Gallaudet University ASL & Deaf Studies Department
ASL 745: Sign Language Teaching, Culture and History
Summer 2014
Syllabus
Faculty: Ben Jarashow, PhD candidate (ABD)
Email: benjamin.jarashow@gallaudet.edu
Course Dates:
Online: May 19th – June 22nd
Online Office Hours: Find me on Gallaudet e-mail chat list & IM me, we can chat on IM or we can video. If I am
not on Gallaudet e-mail chat list, email for an appointment.
Face-to-Face: July 14th – 25th, 8a – 12p (ASL 745.01) OR 1-5p (ASL 745.02)
Office Hours: See me during class breaks, after class, and contact via email for an appointment.
Course Description:
Students in this course will analyze the integration of history and culture in sign language teaching curricula.
Language is often taught with cultural and historical anecdotes. The history and culture of the Signed Language
communities and Deaf people are very rich and diverse. Decisions behind choosing which historical and cultural
content to include in Sign Language courses will be analyzed as well as theoretical implications of history and
culture as a separate course of study within a language curricula.
Prerequisites: Matriculation into the Masters in Sign Language Education 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.
Course Student Learning Outcomes:
After completing this course, students will be able to:
1. Examine suitability of and critically synthesize different curricular materials for integration into a
Signed Language curriculum.
2. Articulate application of theoretical and methodological issues in teaching cultural and historical
studies within a Signed Language curriculum.
3. Develop historical and cultural curricular materials for a Signed Language curriculum.
Course Student Learning
Outcomes
1. Examine suitability of and
critically synthesize different
curricular materials for
integration into a Signed
Language curriculum.
Student Learning
Opportunities
Participation
Assessment Method
Books Review
Books Review Rubric
Participation Rubric
1
Program Outcomes
2
3
4
1
X
X
X
2. Articulate application of
theoretical and
methodological issues in
teaching cultural and
historical studies within a
Signed Language curriculum.
3. Develop historical and
cultural curricular materials
for a Signed Language
curriculum.
Participation
Participation Rubric
Theme Outline
Theme Outline Rubric
Culture Lecture
Culture Lecture Rubric
Deaf Studies Curriculum
Deaf Studies Curriculum
Rubric
Deaf Studies Curriculum
Deaf Studies Curriculum
Rubric
X
X
X
X
X
Required Textbooks:
Each of the books listed below is considered essential books about Deaf culture and history. Most ASL, Deaf
History or Deaf Culture courses at the high school and collegiate levels incorporate these books in their
curriculum. As American Sign Language teachers, you are required to have the below books for your collection.
For those teaching other Signed Languages, please contact me to discuss suitable replacements for books related
to your country’s signed languages.
1. A Journey Into the Deaf-World by Ben Bahan, Robert Hoffmeister, & Harlan Lane
2. A Place of Their Own: Creating the Deaf Community in America by John Vickrey
Van Cleve & Barry A. Crouch
3. Deaf in America: Voices from a Culture by Tom Humphries & Carol Padden
4. For Hearing People Only by Linda Levitan & Matthew S. Moore
5. Introduction to American Deaf Culture by Thomas K. Holcomb
6. Seeing Voices by Oliver Sacks
7. The Deaf Community in America: History in the Making by Melvia M. Nomeland &
Ronald E. Nomeland
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: Your grade average at the end of the course will translate into the letter grades above.
No requests for grading alterations, rounding-off or extra credit will be honored. Do well the
first time around, just like your classmates!
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X
X
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 745: Sign Language Teaching, Culture and History course is a non-traditional 3-credit bearing experience course,
which requires a minimum of 112.5 hours of course work.
Academic Activity
Participation
Course Readings and Viewings
Book Review
Theme Outline
Culture Lecture
Deaf Studies Curriculum
Practicum Journal & Log
TOTAL
Hours
25+
80+
20+
6+
12+
30+
10+
183+ hours
Grading Allocation:
Assignment
1) Participation
2) Book Review
3) Theme Outline
4) Culture Lecture
5) Deaf Studies Curriculum
Languages
Weight
ASL and English
10%
English
20%
English
10%
ASL
20%
English
40%
TOTAL: 100%
Assignment Expectations:
1) Participation (10%):
Students are expected to participate via the course MyThread established by the professor. Each student is
required to contribute to online discussions as often as possible, applying critical thinking skills. The same goes
for on-campus classes too.
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2) Book Review (20%):
Students are to do a comparative book review on all the required textbooks for this course.
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3) Theme Outline (10%):
Students will develop an outline describing which historical/cultural information to include
in several semesters of study of a Signed Language curriculum. The following scenarios are
examples of what you can choose to develop your outline based on. You will then expand on
this outline for your Deaf Studies curriculum project as explained more in detail below.




High School: ASL level 1-2 curriculum
College: ASL level 1-2 curriculum
College: ASL level 1-4 curriculum
College: ASL level 1-4 and Deaf culture/history 3-credit course curriculum
4) Culture Lecture (20%):
Students are to prepare for and lecture on Deaf culture for an audience who may not have any background
related to Deaf people and their culture.
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5) Deaf Studies Curriculum (40%):
Students are required to create a basic Deaf Studies curriculum based on their outline aligned with a Signed
Language curriculum. They are required to submit a draft curriculum (5%) and then based on teacher and class
feedback, return the revised, final curriculum (5%) via Blackboard. Students are to develop their curriculum
based on one of the following scenarios. See me if you have a unique scenario you’d like to work with.
 High School: ASL level 1-2 curriculum
 College: ASL level 1-2 curriculum
 College: ASL level 1-4 curriculum
 College: ASL level 1-4 and Deaf culture/history 3-credit course curriculum
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Course Schedule:
Online: May 19th – June 22nd
Date of week
Week 1:
May 19th – 23rd
Topic of week
Humanities Studies
and the Future
Assignment due
Date of day
Topic of day
Face-to-Face: July 14th – 25th
Monday 14th
Deaf Studies Textbooks
Assignment due
Date of day
Topic of day
Assignment due
Books Review
Monday 21st
Draft Curriculum
Feedback
Draft Deaf Studies
Curriculum
Week 2:
May 26th – 30th
Deaf Culture
Lectures
Theme Outline
Week 3:
June 2nd – 6th
Deaf Studies Blogs
and Vlogs
Week 4:
June 9th – 13th
Deaf Studies Articles
Culture Lectures
Tuesday 15th
Deaf Culture
Curriculum
Wednesday 16th
Deaf History
Curriculum
Thursday 17th
Deaf Multicultural
Curriculum
Friday 18th
Deaf Studies Films
Tuesday 22nd
Deaf Studies in ASL
Literature
Wednesday 23rd
Deaf Studies in
De’VIA
Thursday 24th
Deaf Studies Hot
Potato Topics
Friday 25th
Warp up
Assignment due for Final Deaf Studies Curriculum: Friday, August 1, 2014
Course Policies:
1. Assignments: All final 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. 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.
6. 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.
7. 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.
8. 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.
9. 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
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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.
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