ASL 790: Sign Language Teaching Internship (3)
Your Professors for this Course:
Raychelle Harris, Ph.D.
raychelle.harris@gallaudet.edu
Curt Radford, Ed.D
curt.radford@gallaudet.edu
curt.radford@yahoo.com (FT only)
Contact us first via our
1) Bb Discussion Q&A Thread,
2) Gallaudet IM, email or
Hangout, or FaceTime, and
3) Glide: Harris - @raychelle
and Radford - @lhwbnsu
Our response times are
faster during the work day
from Mondays to Fridays.
Other days/times by
appointment only.
ASL 790: Sign Language Teaching Internship
Syllabus - Spring 2017
Online: January 17 - May 2 - this course follows the onsite academic calendar)
COURSE DESCRIPTION
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-the-
job 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
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;
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.
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 Program
Outcomes
Course Student Student Learning Formal Assessment I II III IV
Learning Outcomes: Opportunities Methods**
After completing this
course, students will be
able to:

Critically synthesize Lesson Planning Lesson Plan Rubric X X X X

theoretical and
methodological Teaching Observations & Debriefing Teaching Rubric
properties of sign
language teaching Journal Journal Rubric

Seminars & Quizzes Seminar Rubric

Demonstrate ability to Lesson Planning Lesson Plan Rubric X X X X

teach sign language
through evidence of Field Experience Teaching Rubric
quality planning and
use of curricular and Journal Journal Rubric
assessment tools

Attends to and Field Experience Teaching Rubric X X

responds to students in
substantive and Journal Journal Rubric
supportive ways that
scaffold learning and fit
with individual learning
styles

Exhibit insightful Teaching Observations & Debriefing Teaching Rubric X X X X

analysis and reflection
of teaching Self-Evaluation Self-Evaluation Rubric

Journal Journal Rubric

Seminars Seminar & Hosting Rubric

**Informal assessment methods for student performance in online courses include, but are not limited
to: observation and comprehension checks through a variety of discussion sites, e-mails, video chat
applications and more.


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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 30+

Weekly Discussions 15+

Internship Package 3+

Debriefing Sessions 6+

Lesson Planning, Material Development & Assessment 20+

Self/Peer Evaluation 5+

Journal 15+

TOTAL 112+ hours

ASL 790: Sign Language Teaching Internship 3 of 9

 GRADING DISTRIBUTION AND LETTER GRADE EQUIVALENT

Letter GPA Definition Percent Range

Grade Value
A+ 4.0 97.6 - 100
Outstanding
A 4.0 93.6 - 97.5

A- 3.7 89.6 - 93.5

B+ 3.3 87.6 - 89.5

Good
B 3.0 83.6 - 87.5

B- 2.7 Unsatisfactory 79.6 - 83.5

C+ 2.3 77.6 - 79.5

C 2.0 73.6 - 77.5

F 0.0 Failing, No Credit 73.5 or below

XF 0.0 Academic Integrity Policy Violation, No Credit

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. You are only allowed one B- grade as
you complete the courses within your graduate program.

The grading system for graduate students can be found in the graduate catalog here.

Incomplete Grades:
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 latter requirements of a course due to circumstances beyond
their control. This 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. 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). To be eligible for credit in a course
which an I is recorded, students must complete the requirements of the course by the date agreed up
on in writing with the instructor; otherwise, the grade will automatically become an F.

For all other questions, concerns, grievances or disputes that are not covered in this syllabus, please
refer to the current University Graduate Catalog.

ASL 790: Sign Language Teaching Internship 4 of 9

GRADING ALLOCATION

Assignment Weight Additional Details Languages

Internship Package Required On-site Syllabus English
Internship Contract & Observation Dates
Observation #1 20% Lesson Plan & Materials (10%) ASL/English
Observation & Debriefing - Professor (10%)
Observation #2 20% Lesson Plan & Materials (10%) ASL/English
Observation & Debriefing - Peer (10%)
Observation #3 20% Lesson Plan & Materials (10%) ASL/English
Self-Assessment (10%)
Seminars 20% Weekly Seminars & Quizzes ASL/English
Journal 20% Weekly Journals English
Log & Thank You Required Log must reflect 45 hours or more, signed by English
your immediate supervisor
Your Thank You can be a card, letter or e-mail

Seminars Observations Journal

20% 20%

60%

ASL 790: Sign Language Teaching Internship 5 of 9

 COURSE SCHEDULE

The below chart is a general guide as you schedule your observations #1 and 2. The last day of
this course is Tuesday, May 2nd, 2017. No late submissions will be accepted.

