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2017 Provost’s Learning Innovations Grants
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2017 PROVOST’S LEARNING INNOVATIONS GRANTS
APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONS
1. Complete this Application Form, in its entirety, and save as
“Lastname_Firstname_APP” (using your name).
2. Complete the Budget Worksheet and save as
“Lastname_Firstname_BUDGET” (using your name).
3. Ask your Department Head to complete the Department Head
Certification, scan and save as, “Lastname_Firstname_SIG” (using
your name).
4. Email all documents to [email protected], no later than 11:59pm
EST, January 25, 2017.
If you have any questions about completing this application,
please email [email protected], or contact Michael Starenko at
585-475-5035 or [email protected].
APPLICANT INFORMATION This application is for a:
X Exploration Grant
Focus Grant
Principal Applicant name: Robyn K. Dean
Faculty title: Assistant Professor Email: [email protected] Phone:
475-2549 (Full-time only)
College: NTID Department: American Sign Language and Interpreter
Education
Department Head name: Kim Kurz Email: [email protected] Others
involved in the project (if any): Eight guest lecturers Project
name: Introducing Translation and Interpreting Studies for Global
Collaboration Total funds requested (as calculated on the budget
worksheet): $4,200 (requests of $1,000 to $5,000 will be
considered)
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BUDGET There is a fillable PDF worksheet to calculate your
budget. You can download the worksheet at rit.edu/ili/plig.
• The total shown on this worksheet must match the “Total funds
requested” in the Applicant Information section of this application
form
• If awarded, additional funds will be provided to cover any
benefits and ITS expenses associated with the salary budget
requested
• Note that any equipment or other materials purchased with
grant funds are the property of your department and revert to the
department after your project is completed
TIMELINE Please indicate any variances to the planned PLIG 2017
schedule and your reasons. If you do not intend to deviate from the
schedule, you may leave this section blank.
Task Date Proposed Variance and Reason
Full project plan submitted August 23, 2017
Preliminary findings submitted January 10, 2018
Summary of final findings submitted August 22, 2018
Final budget accounting submitted August 22, 2018
Teaching and Learning Commons submission due (posting a summary
of findings, examples of teaching designs or materials, etc.)
October 3, 2018
Participation in Teaching and Learning Services PLIG
dissemination event (e.g., PLIG Showcase)
November 2018
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STATEMENT OF UTILITY (two pages maximum) Using the evaluation
criteria outlined in the Proposal Evaluation section of the PLIG
website, please provide an overview of the project you are
proposing, including: • Project objectives
• An explanation of the teaching/learning problem(s) it is
designed to address
• An explanation of the significance of the project to student
outcomes and/or the student experience.
• A brief description of how the project integrates with
activity already underway at RIT in a priority area and/or how this
approach has been successfully used at RIT already.
Objectives
This synergistic project brings together faculty from different
RIT schools and departments who share interest and expertise in the
field of translation and interpreting (T&I). The primary
objective is to plan and host a unique, new undergraduate course,
potentially attractive to a wide array of RIT students, which
“lifts the curtain” on the oft-mysterious (and seldom “revealed”)
process of T&I in various cross-linguistic, cross-cultural
settings, including the variety of international collaborative
settings/situations in which RIT students and faculty already are
regulalry involved. The goals of the proposed course are
three-fold: (1) to inform and instruct students (especially
monolingual students) how their collaborations that are mediated or
affected by T&I professionals can be made more effective via
greater understanding of T&I processes that are generally
“shrouded in mystery”; (2) to inform and potentially interest
bilingual students to explore the many career options that exist
within the broad T&I field; and (3) to raise the level of
awareness of T&I as a specific field of study relevant to many
schools and departments across RIT (and beyond, via our
dissemination efforts) in an era where global collaboration is an
increasing educational and occupational priority.
Problem to be Addressed
Companies and organizations often rely on their international
staff or bilingual employees to make cross-cultural,
cross-linguistic connections successful. This typical approach
presumes that bilingualism and/or international experience alone
are sufficient to guide effective cross-cultural, cross-linguistic
interaction. These insufficiently informed assumptions can lead to
serious problems. The Internet is rampant with examples of
misleading, embarrassing, and insulting language translations as
well as behavioral, marketing, and other cultural faux pas made by
organizations, despite their earnest attempts to engage
international audiences effectively and respectfully. If the
individuals responsible for planning and engaging in such
interactions were familiar with the literature, processes, norms,
etc., established within the T&I and related fields, their work
would be greatly enhanced, whether or not their work role involves
translating or interpreting per se.
