IDEP: Interdisciplinary Deaf Education Teacher Preparation

The Interdisciplinary Deaf Education Teacher Preparation Program (IDEP) at California State University Northridge addresses the absolute priorities of focus area D: Training Personnel in Minority Institutions to Serve Children with Disabilities. The project helps to reduce the critical shortage of highly qualified teachers who work with students who are deaf, hard of hearing, and deaf-blind* by: 1) recruiting and retaining 30 high quality scholars from diverse backgrounds to lessen the shortage of deaf education teachers through outreach, accelerated undergraduate pathways, financial incentives, and academic and mentoring support; 2) implementing a rigorous evidence-based bilingual deaf education teacher preparation program aligned with State and national professional standards and that integrates interdisciplinary collaborative experiences with families of Deaf children, related service providers including speech language pathologists and audiologists, Deaf community members, interpreters, and paraeducators; 3) preparing deaf education teachers with expanded knowledge and skills in interdisciplinary collaboration through special courses and fieldwork during their preparation program and continuing into induction in the field; and 4) disseminating information about the IDEP program and its outcomes within California and nationwide. IDEP scholars will receive specialized content knowledge and training to work in collaboration with parents and families to enhance the educational experiences of their Deaf children and to help find ways to maximize family involvement throughout the educational years; Deaf community members, recognizing their valuable impact in Deaf students? educational experience; speech language pathologists, audiologists, and other related service personnel in promoting the successful attainment of designated IEP goals for Deaf students; and interpreters and paraeducators in ensuring accessible and supportive educational environments for Deaf students. *Note: In this proposal, the term Deaf student will refer to deaf, hard of hearing and deaf-blind students (specifically deaf students with low vision) who have the potential to learn though ASL.