Thirty members of CETL’s new faculty cohort attended SPC’s first Project Access workshop on Friday, Nov. 30 at the Clearwater Campus. SPC faculty members Beth Carlson and Fallon Brizendine facilitated the workshop, designed to provide instructors with strategies for providing improved access to learning for deaf and hard-of-hearing students in mainstreamed classes. Cynthia Bedient, SPC Lead Interpreter, contributed to the presentation as well.
This experiential workshop enables participants to gain an understanding of how deaf students experience a mainstreamed classroom. It provides real-life strategies and extensive online resources that will help faculty adapt teaching methods to provide greater access for students. It is funded through the DeafTEC Grant and is provided in collaboration with Rochester Institute of Technology.
“I thought it was quite a good workshop. I learned a lot about deaf culture, including the fact it’s actually okay to say deaf,” said David Kolonoski, Academic Chair of Mathematics at the St. Petersburg/Gibbs Campus. “There are a lot of things that people don’t really think about in their day-to-day lives, that you don’t have an appreciation for or know about. There is a deaf culture that is around us all the time.”
All faculty will have the opportunity to attend the next Project Access Workshop during the 14th annual Narrowing the Gulf Conference April 4-5.
From: 30 attend first DeafTEC grant Project Access Workshop, posted December 6, 2012, in St. Petersburg College’s newsletter for staff and employees.
