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UNF associate instructor presents at the STEM Sign Language Lexicon Founders and Leaders Workshop in Washington D.C.

Photograph of STEM Sign Language attendees collaboratingUniversity of North Florida associate instructor for Exceptional, Deaf and Interpreter Education, Michael Stultz, presented at the STEM Sign Language Lexicon Founders and Leaders Workshop at Gallaudet University in March. This collaborative workshop aimed to bridge the communication gap in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics and make STEM education more accessible and inclusive for everyone. Michael Stultz had the opportunity to collaborate with educators, linguists and scientists on three critical topics for the science community. These topics included: the ethics and linguistic underpinnings of STEM sign language lexicons and who works on them; the goals and assessment of STEM sign language lexicons for K-12 education; and the long-term sustainability and future of STEM sign language lexicons.

During the two-day workshop, Stultz presented about the “Science in ASL” Facebook page and shared its purpose and its goals. “I look forward to continuing the collaboration with like-minded deaf and hearing individuals to further enhance sign language for science terminology and to produce conceptually correct science phrases, sentences and paragraphs,” says Stultz. “It is our hope and ultimate goal to promote science literacy among the deaf population and for the pool of deaf scientists with varied backgrounds to expand. While the pool of sign language interpreters in STEM is limited, the growth among deaf or hard of hearing individuals with bachelor’s, master’s and phDs in varied science fields is inspiring.”

Stultz will continue his contribution to the STEM Sign Language Lexicons by sitting on two committees which will work on collaborative guidelines, working papers and potential research projects. He will continue to manage and contribute to the "Science in ASL" Facebook page as well as his personal YouTube channel. In addition, Stultz is also working on creating a platform where people from all over the world can access STEM Sign Language videos. Stultz says, “The more deaf-friendly science videos we share, the more our deaf children and sign language interpreters will thrive.”

You can follow Science in ASL on Facebook @scienceinasl.