreters can use this resource as an additional way to keep up with the best practices in the field as a whole and in the school setting. The JOI is an invaluable resource that allows interpreters to better understand where the field has been and where it is going.
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​National Association of Interpreters in Education (NAIE)
NAIE is an organization that was created to promote best practices in the field of ASL-English educational interpreting and support practitioners working in schools. They host events and conferences as well as provide resources on their website that can support school interpreters in their practice and development. They advocate for higher state standards required of practitioners working in classrooms. Additionally, they are working to get higher state standards to be the requirement in all states. Perhaps most notably, they published their Professional Guidelines for Interpreting in Educational Settings in 2019. It provides interpreters with a framework to help guide their decision-making in the unique school environment. Additionally, in 2021, they published the Educational Interpreter Code of Ethics. It provides tenets and core beliefs that interpreters can follow with the goal of reducing the harm caused by school interpreters.
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This is an important resource for school interpreters to be tuned into because it is an organization that advocates for school interpreters to be seen as professional practitioners and members of the educational team. NAIE also provides practitioners with guidance on navigating the distinct demands that interpreters face in the classroom. The organization is a great resource as it also provides opportunities for interpreters to continue their education and training for school environments. As a school interpreter, it will be important for me to be an active member of NAIE so I can support the effort for more qualified interpreters in the classroom and keep up to date with their activities and best practices.
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National Technical Institute of the Deaf's (NTID) STEM Video Dictionary
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NTID's DeafTEC resource has published a video dictionary that focuses on providing the community with signs for concepts in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). This dictionary is beneficial for all interpreters, but especially for school interpreters as they work in the classrooms of these subjects. It is especially important that school interpreters use proper vocabulary and lexical choices in their interpreting because it will lay the groundwork for their future STEM learning and potential careers if they choose that route. This dictionary is a reliable resource that I will be able to reference to be sure that my interpreting of STEM subjects is as clear and effective as possible.
This resource list will be imperative to my continued development as an interpreter. Interpreters must commit to life-long learning and these resources will support me on my journey. They benefit me now as a student because they help me begin to dive into the wealth of knowledge that is available about the field for practitioners. The EIPA Training Center provides me with materials to work with as I improve my skills and work toward graduation and the EIPA. Even after taking the assessment, I can continue to reference these materials in my deliberate practice as a way to focus on the skills needed to specialize in educational interpreting. The JOI will keep me up to date with current trends and issues in the field. I can also look back in its archives and see where the field has been to inform me of where we may need to go. NTID's STEM dictionary is a specific resource that will benefit me in vocabulary and lexical development in STEM-related topics. STEM subjects are not my strongest suit, so knowing that I have that dictionary to support my practice to be the most effective interpreter that I can be, helps me have more control options for those linguistic demands. Finally, NAIE is an organization that will be a pillar in my professional life. Relying on their resources for support specifically related to school interpreting, keeping up-to-date with their efforts and research, and being able to rely on their community of my future peers will be instrumental in my transition from a student to a practitioner. Altogether these resources remind me of the importance of continued learning and growth in the field of interpreting and inspire me to do what I can to always develop my skills and become a more well-rounded practitioner.
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This collection of resources supports my demonstration of the 10th SIS Competency. It shows my understanding of the importance of professional development specifically for my interpreting skills and my commitment to being a life-long learner. By finding these resources as a student, I can utilize them through the rest of my time at UNC and begin to prioritize professional skills development before I even interpret in a classroom for the first time. I am grateful that I am able to keep cultivating this collection as I know it will be incredibly helpful to me now and in the future.
Professional Support Resources
As a profession, interpreting requires its practitioners to be well-rounded individuals. For school interpreters, this means not only focusing on building skills that will make them an effective interpreter in the classroom with that specific content, but also in a broader sense as a member of the education team, an interpreter, and a lifelong learner. Being connected to the larger system of education, the larger system of interpreting, and an outlet that encourages developing a large base of knowledge will help school interpreters to be more flexible, more informed, and more effective in their interpreting. These resources support interpreters in their development of all of the different sides and facets included in the job.
National Education Association (NEA)
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As a future school interpreter, it is important to look beyond the resources related solely to interpreting and consider organizations in education as a whole. NEA is a nationwide union for people working in education that bands together to make public education the best it can be for all students. They provide a lot of resources specific to the field of education, current issues in schools, and how to affect change in your own school. In addition to providing resources for improving the school system for students, they also provide information about how to improve schools for the employees. This information can be used by people working in the school system to make sure that their employee rights are not being violated and that they are receiving fair pay and benefits. On a larger scale, since they are a national organization, they can support the fight to create lasting change in the field of education.
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School interpreters are valuable pieces of the education system. To be able to effectively work in that environment, they must remain current with issues the education field is facing, best practices, and resources available to educators. This resource is valuable because school interpreters can utilize their research and articles and apply the findings to their own practice. For example, if NEA has an article about how to interact with students in light of large world events such as COVID, interpreters can take any information they glean and apply it to their work. The articles may not be specifically for interpreters, but through analysis and application, interpreters can develop their skills and awareness of how to most effectively in the education system. ​
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Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf (RID)
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RID is the national certifying organization for sign language interpreters. They also promote further development of the field through research and networking opportunities. They set and maintain the ethical standards that all interpreters are required to abide by (the Code of Professional Conduct) and manage the continuing education unit's process that is mandatory for certified interpreters. They also have workshops and conferences for interpreters to attend to further their personal skills and development. Recently, they implemented the Ethical Practices Policy system through which practitioners and consumers can report interpreters who have acted unethically. This is a big development for the field and will be instrumental in keeping interpreters accountable.
