PPD: Engaging, Recruiting, Retaining Students with Disabilities in SEM

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HRD #9450019 University of Delaware Kenneth Barner, Principal Investigator "Engaging, Recruiting, Retaining Students with disabilities in Science, Engineering, and Math" & ABSTRACT This Experimental Project addresses the inclusion of individuals with disabilities in science, engineering and math (SEM) education. The goal of the project is to engage, recruit, and retain individuals with disabilities in SEM educational programs so that the current under representation of these individuals in both SEM educational programs and professions will be reversed. The project attempts to demonstrate a model comprised of specific activities that will eliminate the attitudinal, physical, and curriculum barriers that combine to keep individuals with disabilities from pursuing SEM studies and careers. Six project tasks have been designed to attack the barriers to full inclusion in SEM education. (1) Conduct of regional outreach programs: Families, counselors, and faculty will be given awaremess training, solutions seminars, and abilities demonstrations. These activities will be designed to provide the targeted audiences with relevant information concerning the impediments faced by people with disabilities and many practical and technolgy based solutions used by individuals with disabilities to overcome the impediments and to participate actively in SEM. In addition, individuals and their schools will receive technical assistance in overcoming their barriers. (2) Conduct of extracurricular SEM programs: Existing extracurricular SEM programs will b3 updated to allow participation by all students. Students with Disabilities will then be enrolled in the updated programs and c amps. These extra curricula activities will serve to provide positive SEM experimeences that should lead to increased numbers of students with disabilities who are interested and engaged in SEM studies. (3) Establishment of electronic mentoring: A mentoring program based on electronic communication will be established. Students, faculty, and professional with disabilities and SEM interests will communicate, exchage ideas, and access SEM resources through the Internet. (4) Development of a cirtual laboratory: A virtual SEM laboratory will be designed and tested. This computer based laboratory will minimize the physical requirments and allow all students access to laboratory equipment through the integratioon of instrumentation and the use of simulation solftware with powerful workstations. This laboraotry will be used in existing University of Delaware SEM courses to offer laboratory experiences to a wide range of students. It will not be a special laboratory restricted to individuals with disabilities, rather it will be a general laboratory that is designed to be useable by everyone. h) 0*0*0* (5) Development of accessible inquiry based SEM educational experiences: An inquiry based approach to SEM problem solving that is accessible to all students will be developed. The problem solving approach to pre college level SEM education will be packaged and disseminated so that all students will be able to share equally in SEM curricula. (6) Conduct of information dissemination: The approach taken throughout this project is to maximize the use of existing programs that can be modified and made accessible. The regional outreach, extra curricular experiences, and mentoring can be replicated in most regions of the nation. The design of new laboratories and curricula will be disseminated to a number of organizations interested in improving SEM education for the population in general. The results of his project are intended to influence other organizations to make thei r improved curricula accessible. Together, the six areas of project activity are meant to form a comprehensive model for increasing the number of individuals with disabilities in SEM. Results of each task will be documented and disseminated extensively. ***