Workshops & Study Groups
Educational interpreters need a safe place to work on their skills and C & C Connection, LLC prides itself in the fact that all of our workshops and study groups are designed to be a SAFE place to work on skill and knowledge development. Workshops range from 1 1/2 hours to 3 hours to 6 hours and study groups range from 10 hours to 16 hours.
Educational Interpreter Ethics: Don't Get Stuck in the DO++ DO++ -- Have you ever been faced with a sticky ethical situation on the job and weren’t sure how to handle it? When do you follow the laws? When do you follow school policies? When do you follow RID Code of Professional Conduct? How do you make good ethical decisions within a school setting? Learn how to ask good thought provoking questions as you figure out how to keep the splash factor to a minimum and create a win/win solution for ethical dilemmas in the school system and avoid becoming stuck in the DO++ DO++. (3 hours)
Word? What Word? I Ain't Got No Words! -- Interpreters are constantly required to choose words (both in English and ASL) that fit the context and the register of the speaker(s), but often find themselves at a loss for that “perfect” word. How often do undertrained interpreters default to the only word they know for a sign or to the first word they learned rather than a better linguistic match? This interactive workshop will explore the interdependency of context, register and word choice as it relates to interpreting. Participants will have opportunity to learn and practice strategies for an interpretation that matches the intention of the speaker and to increase their vocabulary word bank. (3 hours)
Hooked on Fingerspelling: Spelling in Schools -- Why are educational interpreters afraid to fingerspell? Have they been told not to fingerspell because the students won’t be able to understand the words anyway? Have they been told to go ahead and make up signs rather than fingerspell? Are they afraid they will get behind if they take time to fingerspell? Do they have sub-par spelling skills themselves? If the answer to any of these questions is yes, then this workshop is for you. Fingerspelling is a vitally important component of the educational process and interpreters need to be very comfortable with fingerspelling in this setting. The more students see fingerspelling, the more likely their English literacy skills will improve. (3 hours)
How Do You Say That in "SAD"? -- Have you ever had to interpret a joke at a funeral and weren’t sure how to do that? Some interpreters lack the linguistic knowledge and skill to incorporate affect into their interpreting effectively. When this happens, clients are left to figure out the true nuances of the message for themselves. Clients deserve true access to the metamessage and affect of the speaker they are interacting with. This interactive workshop will assist interpreters with incorporating affect into their work to solidify the interpreted message. (3 hours)
Surviving Spelling Tests in an Interpreted Classroom -- Interpreting spelling tests. Do you dread them? This workshop will give you tips and strategies on how to handle interpreting spelling test for students who use sign language. (1.5 hours)
EIPA Written Test: What You Need to Know -- This workshop is designed to provide practice and preparation for the Written EIPA test. Participants will be involved in discussion and will gain knowledge in the sub-categories within the EIPA. We will explore the history and development of the EIPA. Vocabulary/concepts specific to the EIPA will be taught / discussed.
3 hour -- This is not designed to be a comprehensive preparation for the test -- that will require more intense study; this workshop is designed to give an overview of the concepts found on the EIPA Written test. For more indepth study, look at the study groups below.
