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RIT - NTID - NTID News - US-Japan Foundation Funds Project at NTID
The US-Japan Foundation, based in New York City, has announced an award of more than $72,000 to the National Technical Institute for the Deaf, a college of Rochester Institute of Technology, to support the first year of a three-year program for high school students who are deaf from Japan and the U.S. to enhance and enrich their understanding of the cultures (Deaf and hearing) of each country.
Faculty and students in grades 11-12 at Rochester School for the Deaf in Rochester, and Tokyo Metropolitan Chuo School for the Deaf in Tokyo, Japan will participate in the project: Secondary Educational Enrichment for Deaf Students - International: Sowing the Seeds of Cross-Cultural Understanding (SEEDS-International). The project director is Associate Professor Nora Shannon, Senior Project Associate in PEN-International at NTID.
The project, as envisioned by James J. DeCaro, Professor and Dean Emeritus and Interim President of NTID, will provide global learning opportunities and cultural awareness for deaf high school students, a historically underserved population.
Delegations of students, faculty, and sign language interpreters from both schools will participate in three videoconferences, local cultural classes, daily journaling, week-long reciprocal school visits, and capstone presentations on their experiences to assemblies at their home schools.
During the reciprocal visits, the delegations will stay with host families and participate in tours, classroom observations, presentations, and educational field trips. Specific topics addressed will include deaf culture and language, education of students who are deaf, and the legal rights and responsibilities of people who are deaf.
Students will record their experiences via written, photo or video journals and post them online. Materials utilized in the videoconferences will be made available in both English and Japanese and archived on a dedicated website, available for public viewing and downloading.
"Given the growing emphasis on global education and networking, it is crucial that deaf students have opportunities for international education and cultural experiences that better prepare them for life after graduation from high school," says Shannon. "Such experiences need to be systematically designed so that the students have access to communication that is taken for granted with those who hear. This kind of educational experience will enrich the education of youngsters who are deaf, enhance their understanding, foster cultural respect, and enhance relations among deaf people in the U.S. and Japan."
SEEDS-International is the first-of-a-kind pilot program of a three-year project. After the completion of the first year of this three-year project, DeCaro and Shannon envision expanding it to other schools for the deaf in both the U.S. and Japan in Years 2 and 3 with support of the US-Japan Foundation.
The curriculum and materials developed for the current project will be utilized in future cultural enrichment programs.
The project will begin on September 1, 2010, and end on August 31, 2011.
The US-Japan Foundation, based in New York City, has announced an award of more than $72,000 to the National Technical Institute for the Deaf, a college of Rochester Institute of Technology, to support the first year of a three-year program for high school students who are deaf from Japan and the U.S. to enhance and enrich their understanding of the cultures (Deaf and hearing) of each country.
Faculty and students in grades 11-12 at Rochester School for the Deaf in Rochester, and Tokyo Metropolitan Chuo School for the Deaf in Tokyo, Japan will participate in the project: Secondary Educational Enrichment for Deaf Students - International: Sowing the Seeds of Cross-Cultural Understanding (SEEDS-International). The project director is Associate Professor Nora Shannon, Senior Project Associate in PEN-International at NTID.
The project, as envisioned by James J. DeCaro, Professor and Dean Emeritus and Interim President of NTID, will provide global learning opportunities and cultural awareness for deaf high school students, a historically underserved population.
Delegations of students, faculty, and sign language interpreters from both schools will participate in three videoconferences, local cultural classes, daily journaling, week-long reciprocal school visits, and capstone presentations on their experiences to assemblies at their home schools.
During the reciprocal visits, the delegations will stay with host families and participate in tours, classroom observations, presentations, and educational field trips. Specific topics addressed will include deaf culture and language, education of students who are deaf, and the legal rights and responsibilities of people who are deaf.
Students will record their experiences via written, photo or video journals and post them online. Materials utilized in the videoconferences will be made available in both English and Japanese and archived on a dedicated website, available for public viewing and downloading.
"Given the growing emphasis on global education and networking, it is crucial that deaf students have opportunities for international education and cultural experiences that better prepare them for life after graduation from high school," says Shannon. "Such experiences need to be systematically designed so that the students have access to communication that is taken for granted with those who hear. This kind of educational experience will enrich the education of youngsters who are deaf, enhance their understanding, foster cultural respect, and enhance relations among deaf people in the U.S. and Japan."
SEEDS-International is the first-of-a-kind pilot program of a three-year project. After the completion of the first year of this three-year project, DeCaro and Shannon envision expanding it to other schools for the deaf in both the U.S. and Japan in Years 2 and 3 with support of the US-Japan Foundation.
The curriculum and materials developed for the current project will be utilized in future cultural enrichment programs.
The project will begin on September 1, 2010, and end on August 31, 2011.