Coursework 

ASL 1010, 1020, 2010, and 2020 

• In these four courses, I developed the foundation of my ASL skills through learning vocabulary, fingerspelling, history, and culture. I developed my knowledge and receptive skills by watching my Deaf instructors sign every day. 

ASL 3010 and 3020: Advanced ASL 1 and 2 

• Switching the focus from vocabulary to language application, both of these courses included conversational practice and storytelling. These classes improved my expressive language skills as well as preparing and building confidence needed to sign in front of the class. 

ASL 4050 - Advanced Deaf Culture 

• examine Deaf people's experiences from a variety of perspectives and time periods through philosolopical, educational, social, political, and economic aspects. Makes a connection between historical events and cultural theories. 

ASL 4500 - Deaf People in Literature and Film 

• Explores rich traditions of the Deaf community and their experiences in novels, visual storytelling, drama, poetry, folklore, and humor. 

ASL 4350 - Ethics in the American Sign Language Community 

• Fundamentals of ethics and moral life in ASL communities. Classroom discussion, presentations, and reflective papers. 

ASL 3030 - Transnational Visual Languages 

• Credit for courses taken while studying abroad. These included learning about the Deaf communities, cultures, and signed languages of New Zealand and Australia, showing competency in these areas through writing reflective papers each day while studying abroad. 

ASL 4980 - Independent Study 

• Credit received while studying abroad with Dr. Jody Cripps including research and reflections on New Zealand and Australia's signed languages. 

ENGL 3850 - Children's Literature 

• Focusing on the reading and analysis of authors, illustrators, and different genres created for children preschool to eighth grade. 

ENGL 4210 - American Literature from 1800-1899 

• Study of authors, movements, themes, critical approaches, and genres in the poetry and prose of major American authors and literary movements from the 19th century. This course was heavily focused on democracy in the 19th century. For my final project in the course, I focused on democracy in the Deaf community and interviewed one of my professors. I added closed captions as well as a voiceover for full inclusion and language access. 

ASL 3000 - Fingerspelling and Numbers in ASL 

• Advanced study of the manual alphabet and numerical system with extensive practice and repetiton of expressive and receptive skills through daily quizzes. 

ASL 3100 - ASL Classifiers and Depicting Verbs 

• Study of the visual and gestural aspects of language and how to apply them to narratives. 

ASL 4010 - Linguistics of American Sign Language  

• In depth analysis of how ASL is structured, including studies of historical development, linguistic structures, syntax, grammar, and pragmatics. 

ASL 4100 - Advanced Deaf History 

• History of ASL and the Deaf community, including the ways that the majority culture historically perceived Deaf people and education. Focus on the 19th century controversy over communication methods and important themes in Deaf history. 

ASL 4020 - Discourse in American Sign Language 

• Analysis of discourse through studying time aspects, variations in different regions, pluralization, classifiers, etc. 

ASL 4970 - Creative Inquiry in American Sign Language 

• Focusing on research in Martha's Vineyard regarding sign language with Dr. Jody Cripps. Students complete projects and present research results, includes a trip to MV 

LANG 3030 - Study Abroad Transfer 

PSYCH 2010 - Introduction to Psychology 

• Introduction to the study of behavior including learning, thinking, motivation, perception, human development, and social behavior and how this applies to education and interpersonal relations. Connected to more advanced education and youth development courses. 

YDP 3000 - Youth Development in Society 

• Examining social change and the impact on youth development, historical development of youth programs and how they are designed, and teaches supports to assist youth in becoming healthy, productive, and engaged citizens. 

YDP 3250 - Working with Diverse Youth 

• Focuses on the understanding of how race, ethnicity, gender, religion, disability, and social class affect youth development work. Puts an emphasis on building a working knowledge of cultural awareness applied to the design of youth activities and programming. 

YDP 3400 - Delivering Effective Youth Programs 

• Knowledge and tools to deliver effective and intentional youth development programs. Focuses on key programming issues, program flexibility, risk management, and assessment tools. 

YDP 3050 - Theory and Philosophy of Youth Development Work 

• Examines the philosophical, conceptual, and theoretical framework from the perspective of real world applications within developmental systems. 

YDP 3100 - Youth Development and the Family 

• Family development and interpersonal family dynamics and how it affects youth. Gain skills to strengthen families and develop effective programs that involve the family unit and foster youth well-being. 

ED 1050 - Orientation to Education 

• Introduction to the College of Ed framework and SC state evaluation system. Content on diverse and multicultural classrooms and professional conduct in teaching. Included a field experience in a real-life classroom at local participating schools. 

ED 3010 - Principles of American Education 

• Legal studies, historical development, characteristics and functions of educational institutions in the U.S. 

EDSP 3700 - Introduction to Special Education 

• Studies of assessment and effective teaching for students with varying exceptionalities, Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, and general educator's role in serving students with varying needs. 

EDSP 3750 - Early Intervention Strategies for Young Children with Special Needs 

• Knowledge of historical and legal procedures for early intervention services, characteristics of young children with special needs and their families, and learning about effective instructional techniques for early services. Field experience included in a resource classroom at Powdersville Middle School. 

EDF 3020 - Educational Psychology 

• Classroom use of motivational and learning theories, assessments and measurements, and classroom management. This course allowed me to build on content learned in introduction to psychology and child development. 

EDF 3340 - Child Growth and Development 

• Child's lifespan studies focusing on the physical, social, emotional, and cognitive perspectives of development. Included a field experience in a 5K classroom at Hunt Meadows Elementary School. 

EDF 4800 - Foundations of Digital Media and Learning 

• Teaches critical uses of digital contexts to teaching and learning within societal and educational contexts. Got hands-on experience with using different educational technologies and how to implicate them into classrooms using cultural and ethical practices. Digital literacy is imperative and can be applied to visual-spatial languages such as ASL in a variety of ways. 

EDEL 3100 - Arts in the Elementary School 

• Skills, theories, and practices used to integrate visual arts, drama, music, and dance in classrooms as well as philosophies associated with art education for diverse learners. I connected this course to visual aspects of Deaf children who use ASL to communicate. 

MATH 1150 and 1160 - Contemporary Math for Elementary School Teachers 1 and 2 

• Focuses on logical reasoning, number theory, and problem-solving strategies using concrete objects such as cubes, counters, and more to help students learn math in a reasonable way. The use of concrete objects helps Deaf students learn math in a way that is grounded in real-life experience. 

MATH 2160 - Geometry for Elementary School Teachers 

• Basic concepts of geometry and how it can be taught to young children in a logical way. Learning different teaching strategies in this course will help me be able to communicate math learning to deaf/Hard-of-Hearing students.