Renewal of DeafTEC: Technological Education Center for Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Students

2015年是《美国残疾人法》(ADA)颁布25周年，这是一项里程碑式的民权立法，禁止歧视，确保残疾人享有平等的机会和机会。尽管在过去25年中取得了进展，但残疾人的就业率仍然远远低于其他人口。对于失聪或听力障碍(d/hh)的美国人来说尤其如此。受雇于STEM为d/hh人提供了极大的好处，因为STEM职业的d/hh人的总体收入比非STEM领域的d/hh人高31%，而且受雇于STEM缩小了聋人和聋人之间的收入差距。这个名为DeafTEC的中心旨在增加d/hh个人获得职业信息、技术教育和不受限制的就业的机会。deafTEC将影响d/hh学生以及高中教师、社区大学教师、家长、顾问和雇主在教育和就业机会和选择方面的知识和态度。该中心的专业发展经验将提高高中和社区大学教师在STEM科目的教学专业知识，为这些学生提供更多的学习机会，并帮助雇主培养敏感度和技能，成功地将D/HH技术人员整合到工作场所。DeafTEC还将通过与当地社区学院和退伍军人项目一起开发最佳实践资源，向听力损失的退伍军人提供教育这些未得到充分服务的受众的资源。该中心将：(1)在国家的目标地区扩大高中、社区学院和行业之间的合作伙伴关系，以改善d/hh学生获得技术教育和就业的机会；(2)开发新的全国传播课程，涉及初中和高中学生的STEM职业生涯、社区大学生的就业准备，以及在STEM科目中教授d/hh学生普通教师准备计划的最佳做法；(3)为社区大学教员提供专业发展资源，介绍教授听力丧失的退伍军人的最佳做法；(4)开发一个扩展的网站，作为d/hh学生技术教育和技术员职业相关信息的交流中心；以及(5)继续扩展国家STEM双学分计划，以改善d/hh学生从高中过渡到大学的途径。DeafTEC强调通用设计、发展数学和跨STEM课程的写作，可以使所有需要额外资源和支持的学生受益。高中、社区大学和雇主之间建立的伙伴关系也可以作为一个模式，在其他地区以及其他服务不足的学生群体中复制。

2015 marks the 25th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the landmark civil rights legislation that prohibits discrimination and ensures equal opportunity and access for persons with disabilities. Although progress has been made during the last two and a half decades, people with disabilities continue to be employed at rates much lower than the rest of the population. This is especially true of Americans who are deaf or hard-of-hearing (d/hh). Being employed in STEM provides a great benefit for d/hh people, since overall d/hh people in STEM occupations earn 31% more than d/hh people in non-STEM fields, and being employed in STEM reduces the earning gap between deaf and hearing employees. This center, DeafTEC, aims to increase the access for d/hh individuals to career information, to a technical education, and to unrestricted employment.DeafTEC will impact the knowledge and attitudes of d/hh students, as well as high school teachers, community college faculty, parents, counselors and employers, in terms of the educational and employment opportunities and options available. The Center's professional development experiences will improve the instructional expertise of high school and community college teachers in STEM subjects to provide greater access to learning for these students, as well as help employers develop the sensitivity and skills to successfully integrate d/hh technicians into the workplace. DeafTEC will also expand its reach to veterans with hearing loss by developing, with their local community colleges and veterans programs, resources on best practices for teaching this underserved audience. The Center will:(1) develop expanded partnerships in targeted regions of the country among high schools, community colleges, and industry to improve access to technological education and employment for d/hh students;(2) develop new curricula for national dissemination related to STEM careers for middle and high school students, job readiness for community college students, and best practices for teaching d/hh students in STEM subjects for general teacher preparation programs;(3) provide professional development resources for community college faculty on best practices for teaching military veterans with hearing loss;(4) develop an expanded website to serve as a clearinghouse for information related to technical education and technician careers for d/hh students; and(5) continue to expand a national STEM dual credit program to improve pathways for d/hh students to transition from high school to college.DeafTEC's emphasis on universal design, developmental math and writing across the STEM curriculum can benefit all students in need of additional resources and support. The partnerships established among high schools, community colleges, and employers can also serve as a model that can be replicated in other regions as well as with other groups of underserved students.