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This is an important resource for all interpreters because RID is the governing body of our profession. As a student, I have already utilized them as a resource to begin to build my knowledge of the ethics associated with interpreting. While RID does not focus solely on interpreting in education, they do provide resources that help the development of a well-rounded practitioner. School interpreters can use RID as a baseline for ethics, field research, and networking so they remain connected and involved with the broader profession of interpreting.
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Perhaps a bit unconventional in the way it doesn't connect to interpreting in a blatantly obvious way, the Stuff You Should Know (SYSK) podcast is a valuable resource for interpreters. Created in 2008, the podcast hosted by Josh Clark and Chuck Bryant touches on a variety of topics with really no rhyme or reason. The podcast promotes learning about different subjects through easily digestible and accessible dialogue between the hosts. There is a multitude of subjects available, including Rosa Parks, the history of glasses, porcupines, Cher, and so much more. Through light and sometimes comedic banter, the hosts provide educational opportunities so that listeners can know a little bit about everything.
As a future interpreter, I can never fully predict where a conversation may go. By regularly listening to the SYSK podcast, I am able to learn about topics that I don't have the opportunity to passively learn about in my everyday life. For example, learning about porcupines hasn't been a priority in the situations I find myself in. Having an expansive knowledge base is a tool that can only benefit practitioners whether they practice in a classroom or community setting. It can be very easy when studying interpreting and thinking about all of the skills that need to be developed linguistically and culturally. Arguably, it is just as important for interpreters to spend time building their knowledge base on diverse topics. The SYSK podcast is a resource that will allow interpreters to easily pick up some knowledge about the random topics that are chosen for each episode. When thinking about building a knowledge base, it can be overwhelming to consider all of the possibilities of rabbit holes one can go down when intentionally setting out to add to one's knowledge base. SYSK is an easy way for interpreters to build knowledge in various subjects as they produce episodes with randomly selected subjects.
Together, these resources remind me that professional development is not one-size-fits-all or as narrow as only choosing resources that build skills in language use or meaning transfer. As a student of interpreting, it can be easy to get caught up in focusing all of my time and energy on improving my skills in ASL and voicing while making sure the meaning of the message remains intact, or the actual pieces of the machine that lead to the physical product. Just as important are the skills and development opportunities that come from viewing oneself more fully as a professional. For school interpreters, staying connected to the field of education is important so that they can be knowledgeable about the system and how to work within it. NEA provides this opportunity. School interpreters must also remember that while they have a specialization, at the core, they are interpreters. RID provides resources for all interpreting professionals, regardless of their focus. This keeps school interpreters connected to the field as a whole, ethical practices, and other practitioners. Finally, interpreters must commit to the act of lifelong learning. Any information learned can one day benefit an interpreter at the moment they least expect it. The SYSK podcast provides the opportunity for interpreters to learn about a range of different topics that can strengthen their knowledge base to improve their interpreting. Podcasts or other resources like SYSK can help interpreters to more fully and easily embrace the fun that comes with lifelong learning.
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These resources help to demonstrate my understanding of the 10th SIS Competency because they show that I can view the needs and roles of an interpreter beyond what skills and resources they need for school interpreting. These resources contribute to the development of an interpreter in a broader sense, which will only benefit me as I prepare to interpret in the classroom. Remembering all aspects of me as a professional and what that means for the development opportunities that I need to seek out will result in stronger interpreting products and a more well-rounded practitioner.
Overarching Reflection
Fall 2024: This page provided me with an interesting opportunity to challenge myself to think about the different ways an interpreter can develop skills professionally. At first, it was difficult for me to separate the resources that were interpreting resources and professional support resources. When creating the first draft of my lists, I included a lot of resources that were not very strong or all that connected to the category of its list. This meant that I needed to take some time to separate in my thinking the resources that would benefit me specifically in the work that I will do as a school interpreter from the resources that address the other sides of me as a future interpreting professional. This required me to first look at a more zoomed-in perspective of what development opportunities or activities I may need in the future as a school interpreter. Then, to create the professional support list, I needed to zoom back out and examine resources that would support me as an interpreter in a broader sense, a professional working in education, and a person who wants to better herself in a way that supports my development as a human which will then positively impact my work.
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The resources included on the Interpreting Resources list will benefit me now as a student and as a practitioner in the field. They help me to improve my hard skills like language use and interpreting production. The resources found on my Professional Resources list will help me to improve my softer skills such as what it means to be an ethical practitioner, how to interact with colleagues and students within the education system, and practice the commitment to life-long learning in a way that is accessible to me. The preparation of this page helped me look at both sides of the coin when it comes to necessary skills for interpreters and I am grateful for the opportunity to keep these resources collected here. In the future, as a student or a practitioner, I can come back to this page and use it in my deliberate practice to help myself focus on specific skill sets that need improvement.
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This page is a representation of my competence in the 10th SIS Standard. I understand that my learning and growth as a practitioner do not end when I graduate. These resources will support me throughout my journey because they provide opportunities for deliberate practice and growth as I prepare to become a credentialled and qualified school interpreter. They are materials that I can use before and after certification and testing to ensure that I am always working on all facets of my skills so that I can become the most effective interpreter possible.