American Sign Language Estuary Education Resources
Waquoit Bay Reserve education staff have been working closely with partners from the Deaf community to increase access to our programs for deaf individuals. In 2011, Amy Reed, intern from Cape Cod Community College, who is deaf herself, worked with WBNERR education staff to setup and lead coastal ecology field programs for students from the READS Collaborative and those continued for several years.
To expand opportunities for STEM learning in New England’s deaf community, Reserve education staff pulled together subject matter experts and educators from the Center for Research and Training at The Learning Center for the Deaf, Boston University, Waquoit Bay, Narragansett Bay (Rhode Island), and Wells (Maine) National Estuarine Research Reserves and five schools for the deaf. Read more about this project here.
Learn about the Watershed stewardship in Action” Deaf students on the Estuary project: http://www.nerrssciencecollaborative.org/project/Muller17
Estuary and watershed related vocabulary and videos in ASL
American Sign Language Lessons on Estuaries: Five mini-videos to deepen your understanding of STEM topics while learning ASL vocabulary using conceptual signs that illustrate the scientific concepts.
Watersheds
The Value of Estuaries
Water Quality
Water Quality Monitoring
Sea Level Rise
ASL Estuary Storytime
Join ASL Storyteller Stephen Weiner as he performs story time with picture books about creatures from the estuary.
Harry Horseshoe Crab
Written by Suzanne Tate
Illustrated by James Melvin
The Adventures of Allie the Alewife
Written by Barbara Brennessel
Illustrated by Maria Picariello
Think of an Eel
Written by Karen Wallace
Illustrated by Mike Bostock
Deaf STEM Journey
Inspire your students with these stories from Deaf STEM professionals!
Cary Ballard, a film maker in the Boston University Deaf Education Graduate Program worked with Waquoit Bay’s education staff to create Deaf STEM Journey mini videos which feature interviews with four deaf scientists.
Mauricio Orozco, Environmental Scientist
Alex Balsley, Environmental Engineer
Caroline Solomon, Biological Oceanographer
Barbara Spiecker, Marine Ecologist
Learn about the Waquoit Bay Reserve
NOAALive! Webinar 90 – Get your Feet Wet at the Waquoit Bay Reserve
NOAALive is a series produced by NOAA’s (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) Regional Collaboration Network and Woods Hole Sea Grant that gets people traveling virtually to spots across the nation to hear from NOAA scientists. For this segment they came to Waquoit Bay Reserve and our manager, Tonna-Marie Rogers introduced everyone to what an estuary is, why they’re important, and what we do at Waquoit Bay Reserve. American Sign Language interpreters are provided and it’s at a very student-friendly level (53 minutes).
Additional Resources
Great website to check out! – ATOMIC HANDS
Atomic Hands was founded by Dr. Alicia Wooten and Dr. Barbara Spiecker who are themselves scientists and members of the deaf community. Their mission is to foster wonder and curiosity in the fields of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) through the production and dissemination of American Sign Language (ASL)-centric resources.
