Full course description
For signed language interpreters to fully benefit from the process of professional skill development, they must have confidence and certainty in their abilities. Unfortunately, it is a common experience for workshop presenters, interpreter educators, coaches, and mentors, to see interpreters hinder their own progress by dwelling on fears, feelings of inadequacy, and generally, being ill equipped to battle the negative inner dialogue that prevents them from fully realizing their potential.
This 6-lesson self-paced course has been designed to guide interpreters through learning about the mind and its impact on readiness for mentoring or skill development, and the cognitive process while interpreting. The aim will be to provide strategies that are practical and impactful for interpreters to feel more confident and comfortable with the process of developing their knowledge, skills, and abilities. There are many reasons that negative self-talk is an issue for interpreters and in this course, opportunities will be created for interpreters to engage in self-reflection, learn effective strategies to mitigate the self-imposed limitations, and ultimately, create a mindset shift to accept the uncertainties that go along with striving for excellence in progress, rather than perfection.
COURSE OBJECTIVES
By the end of this course, participants will be able to:
- Identify cognitive processes, thought patterns and behaviors that impede the learning process and thwart skill development.
- Describe their personal reasons for, and experience with, negative self-talk and cognitive obstacles while engaging in professional development through learning, mentoring, and coaching.
- Explain evidence-based, effective strategies for addressing the negative self-talk and thought patterns that disrupt growth, which include mindfulness, self-compassion, courage, and healthy striving.
- Apply a new cognitive strategy relating to processing and managing thoughts and feelings that arise while preparing for an interpreting activity.
- Create a plan of action to implement a new strategy or practice for coping with and managing thoughts and feelings that impact professional development and interpreting work.
This self-paced course is designed for independent learners who wish to explore the material at their own pace. There is no facilitator or instructor, and no feedback will be given on assignments. All course materials are provided, allowing participants to manage their own learning experience. Completion is flexible, enabling learners to progress according to their individual schedules and goals.
This course is structured into lessons that are designed to take 2-3 hours each to complete. The anticipated length of the course ranges from 16 to 24 hours. Participants will have up to 120 days to complete the course, otherwise they will automatically be removed and required to re-enroll.