In reality, the processes involved in effectively adapting
spoken or written material from one language and culture to
another, as well as behavioral and other elements of human
interaction, are quite complex, not at all “common sense,” and
often shrouded in mystery. Furthermore, translators and
interpreters who work with international organizations are often
improperly constrained by those who supervise their work (e.g.,
directed to “translate word-for-word what I say” which is virtually
impossible), in large part because the theories and standards of
the T&I discipline are largely unknown.
Significance
RIT seeks to educate all students to be prepared to engage,
achieve, and compete on a global scale. Our satellite campuses in
several international locations further emphasize the importance of
our students (and RIT as an institution itself) taking on an
international perspective to pursue excellence in this era of
global
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STATEMENT OF UTILITY (continued)
collaboration. Whether our graduates work for corporations,
not-for profits, governmental or non-governmental organizations,
there is a growing need for personnel to work effectively across
borders, cultures, and languages.
This project aims to improve the preparedness of RIT students,
many of whom will be future employees within the global
workforce/marketplace, to work effectively and collaboratively with
experts in the T&I field and to gain substantive, useful
knowledge regarding the somewhat new construct of “transcreation” –
the process of recreating or adapting materials and products for
applicability to other cultural groups (references available upon
request).
The T&I field was identified by U.S. News and World Report
in 2011 as one of the best and fastest growing career categories.
Language services also have been on the radar of international
quality and standards organizations since 2010
(https://www.astm.org/COMMITTEE/F43.htm). The number of
T&I-related service and consulting companies is growing at a
rapid pace. Should not our graduates be better prepared to
participate in and/or effectively engage with these employment
trends?
A new course that introduces students to T&I theories,
available language services, different types of T&I
practitioners, and the many venues in which T&I work takes
place, whether within the U.S. or internationally, would be a
significant, innovative contribution to the RIT curriculum. We
believe a wide array of students would benefit from this course. We
are unaware of any comparable courses in colleges or universities
elsewhere, despite our collective experience in the T&I
academic field. Again, while one outcome of this project may be to
stimulate certain students to become T&I practitioners, the
broader objective is to develop a student cohort that is able to
work collaboratively with T&I experts in the global
workforce.
Integration
The idea for this project arose from discussions between faculty
from the American Sign Language and Interpreting Education (ASLIE)
department at NTID and faculty from the Modern Languages and
Cultures department in the College of Liberal Arts (COLA) and is
built upon the long-standing relationships between COLA and NTID.
For almost a decade, ASLIE has worked in close collaboration with
the Modern Languages and Cultures department to offer American Sign
Language classes to non-NTID students.
Several majors across campus intersect around the topic of
bilingualism and cross-cultural communication: International and
Global Studies (COLA), Global Business (College of Business),
signed language interpreting (NTID), and the new major for Modern
Languages and Cultures (COLA). Even students whose studies are less
directly associated with cross-linguistic or international issues
(e.g., Psychology, Sociology and Anthropology, and many more) still
engage in course content relevant to this topic and stand to
benefit from the educational experience provided via this proposed
course.
Consistent with the longer pedagogical history of RIT, this
project draws upon the expertise of actual practitioners (of the
T&I craft). RIT courses have long been rooted in
practitioner-led education. Learning theory and building skills
outside employment settings certainly has merit but education is
vastly enhanced when students engage directly with practitioners of
the craft they are studying. The proposed course is consistent with
that RIT tradition.
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STATEMENT OF CREATIVITY (three paragraphs maximum) Provide a
brief description of how this is a novel approach, or a new
application of an existing mode or model of teaching and learning,
and/or research about how teaching and learning represents a new
paradigm. (Please note that special consideration will be given to
proposals that demonstrate a new use/application of a model,
system, or technology already in use at RIT.)
There are few universities, even internationally, that allow for
the specific study of T&I and none, that we are aware of, that
offer an “overview” type course such as the one we propose for
students who are not necessarily planning to pursue T&I
careers. There are only a handful of universities in the U.S. that
offer T&I as a major. Yet, professional opportunities for
translators and interpreters continue to grow at a rapid pace.
Bilingual individuals often find themselves working as ad hoc
translators or interpreters without any training or education. This
immediately calls into the question the quality of their work
product and the potential ineffectiveness, even harmfulness, of
their work product. Instead of trying to compete with programs in
the U.S. that train translators and interpreters, this project
proposes to stimulate the education of a much larger potential
cadre of graduates who know how to effectively partner with
translators and interpreters in order to meet the language and
other cross-cultural service needs of companies and organizations,
again, by “raising the curtain” on the rarely elucidated work of
T&I professionals and challenging the presumptions behind
less-informed approaches to such efforts.
