Uploaded August 2022 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Winston, Betsy. (2022). Response: Looking Back and Peering Forward. In Laurie Swabey & Rachel E. Herring (Eds.), SIGNED LANGUAGE INTERPRETING PEDAGOGY: INSIGHTS AND INNOVATIONS FROM THE CONFERENCE OF INTERPRETER TRAINERS (pp. 259-280). Gallaudet University Press.
https://gupress.gallaudet.edu/Books/S/Signed-Language-Interpreting-Pedagogy
****This video may not be repurposed or incorporated into other works in any way without the express written consent of the signer and the chapter author.****
The original chapter, published in 2006, presented an argument for enhancing critical thinking skills for interpreters and interpreting students by accepting and taking full advantage of the then-newer tools and technologies that were cropping up throughout academia. At that time, there were some effective online distance programs for interpreters, educators, and mentors. But many educators resisted the possibility of embracing technology to teach interpreting.
Now, more than 15 years later, in this essay, I reflect on what has changed since the first article, consider why critical thinking skills continue to receive short shrift in our teaching practices, and offer suggestions for future change. That original article presented options and activities for both
1. infusing critical thinking into interpreter education, and
2. adapting them to online and remote learning environments.
Perhaps what has changed most since that earlier article is the understanding that developing critical thinking is not dependent on the type of technologies available. Instead, it is dependent on the kind of teaching we envision and implement in every activity, for workshops, courses, independent study, mentoring, or supervising. To this end, in this chapter, I review:
1. some broad educational reasons why critical thinking remains on the fringes of our curricula and educational practices, ranging from academic policies and trends to activities in our field and finally to educator practices.
2. two foundational perspectives we need to infuse into our teaching, adult education and cognitive science,
3. three overarching teaching practices that I have found invaluable in helping students, as well as novice and experienced interpreters, strengthen their ability to analyze effectively and critically the interpreting work we do and their own interpreting practices. These are:
• Role-Space Theory,
• Discourse Analysis, and
• Cognitive Reflection (CoRe) activities.
Each of these can be infused into our programs and courses, regardless of how they are delivered. It is not the delivery system that stands in our way of helping learners develop critical thinking skills. It is, rather, our understanding of how to encourage active learning in students and of how to spark the practice of critical thinking throughout all aspects of interpreting practice, whether we are face-to-face or online, synchronous, or asynchronous.
There are many other options and activities, and my hope in this personal reflection is not to exclude or ignore them but rather to share some perspectives from my own experience and possibly begin a discussion that can benefit our field, our educators, and the clients we serve.
Winston, Betsy. (2022). Response: Looking Back and Peering Forward. In Laurie Swabey & Rachel E. Herring (Eds.), SIGNED LANGUAGE INTERPRETING PEDAGOGY: INSIGHTS AND INNOVATIONS FROM THE CONFERENCE OF INTERPRETER TRAINERS (pp. 259-280). Gallaudet University Press.
https://gupress.gallaudet.edu/Books/S/Signed-Language-Interpreting-Pedagogy
****This video may not be repurposed or incorporated into other works in any way without the express written consent of the signer and the chapter author.****
The original chapter, published in 2006, presented an argument for enhancing critical thinking skills for interpreters and interpreting students by accepting and taking full advantage of the then-newer tools and technologies that were cropping up throughout academia. At that time, there were some effective online distance programs for interpreters, educators, and mentors. But many educators resisted the possibility of embracing technology to teach interpreting.
Now, more than 15 years later, in this essay, I reflect on what has changed since the first article, consider why critical thinking skills continue to receive short shrift in our teaching practices, and offer suggestions for future change. That original article presented options and activities for both
1. infusing critical thinking into interpreter education, and
2. adapting them to online and remote learning environments.
Perhaps what has changed most since that earlier article is the understanding that developing critical thinking is not dependent on the type of technologies available. Instead, it is dependent on the kind of teaching we envision and implement in every activity, for workshops, courses, independent study, mentoring, or supervising. To this end, in this chapter, I review:
1. some broad educational reasons why critical thinking remains on the fringes of our curricula and educational practices, ranging from academic policies and trends to activities in our field and finally to educator practices.
2. two foundational perspectives we need to infuse into our teaching, adult education and cognitive science,
3. three overarching teaching practices that I have found invaluable in helping students, as well as novice and experienced interpreters, strengthen their ability to analyze effectively and critically the interpreting work we do and their own interpreting practices. These are:
• Role-Space Theory,
• Discourse Analysis, and
• Cognitive Reflection (CoRe) activities.
Each of these can be infused into our programs and courses, regardless of how they are delivered. It is not the delivery system that stands in our way of helping learners develop critical thinking skills. It is, rather, our understanding of how to encourage active learning in students and of how to spark the practice of critical thinking throughout all aspects of interpreting practice, whether we are face-to-face or online, synchronous, or asynchronous.
There are many other options and activities, and my hope in this personal reflection is not to exclude or ignore them but rather to share some perspectives from my own experience and possibly begin a discussion that can benefit our field, our educators, and the clients we serve.
