IMET Online Courses

Lindsey B. TASK12 16 September 2024

IMET Online Courses

The Utah State University TASK12 Interpreter, Mentorship, Education, & Training (IMET) Program offers a variety of independent study, self-paced, online training courses produced for sign language interpreters. The courses are designed to be completed independently on various knowledge & skill based topics.

Participating TASK12 Member States have collaborated with the IMET Program to provide access to various online professional development courses created for sign language interpreters. Certificates of Completion and RID CEUs are available upon successful completion. The courses have been designed to be completed online, independently, and at your own pace.

Requirements

Must live or work in a participating State to participate (AL, AK, AZ, HI, ID, IA, KS, MT, NC, ND, NE, NM, OK, OR, UT, WY).
Courses are offered at no cost to the participant.
Courses are self-paced and fully online using the Canvas platform.
Certificate of Completion & RID CEUs are available.

For more information contact the IMET Project Coordinator:
LeeAnn Lundgreen - This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Self-Paced Online Courses

Assessment & Pattern Identification Strategies

8 Lessons

16-24 Hours

Difficulty: Beginner

Confidence in your interpreting skills and a connection to your work can enhance your process, progress, and outcomes. Unfortunately, interpreters often focus on negatives, leading to disconnection and reduced confidence. This self-paced course introduces confidence and self-efficacy concepts, offering a framework for assessing your work. It provides guided practice in assessment and pattern identification, aiming to boost your confidence and self-efficacy in these skills, ultimately improving your understanding and performance.

Cohesion and Prosodic Features of Language

8 Lessons

16-24 Hours

Difficulty: Intermediate

This course helps aspiring and working interpreters enhance their use of cohesion and prosody, crucial linguistic features for message coherence and guiding receivers to the message's meaning and intent. Both ASL and English use various devices to create cohesion and prosody, which will be explored through text analysis and applied in ASL to English and English to ASL interpretations. Research shows novice interpreters often struggle with these features, affecting consumer perception and message accuracy. Participants will study this research to understand the importance of improving cohesion and prosody skills for better interpretation quality.

Enhancing ASL Comprehension

8 Lessons

16-24 Hours

Difficulty: Beginner

This course is designed for aspiring and working interpreters to enhance their comprehension of ASL narratives for interpreting into spoken English. It targets individuals with emerging ASL comprehension skills aiming for mastery. Participants will analyze ASL narratives through structured activities, including advance preparation, slower text viewing, and linguistic feature analysis. They will answer questions, summarize messages, and use an answer key for self-correction. The course includes presentations on ASL comprehension topics and offers practice in interpreting ASL to spoken English, with comparisons to certified interpreters' samples. Resources for continued skill development are provided.

Fostering Fuller Inclusion Through Visual-Spatial Strategies

8 Lessons

16-24 Hours

Difficulty: Expert

This course enhances interpreters’ visual-spatial communication skills to better include deaf students in classroom content. It addresses the challenge of replicating teachers’ use of media and visual aids, often leading to incomplete information for deaf students. Participants will explore the historical and modern roles of interpreters, focusing on the Role Space concept in K-12 settings. The course includes practice activities, self-assessments, and comparisons with certified interpreters’ work. It concludes with resources for ongoing skill development and assesses learning through pre- and post-tests.

Interpreting Linguistically & Culturally Induced Information

8 Lessons

16-24 Hours

Difficulty: Intermediate

Interpreters mediate between cultures and languages, particularly ASL/English interpreters who bridge Deaf culture and American mainstream culture. They navigate subcultures within the Deaf community and broader American society, and even global cultures. Linguistically, they mediate between American spoken/written English and ASL, considering various dialects, accents, and regional variations. This professional development module aims to equip interpreters with strategies and tactics for handling culturally and linguistically induced information (CII/LII) during interpretation.

Optimizing Visual Access for Deaf Students

6 Lessons

12-18 Hours

Difficulty: Beginner

This course highlights the responsibilities of interpreters in reducing the visual demands on Deaf students in hearing classrooms. Unlike hearing students who can simultaneously look at a stimulus and listen to the teacher, Deaf students face multiple visual demands. They must watch the interpreter while also looking at the stimulus, locating materials, viewing visual aids, reading, writing, or participating in activities. These competing demands can be overwhelming. Although teachers are often willing to adjust, they may revert to old habits, complicating the Deaf student’s experience.