Many employers hire ad hoc translators and interpreters (i.e.,
bilinguals without specific T&I training) without sufficient
quality assurance processes in place. The unexamined “faith” in
their oft-admired bilingual skills (especially in the
monolinguistic-heavy U.S.A.) is frequently ill-placed and usually
insufficiently informed. Unfortunately, many T&I service
companies further this ill-placed faith by providing assurances
regarding the effectiveness of their services, again, based on
bilingualism alone (and even that promise is questionable at
times). Having an employee with sufficient education who can vet,
consult with, and work cooperatively with T&I professionals
would offer a highly desirable skill set. Even if this employee
does not have extensive knowledge about the particular linguistic
and/or cultural group being targeted, they would still possess a
level of familiarity with the process, protocols, and challenges
faced by the T&I professionals with whom they work to be able
to advise the subcontracting practitioners and their employers on
the quality of the services they are engaging. In short, the
creativity of our PLIG project idea lies not on a primary focus on
the specialization of a handful of students to pursue employment in
the T&I service field (although we do expect this outcome as
well) but rather on its broader focus on raising awareness about
the T&I field for the larger cadre of students who will
ultimately work within the context of the global marketplace and
benefit greatly from the information this course will offer.
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STATEMENT OF EFFICACY (two pages maximum) Provide a brief
description of the experiment/research design, methodology, and
methods of data collection you will use to gauge efficacy.
Overview
The proposed course will consist of an array of topics that span
the employment-relevant spectrum of the T&I field – again,
whether one seeks to be a provider or a consumer of T&I
services. The specific topics for particular class sessions have
been selected (and will be further refined) based on the expertise
of local and international individuals with whom the collaborating
faculty are already familiar. Already-determined topics include:
T&I theories, T&I services and agencies, T&I as related
to STEM, T&I as related to healthcare topics/settings, T&I
in business settings, transcreation of gaming products, fiction and
nonfiction translation, conference interpreting, and interpreting
at the United Nations.
The proposed course will be offered once per week in the evening
in the Spring, 2018 semester, so that guest lecturers (eight are
planned/identified) may enrich and diversify the course curriculum
after their working hours. These eight guest lecturers will consist
of local T&I practitioners and T&I management personnel.
Their engagement in this course will allow students to network with
these practitioners/agencies, optimally (with faculty support),
leading to specific collaboration opportunities, including “co-op”
experiences between these community service agencies and RIT
students.
The ASLIE department at NTID already offers a “Special Topics”
course shell that will allow for the proposed course to be readily
offered in time for spring 2018 semester.
Timeline, Objectives, and Responsible Parties
Summer 2017, Robyn Dean (NTID/ASLIE) and Sara Armengot
(COLA/MLC) will:
• Finalize the course syllabus, course materials and secure the
engagement of guest lecturers
o Guest lecturers already have been identified (and have
preliminarily agreed) to teach the following topics: conference
interpreting, U.N. interpreting, business interpreting, and
language service models.
o Given the extensive T&I professional networks of the
collaborating faculty, there is no concern about engaging
additional guest lecturers to address other relevant topic
areas.
• Design a campaign to raise awareness and advertise the course
to prospective students, to be delivered in the Spring semester,
2018
Fall 2017, Project director Robyn Dean, along with collaborating
faculty will: • Roll out the course advertising campaign (e.g.,
talk to student organizations and work with
instructors who teach courses on international relations,
anthropology, psychology, etc., to advertise the course
offering)
• Complete the necessary administrative procedures for
finalizing the course design and plan (e.g., internal paperwork,
identifying textbooks or other readings in collaboration with the
RIT bookstore and Wallace Library)
Spring 2018, Project director Robyn Dean, along with
collaborating faculty will: • Deliver the new course • Collect
formative and summative evaluation data • Based on evaluation data,
determine efficacy and plans for the course’s utility for future
iterations
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STATEMENT OF EFFICACY (continued)
Evaluation
A multi-method approach to both formative and summative
evaluations will be employed in this project. As the project plan
is evolving, project meetings with involved parties will be
structured with agendas and process/outcome notes will be taken and
archived. When the course plan and syllabus are semi-finalized,
feedback will be solicited from stakeholders (e.g., involved
department faculty and guest lecturers) and other potentially
relevant parties (e.g., national and international experts in the
T&I field who are within our professional network). The final
course syllabus will be retrained for later evaluation feedback
from parties engaged in our dissemination plan (see next
section).
