GALLAUDET UNIVERSITY ASL & DEAF STUDIES DEPARTMENT
ASL 743: Curriculum Development for Sign Language Education (3)
SYLLABUS - SUMMER 2014
Faculty: Curt Radford, Ed.D.
Email: Curtis.Radford@gallaudet.edu
COURSE SCHEDULE
Online May 19 – June 13
Face-to-face July 14 – 25
Section 1: Monday – Friday 8 am -12 pm
Section 2: Monday – Friday 1 pm - 5 pm
COURSE DESCRIPTION
This course examines philosophical and historical roots of language teaching curricula through the lens of
sign language teaching. Students will learn about the theoretical complexity of curriculum design
intersected with the visual nature of signed languages and the diverse, multicultural nature of Signed
Language communities. Curriculum design theories and approaches, systematic and sequential
development involving needs assessment, lesson planning, teaching approaches and evaluation will be
covered. Students will study different Sign Language curricula and have opportunities to develop lessons
and units within a curriculum and to apply them in a classroom.
Prerequisite: Matriculation in program; or permission of instructor.
PROGRAM STUDENT LEARNING 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.
Program Outcomes
Course Student
Student Learning
Assessment Method
1
2
3
4
Learning Outcomes
Opportunities
After completing this course,
students will be able to:
Articulate application of
Online/Class discussion
Online participation
X
X X
curriculum development
rubric
concepts to different and
Needs Assessment
diverse contexts in sign
Quizzes
language education field
Quizzes
Design lesson plans
selecting appropriate,
diverse resources aligned
with curricular goals for
different types of sign
language settings
Online/Class discussion
Online participation
rubric
X
X
Needs Assessment
Lesson plan rubric
Lesson Planning
Curricular design
Apply lessons through
Online/Class discussion
teaching demonstrations and
demonstrate ability to
Lesson Planning
reflect, re-evaluate and
revise lesson and curricular Teaching demonstration
goals.
Online participation
rubric
X
X
X
X
Lesson plan rubric
Teaching rubric
GRADING DISTRIBUTION AND LETTER GRADE EQUIVALENT
A+ = 97.6 - 100
A = 93.6 – 97.5
A - = 89.6 – 93.5
B+ = 87.6 – 89.5
B = 83.6 – 87.5
B - = 79.6 – 83.5
C + = 77.6 – 79.5
C = 73.6 – 77.5
C - = 69.6 – 73.5
F = 69.5 or below
Congratulations! You passed!
A B- grade is considered failing according to Gallaudet Graduate Catalog. You can
only receive one B- in your entire program of study… and you must have a cumulative
GPA of 3.0 at completion of the program in order to not have to retake the course.
A C+ grade or below grades indicate you have failed the course, and this puts you on
academic probation and possibly qualifies you for academic dismissal from the
program. A C+ or below indicates automatic retake of the course, that is, if you are not
dismissed from the program.
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.
Additional Note:
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 requirements of the course. The decision to give a grade of I is made
by the instructor. To be eligible for credit in a course which an I is recorded, students must complete the
requirements of the course by the end of the final day of classes of the following semester or a date agreed
up on in writing with the instructor; otherwise, the grade will automatically become an F. The student
and instructor must provide Registrar’s Office with written notification of the agreed upon date before the
time limit indicated above (Gallaudet University Graduate Catalog, p. 54).
For all other questions, concerns, grievances or disputes that are not covered in this syllabus, please refer
to the current University Graduate Catalog: http://www.gallaudet.edu/catalog.html
CREDIT HOUR POLICY COMPLIANCE
ASL 743: Curriculum Development for Sign Language Education course is a non-traditional 3-credit
bearing experience course, which requires a minimum of 112.5 hours of course work.
Academic Activity
Online/In-class Participation
Quizzes
Annotated Bibliography
Needs Assessment
Lesson Planning
Teaching Demonstration
TOTAL
Hours
65+
15+
15+
10+
12+
12+
129+ hours


REQUIRED COURSE MATERIALS
Brown, H. D. (2007). Teaching by principles:
An interactive approach to language pedagogy.
