RDE-FRI: Classroom Accommodations for STEM Educators with a Disability

该项目将研究K-12和高等教育科学、技术、工程和数学（STEM）残疾教育工作者的工作场所住宿需求。工作场所的住宿条件通常是根据具体情况进行审查的。虽然有许多成功和有效的解决方案可以满足个别员工的需求，但很少有人努力将这些案例研究汇总起来，以检查趋势，了解什么对谁有效，并开发更普遍适用的住宿。该项目将以CATEA的康复工程研究中心（RERC）的工作场所住宿和东南残疾人和商业技术援助中心（SE DBTAC）的资源为基础，研究可能帮助残疾人接受STEM教育，在残疾后重返工作岗位或应对因老龄化而在执行工作任务时遇到的困难的策略和技术。该项目将使用调查和焦点小组来研究残疾的K-12和高等STEM教育工作者的住宿需求，并解决将满足这些需求的辅助技术。然后，项目工作人员将使用这些信息来开发事实表、政策简报和网络课程，以协助教育工作者和学校管理，并为解决共同工作场所住宿需求的未来产品开发提供建议。该项目将利用NSTA、AAAS和ACS等组织招募残疾教育工作者并传播结果。有效的便利设施不仅可以让残疾学生在STEM教育中从事职业，而且为教育工作者提供的便利设施也可能被证明对残疾学生有效。

This project will examine the workplace accommodation needs of K-12 and postsecondary science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) educators with disabilities. Workplace accommodations have typically been examined on a case-by-case basis. While there are numerous examples of successful and effective solutions that meet the needs of individual employees, there has been little effort to aggregate these case studies to examine trends, understand what works and for whom, and develop more universally applicable accommodations. This project will build on the resources of CATEA's Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center (RERC) on Workplace Accommodations and Southeast Disability and Business TechnicalAssistance Center (SE DBTAC) to investigate the strategies and technologies that might help a person with a disability enter STEM education, return to work after acquiring a disability, or to counter the difficulties in performing work tasks due to aging. This project will use surveys and focus groups to research the accommodation needs of K-12 and postsecondary STEM educators who have a disability, and address assistive technology that will fill these needs. Project staff will then use this information to develop fact sheets, policy briefs, and a web course to assist educators and school administration, and to provide recommendations for future product development that addresses common workplace accommodation needs. The project will makeuse of organizations such as NSTA, AAAS, and ACS to recruit educators with disabilities and disseminate the results. The availability of effective accommodations not only allows students with disabilities to pursuecareers within STEM education, but accommodations for educators may also prove to be effective with their students with disabilities.