The Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, SOTL by Dr. Christine Monikowski

 

The study of interpreting between American Sign Language (ASL) and English is a relatively new discipline linked to linguistics, communication, sociology, and studies of social interaction. The dramatic increase in ASL/English interpreter education programs in institutions of higher education across the United States requires instructors who can succeed in the academy, which often means completing doctoral degrees and navigation through the tenure and promotion processes. This presentation discusses the challenges faced in our field -- teaching, practice, and research -- and offers reflections on the "academization" we are experiencing including changes in our programs and faculty.

 

Dr. Christine Monikowski is currently a Professor in the Department of ASL and Interpreting Education at Rochester Institute of Technology/National Technical Institute for the Deaf (RIT/NTID). She has taught courses in American Sign Language and interpretation for the past 20 years. She holds a BS in Secondary Education/English from Shippensburg State College (Pennsylvania), an MA in Counseling from Gallaudet College, an MA in Linguistics and a PhD in Educational Linguistics from the University of New Mexico (Albuquerque). She began her career at the Pennsylvania School for the Deaf  (Philadelphia) as a dorm supervisor. After obtaining her MA at Gallaudet, she worked at the American School for the Deaf in Hartford, Connecticut. She has taught in the Signed Language Interpreting Program at the University of New Mexico. Dr. Monikowski was selected for a Fulbright Specialist project in Australia at the University of Newcastle in early 2013 and spent six weeks Down Under. She lives in Henrietta, New York, with her husband and you'll find her at RIT's gym early in the morning, participating in Boot Camp with a few hardy colleagues.