White Plains, NY: Pearson.
ISBN-10: 0136127118 | ISBN-13: 978-0136127116 | Edition: 3
We’ll cover Chapters 9 – 16, 18-19, 22 & 25 in this book.
Recommended Books
Brown, J.D. (1995). The elements of language curriculum: a systematic approach to program
development. Heinle & Heinle.
Graves, K. (2007). Designing Language Courses: A Guide for Teachers. Oxford Press.
Richards, J.C. (2001). Curriculum Development in Language Teaching. Cambridge University
Press.
*Instructor reserves the right to add new viewings and readings to course as the course progresses in order
to support spontaneous learning and direction of inquiry taken by the course participants.
GRADING ALLOCATION
Assignment
1) Online Participation
2) Curriculum Quizzes
3) Annotated Bibliography
4) Needs Assessment
5) Lesson Planning
6) Teaching Demonstration
Languages
ASL/English
ASL/English
English
English
English
ASL
Weight
20%
15%
15%
10%
20%
20%
TOTAL: 100%
*Details for each assignment above are discussed below.
Online Participation (20%)
Students are required to participate online discussing various curriculum themes based on their assigned
readings. Participation is graded using the rubric below.
Curriculum Quizzes (15%)
Quizzes will be based on both assigned readings and class discussion, and posted online every evening at
7 pm. Completion required by 10 pm. Quizzes are primarily multiple choice, and some are posed in ASL
or in English.
Annotated Bibliography (15%)
Select 10 signed language materials (video, book, article, website, app), write up a brief review of the
material discussing the main goal of the material and the type of audience that would benefit most from
this material. Rubric for evaluating this is below.
Needs Assessment (10%)
Develop a survey for your syllabus/lesson plan. Gather information needed to support your lesson
planning.
Lesson Planning (20%)
Develop your own syllabus, and be sure to include:
a. Heading
b. Course Title, course # and credit #
c. Logistics/instructor contact information
d. Course Description
e. Goals and Objectives or Learning Outcomes
f. Materials (e.g. readings, videos)
g. Assessment (e.g. how you assess your students? Use of rubrics)
h. Instructional tools
i. Policies
j. Course outline
k. One lesson plan for one class from your course outline
l. Evaluation of the course (curriculum)
Your lesson plan will be assessed using this rubric:
Teaching Demonstration (20%)
You will do a teaching demonstration based on your lesson plan with an actual audience of hearing
students learning ASL. You will be evaluated using the following rubric:
COURSE SCHEDULE
This course is a hybrid format where a certain percentage of the course content will be online (prior to
face-to-face), and the remaining percentage will be in class.
Complete readings assigned below in advance because you will be expected to read at least 23 chapters to
be ready to discuss during the first week of class.
Date Posted
May 20th
Seminar Topic
Introducing yourselves to each other: your
educational background and your
professional goals related to teaching sign
language. Please include any curriculum
development experience if you have, and
what do you hope to learn from this
course. Post your video in Canvas’s
Discussion board.
Participation Due Date
May 26th
May 27th
Define curriculum and its purposes
and functions. Post your video in
Canvas’s Discussion board
June 2nd
June 3rd
Submit your creative needs analysis and
survey. Post your
English paper in Canvas through
assignments
Submit one excellent course syllabus and
one weak course syllabus. Be sure to
delete any reference to a sign language
teacher or certain location (e.g. name of
college, town or state). Post your two
syllabi in Canvas's Discussion board
June 9th
June 17th
List at least two-three textbooks and/or
supplemental resources that you would
recommend for your sign language
classes. Explain at least 5 rationales for
each textbook. Post your English paper
in Canvas through assignment.
June 23nd
June 24th
Gather at least three websites with
qualifications for ASL teachers. Note:
Do not use www.aslta.org as a source.
