Increasing Undergraduate Student Interpreters' Fluency and Accuracy in Interpreting STEM Content

This project aims to serve the national interest by increasing the bioscience vocabulary knowledge of undergraduate student interpreters to enable them to interpret biology content fluently and accurately for students who are deaf or hard of hearing. Due to the lack of postsecondary courses that are delivered in sign language, the only way for students who use American Sign Language (ASL) as their primary method of communication to engage fully in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) learning is through use of qualified sign-language interpreters who can interpret STEM content effectively and accurately.

However, research shows that many sign- language interpreters lack adequate skills to provide students with full access to STEM content, are unable to accurately interpret it, and often do not have STEM-related training or experience. The project builds on outcomes of two previous IUSE: EDU Exploration and Design projects and addresses this issue. Development activities will result in completion of a unique Signing Bioscience Lexicon (SBL) for enabling student interpreters to develop an ASL bioscience vocabulary, videos to aid in use and understanding of the five principles of fingerspelling, and a set of video tutorials to equip instructors to incorporate the principles of fingerspelling into their teaching of student interpreters.

Research will involve study of the materials’ use and effectiveness when implemented at the development site with Lamar University’s Deaf Studies and Deaf Education undergraduate interpreting students, and at a second site with students enrolled in Eastern Kentucky University’s (EKU) Interpreter Training Program (ITP). Outcomes of this project will be significant in that they will inform direction of subsequent projects, within and beyond Lamar and EKU, which will include other STEM content areas, other ITPs, and interpreting students nationwide.

This project has the important and far-reaching potential of not only increasing participation of students who are deaf or hard of hearing in courses that include STEM content, but also may be instrumental in encouraging them to pursue STEM careers.

The project has five goals: 1) Create an SBL that incorporates a human signer rather than an avatar and integrates the five principles of fingerspelling; 2) Finalize the video tutorials; 3) Implement the materials and conduct a formative evaluation of use and effectiveness; 4) Make modifications to the materials based on test results; 5) Disseminate project deliverables and begin working with sites to integrate them into their interpreting programs. The evaluation will include two studies, one at Lamar and one at EKU, each of which will be divided into two phases.

Phase One will evaluate whether the SBL helps students in the mastery of ASL bioscience vocabulary. Phase Two will examine the effectiveness of the application of the five principles of fingerspelling in increasing students’ fingerspelling fluency and accuracy and their ability to interpret a typical bioscience lecture fluently and accurately. Many student interpreters struggle with fingerspelling, an important component of sign languages.

Their fingerspelling often looks like typing, as they do not know how to move from one visual phoneme to the next. As more deaf and hard of hearing students enter advanced STEM programs, one way to remove barriers is to have highly skilled interpreters who are effective fingerspellers and who can rapidly and effectively interpret ongoing contexts that include many terms that do not have established signs.

The project has the potential to make bioscience content more accessible to undergraduates who are deaf or hard of hearing, and thus may be instrumental in supporting their pursuit of biology (or other STEM) majors and careers. The NSF IUSE: EDU Program supports research and development projects to improve the effectiveness of STEM education for all students.

Through the Engaged Student Learning track, the program supports the creation, exploration, and implementation of promising practices and tools.

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.