How the Study Groups Work:
Each of the groups operate generally the same; however, there are of course differences in requirements which will be explained.
- Group members are provided with a set of questions ranging from 10 to 20 questions per week. Participants are encouraged to first answer without any research to gauge the amount of information they currently possess. This is an EXCELLENT way to see how test ready a candidate is without any study.
- Then participants will research the questions and see how their original answers might change and develop a set of responses based on the research to be posted.
- After researching and answering each of the questions, each member will post a summary of the unit's discussion. This is not a copy/paste of all previous answers. It should summarize the BEST answers based on all of the research and discussion for each of the questions. This helps for last- minute study - you may need only to review just the summary postings to ensure synthesis of the material.
- Members or the written test study groups will submit (to to the facilitator and not to the group) five multiple-choice questions per unit that would be the kinds of questions that may show up on the test, or just questions that would be challenging to answer. With those questions, members will also submit four possible choices in an "a, b, c, or d" format like a multiple choice test would contain. There are guidelines for this and the purpose for doing this is to start to understand how Multiple Choice tests are developed and what to expect. To develop the a, b, c, and d: participants are asked to have a couple of answers that are "good" but only one "best" answer, as well as one bogus choice as well that is obviously not the right one. Participants will also indicate which is the right answer and why. These are to be posted in the "MC Questions" forum within each unit.
- Written test groups have a Mock Test at the end that you will take and grade.
You can participate at any time day or night whenever is most convenient for you! That's the beauty of this process. If you cannot participate due to life getting in the way, then you can slow down for a few days and then pick up again when your schedule gets better. The best results come from active participation, though, so I strongly encourage you to stay as active as you can to ensure you receive the maximum benefit from this approach.
The book that we use is "So You Want to Be an Interpreter," 3rd or 4th Edition.
People often ask if the written test study group will be helpful for those who are taking a state written test or whether it's only good for the RID/NIC test - YES! The reason for this is because the information on interpreting (which is what we discuss) does not change no matter what written test you take. The format may be different; however again, this method prepares you to own the information and to be able to approach any written test regardless of the format. There is a separate Written Test Study Group for EIPA candidates, which focuses on knowledge that the educational interpreter needs. In both written groups we discuss how to approach multiple-choice tests. This has proven extremely helpful to participants in past groups.