Preparing Our Minds for the Work

8 Lessons

16-24 Hours

Difficulty: Beginner

To fully benefit from professional skill development, signed language interpreters need confidence in their abilities. However, many struggle with fears and feelings of inadequacy, which hinder their progress. This course aims to help interpreters understand the mind’s impact on readiness for mentoring and skill development, providing practical strategies to boost confidence and comfort. It addresses negative self-talk by offering opportunities for self-reflection and effective strategies to overcome self-imposed limitations, fostering a mindset shift towards embracing progress over perfection.

Theory of Mind

8 Lessons

16-24 Hours

Difficulty: Intermediate

Theory of Mind (ToM) is crucial for signed language interpreters’ professional development, as it involves recognizing and attributing emotions and mental states to oneself and others. These skills, developing from infancy through language exposure, are intertwined with communication, learning, and problem-solving. ToM significantly impacts social and academic functioning. Research on ToM skills in deaf and hard of hearing students highlights the interpreter’s role in bridging language and comprehension gaps. Understanding ToM helps assess and support communication breakdowns, enhancing students’ language and academic development. This presentation will explore ToM’s foundation, its relationship with language and communication, and practical applications for educational interpreters and students.

For more information contact the IMET Project Coordinator:
LeeAnn Lundgreen - This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

TASK12 Advisory Board

Lindsey B. TASK12 12 September 2024

The TASK12 Advisory Board

	Alabama Kimberly Baker Special Education Coordinator & Assistant Director of Special Projects, Alabama Institute for the Deaf and Blind
	Alaska Andree Howard Statewide Interpreter Coordinator, Alaska State School for Deaf and Hard of Hearing
	Arizona Christy Hegebush Autism and Low Incidence Specialist, Arizona Department of Education
	Hawaii Jamia Green Administrator, Special Needs Section, Hawaii State Department of Education
	Idaho Joelynne Ball IESDB Statewide Interpreter Education Coordinator, Idaho State Department of Education
	Iowa Deborah Cates Sign Language Program Coordinator, Iowa School for the Deaf
	Kansas Lisa Karney Education Program Consultant; Special Education & Title Services, Kansas State Department of Education
	Montana Lucy Beltz Early Learning & Special Education Specialist, Montana Office of Public Instruction
	Nebraska Sara Peterson NDE State Coordinator for Programs for Children who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing, ESU 9
	New Mexico Lorie Pacheco NM ED Special Education Administrator, New Mexico Special Education Bureau
	North Carolina Antwan Campbell Consultant for Deaf and Hard of Hearing and Interpreter Support, NC Department of Public Instruction
	North Dakota Lacey Long Project Director, North Dakota Sensory Project
	Oklahoma Board Member TBD
	Oregon Georgeann Harty Regional Inclusive Services Specialist, Office of Student Services, Oregon Department of Education
	Utah Teresa Judd Deaf and Hard of Hearing Specialist, Utah State Board of Education, Special Education Section
	Wyoming Christie Fritz Deaf and Hard of Hearing Outreach Consultant, Wyoming Department of Education; Special Programs Deaf and Hard of Hearing
	State Special Education Director Representative Bert Moore Director, Kansas State Department of Education
	TAESE Frank Podobnik Associate Director, Technical Assistance Division of the Institute for Disability Research, Policy & Practice; Utah State University
	TASK12 Jennifer Harvey Project Director Training and Assessment Systems for K-12 Educational Interpreters

Join TASK12

Lindsey B. TASK12 12 September 2024

Join TASK12

TASK12 is a multi-state project spanning across the United States, and we are eager to make a difference everywhere we can. This page will provide some more general information for any other State Departments of Education staff who are interested in partnering with TASK12.

Benefits of the TASK12 Program

TASK12 is led by Jennifer Harvey, a national expert in deaf education and sign language.
TASK12 offers assessments across much of the nation that are scheduled one year in advance.
It saves money to join a multi-state project that shares the costs of assessing the signing skills of educational interpreters.
TASK12 provides networking opportunities for State Education Agency staff around low incidence disabilities.
States have a responsibility to have qualified educational interpreters. Providing assessments through TASK12 is one way to accomplish that goal.
TASK12 assessments are available locally and on weekends to avoid interrupting interpreter services for children.
Interpreters have location options when taking their assessment.
States are assured consistency in assessments from one interpreter to another.
TASK12 takes care of all communication and assessment arrangements with educational interpreters.
TASK12 is a neutral party in the testing protocol—if anyone contests the scores, that grievance goes to Boys Town National Research Hospital in Omaha, Nebraska.
State assessment reports are provided to each state director of special education.
States have access to test where they don’t have licensure or preparation programs.
Cost pales in comparison to a due process case if a school does not have a qualified educational interpreter.
Training options are available for interpreters that need to enhance their skills.