Taking the Boring out of Boards -- Have you ever been curious about what the Indiana RID (or any other Affiliate Chapter) Board does? Have you wanted to be involved, but were unsure how to step into the organization or were afraid to ask? Have you always thought serving your state organization was out of your reach or that you were unqualified to help? This workshop is for you. Anyone with a passion for interpreting and for improving the profession can serve on the board or a committee. Find an area where you can fit and let your talents and passions shine. (3 hours)
There's a Message in the Madness: Interpreting Dialogues and Multi-Character Texts-- How do interpreters handle texts that have more than one character? What if they are talking at the same time? Some speakers use a style that seems too complex to interpret. Role shifting is only one element that can help make a message clearer. This workshop is designed to help educational interpreters understand and practice identifying the main point of a speaker’s message and to figure out a way to interpret that so it is clear to the consumer -- (6 hours)
The Dream Team: Making Educational Interpreting Work -- What does a progressive Deaf Education Team look like? This is an opportunity to see roles and responsibilities defined and how this team works together in the mainstream educational setting. This includes problem solving. Each positin on the Team has a unique professional niche and when all members are working as one cohesive unit, the results only benefit the education of the DHH students. (3 hours)
Can You Lend A Hand? Matching What the Teacher Says so the Student Can Learn -- This six-hour intense, hands-on workshop is designed to provide instruction in the components of the Voice to Sign portion of the EIPA as well as practice in each of the components (including Bloom’s Taxonomy, Register and the teacher’s specific goal for a lesson). It is designed to help educational interpreters to have a safe place to work on their English to ASL skills. They will be signing various media from educational settings (different classes / content areas within a school setting). Interpreters will learn to use a processing model as well as how to give and receive feedback. The majority of the session will be working on skills relating to improving ASL interpreting skills. (6 hours)
Letting Go Of English: It's OK, ASL Will Catch You -- Too many educational interpreters have learned one-to-one sign to word equivalence. This hampers the interpreter's ability to achieve true linguistic message equivalence. This workshop helps educational interpreters understand that they can let go of the English form while interpreting in the school environment and to develop their skills in creating a visual interpretation where the ASL message "comes alive". They will learn how to "lock-in" the linguistic intent of the message and focus on the vast array of vocabulary choices at one's disposal. This is a valuable skill set for any educational interpreter.(6 hours)
From Your Hands to My Lips -- This session is designed to help educational interpreters to have a safe place to work on their ASL to English skills. They will be voicing various media from educational settings (different classes / content areas within a school setting). Interpreters will learn a processing model as well as how to give and receive feedback. The majority of the session will be working on skills relating to improving voicing skills. (6 hours) -- Level 1 of voicing
Do You Hear What I See: Giving Voice to Signing in Schools -- This six-hour intense, hands-on workshop is designed to provide instruction in the components of the Sign to Voice portion of the EIPA as well as practice in each of the components. It is designed to help educational interpreters to have a safe place to work on their ASL to English skills. They will be voicing various media from educational settings (different classes / content areas within a school setting). Interpreters will learn to use a processing model as well as how to give and receive feedback. The majority of the session will be working on skills relating to improving voicing skills. (6 hours) -- Level 2 of voicing
Say What? (part 1 and 2) -- Interpreting from ASL to English (Voicing) is an often underused and undeveloped skill for educational interpreters. Many deaf and hard of hearing students speak for themselves in the school setting. This workshop is designed to build on the voicing skills learned in the first two S-V workshops in this series with focus on producing a clear and equivalent English message at the discourse level – conveying the concepts and intent of the message while letting go of some of the specifics. (6 hours each) -- levels 3 & 4 of voicing
You Can Be the MVP on the Educational Team-- Educational interpreters have often been overlooked as contributing members of the educational team – are not invited to case conferences, are not given access to IEPs or student files, do not have input into the child’s access to the educational setting. The intent of this workshop is to provide Educational interpreters with the necessary tools to empower themselves with the knowledge and expertise so they can confidently sit as a member of the educational team. (6 or 7 hours)
Study Groups
EIPA Written Study Group -- This workshop is designed to provide practice and preparation for the Written EIPA test. Participants will be involved in discussion groups and will gain knowledge in the sub-categories within the EIPA. The study group will end with a practice test.
This study group ranges from 10 -16 hours. The hours can be spread out in any increments. The presenters will work to fit your needs.
EIPA Skills Study Group -- This study group is designed to help educational interpreters to have a safe place to work on their interpreting skills both expressive and receptive. Each participant will self-evaluate and help provide feedback for fellow participants. From that feedback, each will set goals for improvement. We will provide practice in the following areas: grammar (ASL and English), fingerspelling, numbers, classifiers, spatial mapping, discourse analysis, prosodic features, non-manual information, using appropriate register, vocabulary, voice-to-sign, and sign-to-voice
This study group ranges from 10 - 16 hours in length. The hours can be spread out in any increments. The presenters will work to fit your needs.