List the websites' URL and explain its
strengths and areas that could be
improved. Post your English paper in
Canvas through assignment AND your
video in the Canvas's Discussion Board.
June 30th
July 1st
Find at least two classmates as the
partner for your final project, and what
topic (e.g. ASL for K-8, ASL for Parents
of Deaf children, Ph.D. in ASL)that your
group would like to design a sign
language program/course/workshop/. Be
sure to include an outline draft of your
English paper in Canvas’s Discussion
Board.
In-class activity
July 7th
June 10th
Date
June 16th
Reading assignment / DUE
Class 1
Monday
Class 2
Tuesday
Class 3
Wednesday
1) Syllabus and expectations
2) What is a curriculum? Its functions.
3) How does curriculum lead us?
4) Levels from Federal to one class
lesson plan
5) Developing curriculum what we really
need to know
6) Study state / college / dept's
curriculum procedure
1)
Needsa Analysis
/ Survey with key
7) Form
networking
groups
2) Collection of data
3) How needs analysis can help us
4) Content: meaning and development
5) Class activity: review sign language
curricula and analyze their contents, and
then discuss with class.
6) Development and use of resources
1)
What is syllabus?
course outline? and
(materials)
in classroom
Lesson
planning?
Their
purposes?and
What
7) Class activity: Demonstration
should
be inabout
them?
discussion
using resources
2)
Course Description
(materials)
to support your classes (e.g.
3)
Goals
and
Objectives
or Learning
textbooks, DVDs,
toys, pictures,
clips).
Outcomes
4) Assessment / Grading
5) Resources
6) Instructional tools
7) Policies
8) Course Outline
9) Lesson plan
10) Class activity: Practice writing
course description, goals, objectives and
learning outcomes,
Readings
1) Chapter 1/2 (Brown)
2) Chapters 1/2/3 (Richards)
3) Chapter 1/6 (Graves)
4) Chapter 9 (HD Brown)
Paper DUE:
1) Bring your needs analysis
and survey from your
assignment prior to classes.
2) List of resources (materials)
used for your sign language
classes
Paper DUE:
Readings:
1) Chapter 3 (Brown)
1) Bring your two syllabi from
2)
Chapter
5/6 (Richards)
your
assignment
prior to
3)
Chapter
4
(Graves)
classes.
Readings:
1) PPT on Syllabus and Lesson
Plan in Canvas
2) Chapter 5 (Brown)
3) Chapter 8 (Richards)
4) Chapter 8 (Graves)
5) Chapter 11 (HDBrown)
Class 4
Thursday
Class 5
Friday
1) Class activity: Practice writing
assessment/
grading, course outline and lesson plan
2) Qualifications of ASL teacher Discuss your findings with the class.
3) Making a curriculum proposal - Steps
4) SWOT
5) Sequence and curriculum mapping
6) Class activity: Practice writing on a
curriculum proposal form from school /
college / state.
Paper DUE:
1) Share your FINAL syllabus, course
outline and lesson plan with the class
2) Course assessment
3) Program assessment
Paper Due
1) Final syllabus, course
outline and lesson plan paper
2) Final Qualifications of ASL
teacher
1) Bring your Qualifications of
an ASL teacher from your
assignment prior to classes.
Readings:
1) Chapter 7 (Richards)
2) Chapter 6 (Brown)
3) Chapter 15 (HDBrown)
Readings:
1) Chapter 9 (Richards)
2) Chapter 7 (Brown)
3) Chapter 10 (Graves)
Class 6
Monday
Class 7
Tuesday
1) Discuss your papers: How they would
assess the
ASL program and classes? with the class
2) History of Curricula
3)Analysis of Curricula: how to assess
and select;
adapt and modify (factors for selection of
curricula)
4) Class activity: Review curricula and
select one for assessment practice.
Paper Due:
How would you assess an ASL
program and classes?