TASK12 will do the following:

Provide the SEA with the interpreter assessment schedule for the entire TASK12 project via the TASK12 website. Educational interpreters can register through the TASK12 website for the location and date of their choice.
Provide the onsite administration of the Educational Interpreter Performance Assessment (EIPA). The EIPA is administered fairly, reliably, and with respect toward all who take the assessment.
Administer onsite digital recordings of educational interpreters’ work using the EIPA instrument. This is a video assessment of interpreting skills, voice-to-sign classroom, as well as sign-to-voice deaf/hard of hearing student communication. Up to 20 evaluations (video tapings) can be performed per weekend. Each member state decides how many assessments are needed annually.
Maintain contact and communication with local assessment sites and contact persons for local planning, location directions with appropriate technology equipment, and administration of the EIPA.
Welcome interpreters living and working in TASK12 states to attend any of the other TASK12 EIPA assessment sites.
Send the interpreters assessments to Boys Town National Research Hospital for scoring by a qualified panel of experts (both deaf and hearing professionals).
Mail the full diagnostic results to each interpreter within 90-120 working days. This document becomes a professional development plan for each interpreter regarding his or her demonstrated interpreting skills. In addition, a certificate showing the level of skill will be mailed to each candidate showing their EIPA score.
Provide to the state (after all results are mailed) a comprehensive report with recommendations for training/education for the K-12 interpreters that were evaluated. This report is based specifically upon the performances of the candidates and provides a roadmap for training/education.
Host one face-to-face TASK12 Advisory Board meeting annually for its members. Each TASK12 state appoints a person to represent them on the Advisory Board. The TASK12 Board listserv is available for communication 24/7. Conference calls for the TASK12 Advisory Board are scheduled as needed throughout the year

Each State will do the following:

Select one TASK12 Advisory Board member from the State Department of Education, representing the director of special education and the state, to attend TASK12 Advisory Board meetings, be on the conference calls, and participate via the TASK12 listserv and electronic mail. This is usually the SEA’s low incidence disability staff member.
Provide receptive locations for onsite assessment with the appropriate equipment for assessment. It is encouraged that one site be located at the State School for the Deaf. A fee will be paid to the location for its use.
Provide reliable contact names at these sites for local assistance regarding the TASK12 administration of the evaluation (local proctors who assist with the TASK12 process).
Participate, as needed, with the promotion and encouragement of skills training for K-12 interpreters in their state.

TASK12 Membership Cost:

The cost of TASK12 is based upon a simple formula: The total number of students in K-12 education in your state multiplied by $0.034 (3.4 cents) per child, plus $75.00 per test time. This expense includes everything listed above and the pledge to you that TASK12 services will be provided and administered under your direction and guidance. A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) is entered into between the Center for Technical Assistance for Excellence in Special Education (TAESE) at Utah State University (the fiscal agent for TASK12) and each TASK12 State Department of Education. This MOU is renewed annually.
For more information, please contact Jenn Harvey This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Training for Interpreters in Public Schools (TIPS)

Lindsey B. TASK12 12 September 2024

Training for Interpreters in Public Schools (TIPS)

The Training for Interpreters in Public Schools (TIPS) is an online course specifically designed for educational interpreters. Four modules are sequenced to build upon one another and take an average of 8 hours per week over a four-month period to complete. All activities are online, so access to a reliable computer, web camera, and highspeed internet is required. The course topics in TIPS were designed based on critical skill sets identified by developers of the EIPA.

TIPS online coursework consists of 4 modules:

Preparing for the Learning Journey
Interpreting Educational Discourse
Fingerspelling in the Classroom
Discourse Mapping in Education

A oneday virtual training is mandatory. RID CEUs available. Space is limited.

About TASK12

Lindsey B. TASK12 10 September 2024

About TASK12

Our Vision

The Training and Assessment Systems for K-12 Educational Interpreters (TASK12) views skill standards for K-12 educational interpreters as it primary purpose. These standards are designed to better provide access to education for deaf and hard of hearing students who use interpreters in school. With these diagnostic results from evaluation of skills TASK12 develops the tools to provide research-based skill training/education for improvement.

Our Mission

The Training and Assessment Systems for K-12 Educational Interpreters is a multi-state community of practice whose mission is to provide valid and reliable evaluation of K-12 educational interpreters who serve deaf and hard of hearing students in educational environments throughout the member states and to design from interpreter evaluation results appropriate training to improve qualifications of K-12 interpreters throughout TASK12 states.

Our History

The purpose of this document is to provide a short history and overview of the TASK12 program. This overview is intended to provide new State members and/or new TASK12 Advisory Board members to better understand how the program began and how it has evolved over the years.

