UNF faculty presents at global STEM Sign Language Workshop
Michael Stultz, an associate instructor of Exceptional, Deaf, and Interpreter Education at the University of North Florida, recently participated in a global collective of sign language educators at the STEM Sign Language Lexicon Founders and Leaders Workshop at Gallaudet University.
Linguists, scientists, educators, and lecturers from countries across the globe gave ten-minute presentations about their research and involvement with science and sign language. Stultz gave a presentation about the successful Science in ASL Facebook page, its purpose, and its goals.
Three topics discussed during the two-day workshop were identified as crucial for the science community to address, including the ethics of STEM sign language lexicons and who works on them, the goals and assessment of STEM sign language lexicons for K-12 education, as well as the long-term sustainability and future of STEM sign language lexicons.
The committees for each group will continue to discuss and develop sign language in STEM and educational contexts via Zoom this summer. During these discussions, the leaders will work on collaborative guidelines, working papers, and potential research projects. Stultz will serve on two committees to continue his contributions to the STEM Sign Language Lexicons.
The ultimate goal is to promote science literacy among the deaf population and for the pool of deaf scientists with varied backgrounds to expand. The committees are also working on creating a platform where people from all over the world can access STEM Sign Language videos, so more deaf children and sign language interpreters can prosper.