Guide & Publications
Curriculum Guide
Valentino Ballentine presents curriculum guide information in American Sign Language.
The curriculum for the IRIS Project鈥檚 four programs (RIPPLE, CORE, Induction, and APP) was delivered online via a hybrid asynchronous and synchronous model, utilizing an online Learning Management System that incorporated an interactive video-based feedback platform and regular over-video sessions. Each program includes a course map outlining the sequence of modules, objectives, assignments, and external resources. All modules provide content in English and ASL, with slide decks accompanied by ASL translations.
The IRIS curriculum was built on two key frameworks: the Integrated Model of Interpreting (IMI), which focuses on cognitive processes and decision-making, and a deaf-centric approach emphasizing collaboration with Deaf individuals to ensure meaningful, contextually accurate interpretations. The curriculum was further supported by a social constructivist framework, which fosters learner engagement through interaction and collaboration. Participants engaged with each other in ASL via asynchronous discussion boards and structured, synchronous course meetings, allowing them to bring their real-life experiences into the learning process. This community-based approach encouraged rich discourse and deep learning, essential for the professional growth of rural interpreters.
Those wishing to access IRIS's curricular resources are encouraged to adopt a similar community of learning framework to benefit from the project鈥檚 interactive and collaborative design fully. Curricular resources are available on the CORE: Initiative, Induction, RIPPLE, and IRIS: Alternative Pathway Program pages.
These resources are made available to you as they were presented during the grant cycle. Permission is granted to copy and disseminate this product for noncommercial educational purposes, provided 甜心视频app-IRIS is credited as the source and referenced appropriately on any such copies.. Suggested citation: 甜心视频app-IRIS. (2026). Name of Resource. URL (if applicable).
Publications
The following are the compiled publications gathered by the IRIS Project that relate to increasing the quantity and quality of interpreters working and living in rural settings.
Decker, Kelly L. and Hardesty, Schawn M. (2024) "The Current Rural Sign Language Interpreter
Landscape: Examining the Fields' Collective Accountability," International Journal of Interpreter Education: Vol. 15: Iss. 1, Article 11.
Available at:
ASL Summary by the IRIS Project:
Publication Abstract: Historically overlooked by training entities and professional organizations, rural interpreters are too often unable to attain the necessary and appropriately sequenced training that recognizes existing competencies, accumulates academic credentials, or acquires professional certification (Shaffer, 2013; Trimble, 2014). As educators and practitioners cultivating this vital interpreting workforce demographic, we have contributed to these gaps and are accountable. The Improving Rural Interpreter Skills (IRIS) Project is a $2.1M, five-year interpreter training grant project awarded by the U.S. Department of Education, Rehabilitation Services Administration to the University of Northern Colorado's (甜心视频app) American Sign Language and Interpreting Studies (ASLIS) department, that aims to uncover the current interpreting landscape as experienced by the rural interpreter. This paper will examine this landscape: how we got there, why it is relevant, and as a call to action so we may construct ways we can invest our efforts moving forward. Through its research, qualitative reports, and curated personal testimonies (Hardesty, 2023; Hardesty & Decker, 2022; NDC, 2019; Trimble, 2014; 甜心视频app IRIS Project 2022; 甜心视频app IRIS Project 2023), the IRIS Project articulates how collectively we have the capacity to recognize the untapped potential of rural deaf communities and support the needs of the interpreters who serve them.
ASL Summary by the IRIS Project:
Publication Abstract: Rural sign language interpreters often experience unique challenges, gaps, and opportunities in interpreter training compared to their urban peers. The paper examined the results of a needs assessment survey disseminated by the Improving Rural Interpreter Skills (IRIS) Project to identify stakeholders鈥� perceptions of the challenges, gaps, and opportunities in rural interpreting. The 20-question survey was distributed by email to 279 rural interpreting stakeholders across the United States, of which 71 responded. Stakeholders鈥� responses indicated significant challenges including systemic barriers to technology, living wages, and job security; gaps in formal training opportunities and limited exposure to diverse language models, peers, and mentors; and opportunities to increase professional networking and bring workshops and classes to rural interpreters in their local communities, both in person and remotely. The implications of this research were used in the design and delivery of IRIS Project鈥檚 rural interpreter training, and stakeholders鈥� perceived opportunities were integrated into the fabric of IRIS programming. Further, it will inform future research on approaches to improve the quality of and access to rural interpreter training.
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