2000

Project Initiation

Prior to 2001, each State handled their own assessments and training for educational sign language interpreters. Each State assumed their educational interpreters were competent and had adequate signing skills to interpret proficiently. In 2000, John Copenhaver, the Director of the Center for Technical Assistance for Excellence in Special Education at Utah State University was approached by three State Education Agency staff members; Cheryl Johnson from Colorado, Miriam Podrazik from Arizona and Marilyn Pearson from Montana to request that TAESE develop a multi-state program that could provide assessments for educational interpreters. John consulted with State Special Education Directors in eleven States and they all agreed this was a good idea. In the beginning, there were nine States who agreed to be part of the program.

A Response for Proposal (RFP) was developed and advertised. Two proposals were received, one from Colorado and one from Kansas. A proposal review committee was formed and held a review of the proposal in Colorado. The following participated:

Cheryl Johnson-Colorado SEA
Mariam Podrazik-Arizona SEA
Marilyn Pearson-Montana SEA
John Copenhaver-TAESE

2001

The Regional Assessment System (RAS) & Partnering with the Boys Town National Research Hospital

After careful review and consideration, the award was made to Dr. Bern Jones from Johnson County Community College in Kansas. Several organizational meetings took place and in the Summer of 2001. The Regional Assessment System (RAS) was created. The following nine States became the original members: Arizona, Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming.

John Copenhaver and Bern Jones met with individuals from the Boys Town National Research Hospital in Omaha, Nebraska to develop a partnership and agreement to be able to administer the Educational Interpreter Performance Assessment (EIPA) throughout the nine State area. Ensuring that educational interpreters in member States have the opportunity to take the EIPA continues to be a primary mission of TASK12. In addition to proctoring the exams, the TASK12 team collects valuable data to develop a comprehensive State report as well as target training and support for educational interpreters.

2003

Advisory Board Established

One of the first jobs of RAS was to develop an Advisory Board with a representative from each of the nine State Education Agency’s. There is one State Special Education Director on the Advisory Board to represent other State Directors. The Board has met every year since 2003 to provide advice and guidance to the Director. Most Board meetings were held in Phoenix, Arizona in November or December. Within a few years, Board by-laws and operating procedures were developed and approved. At each Board meeting, the by-laws are reviewed and revised if necessary. The Board also suggested an equitable funding formula based on general education student count. The formula is used to determine TASK12 costs for each member State.

2004

Project Goes National - Named ASK-12

In 2004, the name of the program was changed to ASK-12 (Assessment for Kindergarten through Grade 12) to better reflect the mission of the program and reflect that the program had grown to 12 States and went from a regional to national program.

2007

Interpreter Training Added - Renamed TASK12

In 2007, the Advisory Board agreed to a recommendation to add training of interpreters to the program. There were very few training programs at the time. ASK-12 was then changed to TASK12, the “T” stood for training. With the financial support from Arizona, Training for Interpreters in Public Schools (TIPS) was developed that included on-line modules so interpreters who scored low on the EIPA could improve their interpreting skills. The process involves a weekend face to face with two expert trainers and five months of on-line modules, with coaching from the trainers. At the conclusion of the training, each interpreter is administered the EIPA again to determine if they have improved. In addition, TASK12 has develop several weekend training options for States who are interested.

2019

Interpreter Mentoring & A New Director

In 2019, Dr. Bern Jones retired after 18 years serving as the TASK12 Director. Jennifer Harvey was hired in 2019 to replace Dr. Jones. Since that time Ms. Harvey established the IMET (Interpreter Mentorship, Education and Training) program and was successful in securing a grant proposal in Utah, named NorthStar. She has also been instrumental in beginning interpreter mentoring services for TASK12.

In 2019, interpreter mentoring was introduced to the Advisory Board. Nebraska became the pilot State for the first mentoring cohort. Since then, several other States have added mentoring as a TASK12 service. The IMET program continues to develop various skill and knowledge development opportunities for educational interpreters.

TASK12 is one of the longest standing multi-state projects in the country. It has weathered numerous leadership turnovers in every member State, retirements of the three founding members, the 9-11 event of 2001, recession of 2008-2012, and most recently, the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Currently TASK12 has the following 14 States involved with the TASK12 Program: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Oregon, Utah, and Wyoming

The State Special Education Directors have been instrumental in their support of the program as they recognize the critical importance of expert interpreters. Over these many years the Directors and Advisory Board members have kept “the main thing the main thing”- children and youth who are deaf and hard of hearing.

Technical Assistance for Excellence in Special Education

Institute for Disability Research, Policy & Practice

TAESE