Increasing access to chemistry for high schoolers with blindness: a program to jump start Central Texas

增加失明高中生接触化学的机会：一项启动德克萨斯州中部的计划

• 批准号: 10600066
• 负责人: Bryan F. Shaw
• 金额: $ 26.32万
• 依托单位: BAYLOR UNIVERSITY
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 财政年份: 2022
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2022-04-01 至 2027-03-31
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10600066
• 关键词: 3-Dimensional; 3D Print; Acetates; Affect; Age; Amyloid Proteins; Atomic Force Microscopy; Banana; Birth; Blindness; Butterflies; Candy; Carbohydrates; Chemicals; Chemistry; Child; Childhood; Code; Collaborations; Complete Blindness; Computer Interface; Dangerousness; Data; Doctor of Philosophy; Dose; Drops; Educational Curriculum; Electron Microscopy; Electrons; Evaluation; Exclusion; Face; Faculty; Feedback; Fingers; Funding; Hand; High School Student; Image; Imagery; Industrialization; Institution; Institutional Review Boards; K-12 student; Knowledge; Label; Laboratories; Learning; Letters; Liquid substance; Manuals; Mass Spectrum Analysis; Methods; Microscopy; Modeling; Oral; Oral cavity; Outcome; Parafilm; Pliability; Printing; Proteins; Protocols documentation; Randomized; Randomized, Controlled Trials; Reaction; Research; Research Design; Research Personnel; Resolution; Robot; Robotics; STEM field; Safety; Schools; Science; Services; Skin; Solid; Special Education; Specialist; Stereognosis; Structure; Students; Surveys; Tactile; Technology; Testing; Texas; Textbooks; Thin Layer Chromatography; Three-Dimensional Image; Tongue; Training; Underrepresented Populations; Universities; Vision; Visual; Visual impairment; Visualization; Visually Impaired Students; Wing; blind; braille; chemical property; chemical synthesis; college; cost; design; developmental prosopagnosia; early experience; experience; explicit bias; high school; implicit bias; instrumentation; interest; laboratory curriculum; machine vision; millimeter; molecular assembly/self assembly; nanoscale; programs; protein aggregation; protein folding; robotic device; role model; teacher; three-dimensional modeling; three-dimensional visualization; tool; touchscreen; vanillin; young adult

Project Summary: Students with blindness face explicit bias and systemic exclusion in chemistry. The chemistry laboratory remains especially inaccessible—“off limits”—to students with BLV. The exquisite 3D imagery of chemistry also remains inaccessible, as visualizing each image in a textbook would require a large hand-held model. Excluding students from the “central” science—from its tools, data, and imagery— can inhibit learning in other STEM fields. In the state of Texas, 11,000 children and young adults (age 0- 22) have blindness or low vision (BLV). The Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired (TSBVI) educates ~ 600 K-12 students per year. The objectives of this project are to increase access to chemistry labs, instrumentation, data, and imagery for high school students at TSBVI (grades 9-12). The project team involves: (i) five PhD-level chemists (three have been completely blind from childhood or birth), (ii) one special educator at Baylor University, (iii) five TSBVI teachers and accessibility specialists, and (iv) the Laboratory Safety Program Manager at Baylor University. Special Research Experiences (SRE’s) have been planned at Baylor University for 30 new TSBVI high school students per year. These two-day experiences will be accompanied by pre-lab and post-lab tactile curriculum, safety training, and role modeling from PhD chemists with blindness. In Aim 1, accessible curriculum is being developed for SRE’s via 3D printing, tactile printing, Braille printing, and audio recording. In Aim 1, millimeter-scale “micro models” of 3D images are also being designed and developed (as an alternative to conventional large tactile models). The ability of TSBVI students to visualize these micro models by oral and manual stereognosis is tested during SRE’s. In Aim 2, lab spaces at Baylor are being modified to be accessible to TSBVI students, to conduct the four SRE’s described in Aim 3. Outfitting the lab involves use of “high tech” solutions (e.g., robots that weigh, dispense and mix solids and liquids) and “low tech lab hacks”. In Aim 3, four different Special Research Experiences will be provided to 15 new TSBVI students per semester (students assigned a different SRE each year). Two SRE’s involve the synthesis of industrially important molecules, using a robotic reactor at Baylor University that is safely enclosed inside an air-tight, blast-proof glove box. Two other SRE’s allow students to use electron and atomic force microscopy and tactile printing to visualize nanoscale molecular assemblies (e.g., protein fibrils and carbohydrate scales of butterfly wings). The four experiences will provide students with knowledge of microscopy; mass spectrometry; simple organic reactions; and protein aggregation. Students will learn that they can visualize the highest resolution imagery from microscopy via tactile graphics. Students will learn that they can safely do chemical synthesis using robots inside glove boxes. The hypothesis, tested in a randomized control trial, is that SRE’s will increase TSBVI student interest, confidence, and sense of belonging in STEM.

项目摘要：失明学生在化学中面临明显的偏见和系统性排斥。的 化学实验室仍然是特别难以接近-“禁区”-与BLV的学生。精致的3D 化学的图像也仍然无法访问，因为在教科书中可视化每个图像将需要一个 大型手持模型。将学生排除在“中心”科学之外--排除在工具、数据和图像之外-- 会抑制其他STEM领域的学习。在德克萨斯州，11，000名儿童和年轻人（0- 22)失明或低视力（BLV）。德克萨斯州盲人和视障学校（TSBVI） 每年教育约600名K-12学生。该项目的目标是增加获得化学的机会 实验室，仪器，数据和图像的高中学生在TSBVI（9-12年级）。项目 该团队包括：（i）五名博士级化学家（其中三名从童年或出生时就完全失明），（ii） 贝勒大学的一名特殊教育工作者，（iii）五名TSBVI教师和无障碍专家，以及（iv） 贝勒大学实验室安全项目经理特殊研究经历（SRE） 贝勒大学计划每年为30名新的TSBVI高中学生提供服务。这两天 经验将伴随着实验前和实验后的触觉课程，安全培训和角色 从失明的博士化学家那里建模。在目标1中，正在为SRE开发无障碍课程， 通过3D打印，触觉打印，盲文打印和音频记录。在目标1中，毫米级“微 3D图像的“模型”也正在设计和开发（作为传统的大型图像的替代方案）。 触觉模型）。TSBVI学生通过口头和手动可视化这些微观模型的能力 在SRE期间测试立体感。在目标2中，贝勒大学的实验室空间正在进行改造， TSBVI学生，进行目标3中描述的四项SRE。装备实验室涉及使用“高 “技术”解决方案（例如，称重、分配和混合固体和液体的机器人）和“低技术实验室黑客”。在 目标3：每年为15名TSBVI新生提供四种不同的特殊研究体验。 学期（学生每年分配不同的SRE）。两个SRE涉及工业上合成 重要的分子，使用贝勒大学的机器人反应器，它安全地封闭在一个气密的， 防爆手套箱另外两个SRE允许学生使用电子和原子力显微镜， 触觉印刷以显现纳米级分子组件（例如，蛋白质纤维和碳水化合物鳞片 蝴蝶的翅膀）。这四个经验将为学生提供显微镜知识;质量 光谱法;简单的有机反应;和蛋白质聚集。学生们将学习到他们可以想象 最高分辨率的图像从显微镜通过触觉图形。学生们将了解到，他们可以安全地 在手套箱里用机器人进行化学合成。在随机对照中检验的假设 试验，是SRE的将增加TSBVI学生的兴趣，信心和归属感在干。