W1 W2 W3 W4 W5 W6 W7 W8 W9 W10 W11 W12 W13 W14 W15

Jan Jan Jan Feb Feb Feb Feb Mar Mar Mar Mar Apr Apr Apr Apr
17 23 30 - 6 - 13 20 27 - 6 - 13 - 20 - 27 - 3 - 9 10 - 17 - 24 -
- - Feb 12 - - Mar 12 19 26 Apr 16 23 May
22 29 5 19 26 5 2 2
Internship X Sp
Package

Observation #1 X X X r

Observation #2 X X in X

Observation #3 g X X X
Seminars X X X X X X Br X X X X

Journal X X X X X X e X X X X

Log & Thank X X X X X X X X ak X X X X X X

You

Note: The feedback given to you during your first teaching observation & debriefing will
need to be applied to your second teaching observation and debriefing along with a classmate,
and then to your third, recorded self-assessment. Reviewing your feedback from your
university supervisor your own self-assessment, your peer faculty and applying them to subsequent
evaluations is an important part of the teaching internship experience.

*Details for each assignment above are discussed below and further in the course LMS*

REQUIRED COURSE MATERIALS

1) Please have all of the materials required by your internship site (e.g. Signing Naturally teacher and
student workbooks, GoReact account, DVDs, etc.).

2) Consistent access to high-speed internet (at least 50 mbps download, 10 mbps upload), high-
quality video-recording devices and a working computer/laptop to complete required assignments
for this course.

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 ASSIGNMENT REQUIREMENTS

INTERNSHIP PACKAGE (Required)

Prior to (or as soon as you begin) your teaching internship, you are required to email
masled@gallaudet.edu the following documents as two attachments in one email (not separate emails):
1) the syllabus of the course you’re teaching (saved as LastName_Syllabus.docx),
2) your filled out internship contract (saved as LastName_Contract.pdf),
3) cc’ing Drs. Harris and Radford.
And if you are doing a student internship,
4) include the cooperating faculty/supervisor in the cc: field as well.
This assignment does not have a percentage weight, however, you will fail the course if the paperwork is
not submitted before/during the first week of your internship course.

*Be sure to name your files by your last name, then item (e.g. Radford_Syllabus.docx;
Radford_Contract.pdf)

TEACHING OBSERVATIONS (60%)

Your lesson plan and materials are due at least 24 hours before your scheduled observation. If the
materials are not submitted on time, the lesson plan portion of the observation will receive a zero, and
the observation will proceed as scheduled. Each lesson plan & materials are worth 10% of your grade.
The lesson plan rubric and video explaining the details of this assignment is on the course Blackboard.

The university faculty will observe the intern teach two times via live video streaming feed, at different
intervals throughout the semester. Sign up for your one-hour observation day/time via
raychelle.youcanbook.me. Be sure to put down “observation #1” (or #2) in the “Reason” line. Then
immediately make another booking for the debriefing, preferably shortly after you finish teaching or at
least the next day - and put down “debriefing #1” or #2 in the “Reason” line.

At least one hour of active teaching will be observed for each meeting. Active teaching includes
introducing new content, discussing the new content, having the sign language students practice and
apply the new content as the teaching intern gives feedback. Having the students complete a quiz or
test is an example of inactive teaching. After the observation ends, the intern and university faculty will
meet for at least an hour to debrief.

1) First observation (10%): The first observation will be between the university faculty and the
teaching intern. The observation rubric and video explaining the details of this assignment is on the
course Blackboard.

2) Second observation (10%): The second observation will be between the university faculty, a
classmate and the teaching intern. The same observation rubric above will be completed by the
observing classmate and finalized by the faculty supervisor.
ASL 790: Sign Language Teaching Internship 7 of 9
3) Third observation (10%): Film yourself teach for at least an hour, continuously. Copy five
brief clips from your teaching video that you thought you did well, and five teaching clips that you
believe you could improve into - a presentation format. Then add your commentary next to the actual
video. See below photo for an example of how you can submit your work. Upload the full, unedited
video, your lesson plan & materials and your presentation to GoogleDrive & share with both
professors. The total maximum video running time, including the original teaching clips and the
commentary video clips of your presentation is 12 minutes. This is due Sunday, April 23 at midnight
although you are encouraged to submit earlier. The self-evaluation rubric and a video explaining the
details of this assignment is on the course Blackboard.
your
Here’s a sample format for your self-assessment submission - this was created on Keynote. teaching
video
your
commentary

Special Note: For live video 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. Appear.in) agreed upon between the university supervisor and intern. If the connection
is less than optimal (e.g. freezing, disconnecting or the connection is not made) and/or if the intern is
responsible for the disruption, the intern will receive a zero for the observation.

