Enhancing Accessibility in the Geoscience: A Field-Based Workshop for Accommodating Students with Disabilities

在未来地球科学家的准备和培训过程中，参与基于实地的学习体验是一项至关重要的活动，因为它使学生能够在空间和时间尺度上看到难以在实验室或虚拟环境中模拟的复杂地球系统过程。对于身体残疾的学生来说，参加实地活动可能特别具有挑战性，在某些情况下是无法克服的，从而对这些学生在地球科学教育和职业道路中的参与和成就造成了重大障碍。该项目直接解决了美国国家科学基金会和地球科学理事会的优先事项，即招聘未来的STEM劳动力，扩大学生（包括残疾学生）对STEM学科的参与，特别是对地球科学的参与。该奖项将用于举办实地研讨会，为残疾学生提供在自然环境中了解地球的机会，并为地球科学教师提供第一手资料，以发现如何普遍设计他们的实地课程，使其完全包括残疾学生。这个项目有两个主要目标：1)举办一个完全无障碍的实地研讨会，残疾学生和地球科学教师一起工作，在实地定义包容性的实地学习经验的方法；2)推动研讨会设计、后勤规划和基于研究的成果作为一套指导方针，使更广泛的地球科学教育界能够为未来的残疾学生提供无障碍的实地学习机会。先前的研究确定了三个主要障碍：1)态度（例如，员工，其他学生和公众的个人态度）；2)组织性（如课程要求、时间限制、机构规定）；或3)实物（如：现场访问、支持材料）。由15名残疾本科生和15名教师导师组成的小组将参加该研讨会，该研讨会将于2014年10月19日至22日在不列颠哥伦比亚省温哥华举行的美国地质学会（GSA）年度会议期间举行。工作坊的学生参与者将从高中和未申报的大学生中招募，以及有后天性残疾的退伍军人。研讨会将利用温哥华地区提供的丰富多样的“海天”地质地形，重点关注自然灾害。进行研讨会前后评估的外部评估人员将收集数据，为指导方针的制定提供信息，这些指导方针将与在各种场所提供的地球科学研讨会的准入、住宿和包容的教学方法一起在地球科学界广泛传播。这次实地研讨会将有助于扩大公众和学术界对地球科学的认识，使其成为一个可访问的研究领域，也是所有学生的可行职业选择，无论其身体能力如何。

Participating in field-based learning experiences is a critically important activity during the preparation and training of future geoscientists, because it allows students to see complex Earth system processes at spatial and temporal scales that are difficult to emulate in laboratory or virtual environments. Participation in field-based activities can be particularly challenging, and in some cases insurmountable, for students with physical disabilities, thus creating significant barriers to the engagement and achievement of such students within geoscience education and career pathways. This project directly addresses the NSF and Directorate for Geosciences priority of recruitment of the future STEM workforce and broadening participation of students - including those with disabilities - in STEM disciplines generally and in the geosciences specifically. This award is being used to convene a field-based workshop that will provide students with disabilities the opportunity to learn about the Earth in a natural setting, and for geoscience instructors to discover first-hand how to universally design their field courses to be fully inclusive of students with disabilities. There are two main objectives of this project: 1) conduct a completely accessible field workshop where students with disabilities and geoscience faculty work together to define the methods of inclusive field-based learning experiences while in the field; and 2) promote the workshop design, logistical planning, and research-based outcomes as a set of guidelines that will enable the broader geoscience education community to provide accessible field-based learning opportunities for students with disabilities on into the future. Prior research identifies three primary barriers as being: 1) Attitudinal (e.g., personal attitudes of staff, other students and the general public); 2) Organizational (e.g., course requirements, time constraints, institutional regulations); or, 3) Physical (e.g., site access, supporting materials). A group of 15 undergraduate students with disabilities and 15 faculty mentors will participate in the workshop, which is being held in conjunction with the 2014 annual conference of the Geological Society of America (GSA) in Vancouver, BC (October 19-22). Workshop student participants will be recruited from high school and non-declared college students, as well as veterans with acquired disabilities. The workshop will leverage the rich variety of "sea to sky" geological terranes offered by the Vancouver region, with a focus on natural hazards. An external evaluator conducting pre- and post-workshop assessments will collect data to inform the development of the guidelines, which will be disseminated broadly within the geosciences community in conjunction with the Instructional Approaches to Access, Accomodation, and Inclusion in the Geosciences workshop being offered at a variety of venues. This field workshop will serve to broaden both public and academic awareness of geoscience as an accessible field of study and a viable career option for all students, regardless of physical ability.