1) Discuss your papers with the class:
Assessment of
ASL curricula
2) Review
3) Work on your final project
Paper Due: Assessment of ASL
curricula
Readings:
1) Read the PPT of "History of
Curricula and
Methods" in www.aslta.org
2) Review Signing Naturally,
Master ASL, ABC, ASL at
Work and other ASL curricula.
Class 8
Wednesday
Final presentation: 1/2 of students
present their curriculum proposals.
Final project: 20-minutes long
Presentation and Paper
Class 9
Thursday
Final presentation: 1/2 of students
present their curriculum proposals.
Final project: 20-minutes long
Presentation and Paper
Class 10
Friday
How would you improve your curriculum
development knowledge and skills in
future?
Self Analysis on your final
project
Course evaluation on Canvas.
COURSE POLICIES
1. Assignments: All assignments are to be submitted via Blackboard or MyThread. No exceptions. I
will not respond to emails with assignments attached or links to videos.
2. Student Responsibilities: Students are expected to actively participate and completing assigned
activities, participate in class discussions, serve in groups, complete assignments 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 (that’s why they’re called due dates). Assignments
not submitted by due date will receive a zero. Graded work is final. No make-ups or extra credit.
Strive to do your very best.
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 to learn
about what you missed.
5. Submissions: I will accept the submissions in the following format: .pages, .docx, .pptx, and .key. I
will also accept .pdf submissions. Please be aware that .pptx, .key and .pdf do not allow for the
same level of feedback I can give via the tracking and comment function available in .pages and
.docx
6. Academic ASL/English: We will communicate using academic ASL/English, which is a specialized
type of discourse for academic settings. Use academic ASL/English in this course. Using written
ASL terms in your typed/written work or English-based signing in your video work is not
acceptable.
7. Academic Integrity: Professional academic discourse requires giving credit to original authors for
their ideas, so citations and references are required for all assignments in this course. The citation
and reference format required for assignments in English is American Psychological Association
(APA) format. APA format is also required for assignments in video format, either in ASL or
English. There is no standardized APA format for ASL yet – I encourage experimenting with this,
as long as both citations and references are included. A recommended source for APA formatting
can be found here: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01/
8. Communication: I welcome vexts, emails, GoogleIMs/videos, any other avenue of communication,
but will not accept or respond to excessively colloquial register choices in either language nor rude
or demanding emails. I will return the same courtesy and respect and expect the same in return.
This is your opportunity to practice formal etiquette in ASL and English, on a consistent basis.
9. Edited ASL/English Submissions: You are required to submit graduate-level edited work in both
ASL and English in this course. Feel free to utilize Gallaudet services (Tutorial and Instructional
Programs) to get the feedback as often as needed to produce the very best work
possible. 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 on MyThread as instructed. The
staff in the E-Learning Lab can assist you with technical issues throughout the course or you can
email helpdesk@gallaudet.edu for assistance. You are to upload all of your assignments to
Blackboard or MyThread including links to videos. DVDs, thumb drives, CDs, DropBox or any
other format will not be accepted. For very large files, upload to GoogleDrive through your
Gallaudet username and share with me through my Gallaudet username.
UNIVERSITY POLICIES
All university policies may be found in the Gallaudet Graduate Catalog which can be found online in both
a web format and a .pdf format. The standards of professional behavior and communication discussed in
the catalog will be mandated in this course and program. Link to the Gallaudet Graduate Catalog:
http://www.gallaudet.edu/catalog.html
ACADEMIC INTEGRITY POLICY
Students must familiarize themselves with the Gallaudet University Graduate School Academic Integrity
Policy as printed in the Graduate School Catalog.
ACADEMIC ACCOMMODATION POLICY
Students have the responsibility of formally requesting accommodation through the Office for Students
with Disabilities (OSWD) prior to the beginning of the semester. Gallaudet University is in compliance
with the Americans with Disabilities Act and this statement can be found in the Graduate Catalog.