SEMINARS (20%)
On a weekly basis, your professors will share a prompt (a website link, a video article, or a question/
commentary) about the sign language teaching field via a private, discussion format. You are to respond
and participate in a dialogue about the topic and/or complete a quiz. Quizzes are open-book, which
means you can review your notes and all course materials (e.g. lecture, links, textbook and/or articles)
as you complete your quiz. However, this does not mean you can meet with your classmates to discuss
answers for the questions, or have other people help you with your quiz. You are to take the quiz
yourself, independently, without “human” help. The seminar rubric and a video explaining the details of
this assignment is on the course Blackboard.

JOURNAL (20%)

ASL 790: Sign Language Teaching Internship 8 of 9

Students are expected to summarize their internship experience on a weekly basis in English through a
journal provided by this course. A GoogleDrive document link for your journal & log will be assigned
by the professors. The journal rubric and a video explaining the details of this assignment is on the
course Blackboard.

LOG & THANK YOU (Required)

Your cooperating faculty/supervisor 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. A failing (F)
grade for the course will be granted to students who are unable to verify at least 45 hours of teaching.
Your thank you letter can be a card, e-mail, or a letter. Please include this along with your log in
one .pdf document and upload via Blackboard.

COURSE POLICIES AND PROCEDURES

1. Assignments: All assignments are to be submitted via Blackboard. Professors are more than happy to
respond to questions via e-mail, Gallaudet IM, iMessage, Glide, during office hours and meetings by
appointment, however, we are not expected to respond to last-minute questions about your
assignments during the weekend before the usual due date of Sunday at 11:59 pm.

2. Student Responsibilities:  Students are expected to actively participate in online discussions, completing
assigned activities on time, respect diverse perspectives and opinions, and support opinions and
answers with reasons, explanations and documentation from a variety of sources
  
3. Deadlines:  Assignments are due by the due date/time. Assignments not submitted on time will receive a
zero. Graded work is final. No make-ups or extra credit. Strive to do your very best. Early
submissions are welcome, with the understanding that the grade given is final. If your early submission
is not yet graded, and you submit multiple submissions, the last assignment submitted before the
deadline will be graded.
 
4. 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 or post your question in the
Q&A section of Blackboard Discussion Board.

5. Text submissions: Submissions are accepted in the following format: .pages, .docx, .pptx, .key and .pdf
submissions. Please be aware that .pptx, .key and .pdf do not allow for the same level of feedback one
can give via the tracking and comment function available in .pages and .docx.

6. Video submissions: For your video submissions, please use YouTube for the majority of your assignments
unless instructed otherwise. Do not modify the speeds of your videos. Edited videos are acceptable, as

ASL 790: Sign Language Teaching Internship 9 of 9

 long as the edits happen at end of sentences/paragraphs. Mid-sentence editing is unacceptable - and
excessive mid-sentence editing may be returned for a zero.

7. Academic ASL/English:  We will communicate using academic ASL/English, which is a specialized type of
discourse for academic settings.  Practice using academic ASL/English in classroom and during video
assignments throughout the course. Professional academic discourse requires giving credit to original
authors for their ideas, so citations and references are required, either in ASL or English. Use American
Psychological Association (APA) format when citing and referencing other people’s ideas.  Using written
ASL terms in your typed/written work or English-based signing in your video work is not acceptable.

8. Communication: Emails, Glides, GoogleIMs/videos, text/videos, iMessage, calls via FaceTime are welcomed
however, excessively colloquial register choices in either language will not be responded to. This is your
opportunity to practice ASL and English in academic settings, on a consistent basis. An important part
of effectively using ASL and English in academic settings is the ability to be concise and cordial.

9. Editing ASL/English assignments: You are strongly encouraged to have your ASL/English assignments edited.
Unedited work will be graded accordingly. I reserve the right to return heavily unedited work for a
zero.

10. Technology:  All assignments are to be posted on Blackboard or as instructed. The Gallaudet Technology
Services staff can assist you with technical issues throughout the course or you can visit
www.gallaudet.edu/gts/help_desk for assistance.  You are to post all of your assignments in Blackboard,
unless otherwise instructed. For large files, upload them to GoogleDrive or DropBox and share the
link.

UNIVERSITY POLICIES AND PROCEDURES

University Policies (link)

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 (link)

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 (link)

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 as soon as possible.

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