Summative evaluation data will be obtained from the primary
faculty, guest lecturers, participating students (e.g, via
Qualtrics software), and other relevant parties we can identify
(e.g., support personnel and national and international experts in
the T&I field who we’ll keep informed about this innovative
project and its outcomes).
Formative and summative evaluation reports will be submitted to
the PLIG overseers and other relevant parties (e.g., the ASLIE
chair, the MLC chair, the COLA and NTID deans and associate deans,
etc.) as requested.
These evaluation results will inform our dissemination plans –
conference presentations and one or more peer-reviewed journal
articles as described in the next section.
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DISSEMINATION PLAN (optional) Provide details about the journal,
conference, show, or other external vehicle with strong potential
for dissemination of your results. Include supporting
documentation, such as preliminary interest or acceptance, with
your application, if available. (Please note that special
consideration will be given to proposals that have a defined
opportunity for external dissemination, such as an academic journal
or professional conference.)
ILI/TLS will assist with arranging channels for disseminating
results within RIT (e.g., annual PLIG Showcase).
Project Director Robyn Dean has an extensive lecture and
publication record involving national and international
associations and publications in the T&I field. In fact, her
doctoral degree from Harriot-Watt University in Edinburgh,
Scotland, was from a T&I department consisting of faculty and
students representing an array of different spoken and signed
languages, cultures, and work settings within the T&I field.
This is a highly unusual educational background for a “typical”
sign language interpreting faculty member. Dr. Dean’s scholarship
is accordingly well-known far beyond standard sign language
interpreting forums and publications and, increasingly, is welcomed
and recognized in forums and publications dealing more broadly with
T&I topics. In addition to dozens of first-authored
publications in the T&I field, a best-selling first-authored
textbook on interpreting, and hundreds of invited presentations to
varied U.S. and international audiences interested in her broad
T&I knowledge base, Dr. Dean presently serves on an
international standards committee regarding T&I services.
In all these regards, an aggressive, promising plan of
dissemination will be pursued regarding the methods and outcomes of
this unique, proposed course.
International Conferences Where Presentation Proposals Will Be
Sent
International Association for Translation and Intercultural
Studies
American Translators’ Association
American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages
Critical Link
Modern Languages Association (regional and national
meetings)
New York State Association of Foreign Language Teachers
International Journals Under Consideration for a Project
Design/Outcome Reports
Interpreting
International Journal of Interpreter Education
Other Journal Types Under Consideration Pending Collaborator
Input
International business journals
Anthropology and Psychology journals
Other journals relevant to cross-cultural academic, business,
etc., engagement
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ADDITIONAL CONSIDERATIONS Please address these questions, if
needed.
Will your project require assistance for extensive or unusual
media, multimedia, simulation, and/or software development? If so,
please explain?
All courses offered by RIT must be accessible to students with
disabilities, according to Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of
1973 and Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990
(rit.edu/studentaffairs/disabilityservices/info). Is your proposed
teaching approach accessible to all students, with reasonable
accommodation? If not, please explain.
RIT abides by the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of
1974 (FERPA), which prohibits instructors from making students'
identities, course work, and educational records public without
their consent (rit.edu/xVzNE). Will any data gathering or sharing
for your project raise any FERPA issues? If so, please explain.
No.
Yes.
No.
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DISSEMINATION AGREEMENT By completing this grant application, I
agree to provide the materials described here, in support of
disseminating what is learned from this project to other faculty at
RIT.
I also agree to return all/a portion of the funds that I receive
for this project to RIT if I fail to complete or provide the
materials described here. • Full project plan (including roles and
responsibilities, milestone dates, and pertinent project details) •
Overview of preliminary findings (may include experiment/study
design, lessons learned, initial data
collection, and/or literature review summary) • Final summary of
findings (including data collection, lessons learned, implications
for further study, and which
may be in the form of an article abstract, conference
presentation outline, or short report) • Final budget accounting
(reconciliation of budget provided with your application and the
actual project
expenses) • Teaching and Learning Commons posting (a summary of
findings and examples of teaching designs or
materials) • Participation in an ILI/TLS dissemination event
(e.g., PLIG Showcase)
By submitting this application, I accept this agreement. _RKD__
(applicant, please initial here)
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DEPARTMENT HEAD CERTIFICATION
SEE SEPARATE ATTACHMENT
NOTE: When signed, please scan and email to: [email protected]
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Dean_Robyn_APPDean_Robyn_APPDean_Robyn_SIG
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