RDE-FRI: The Effects of Dyslexia on Scientists' Analysis of Astrophysical Data

RDE-FRI项目：阅读障碍对科学家分析天体物理数据的影响是一个为期17个月、价值299999美元的奖项，由残疾教育研究(RDE)项目的重点研究倡议(FRI)项目资助。这个项目的主要目标是调查这样一种假设，即与没有阅读障碍的科学家相比，患有阅读障碍的科学家在使用和处理计算机图像显示时，证据依赖于上下文的优势和劣势。这些预测的优势包括识别图像特征，这些特征依赖于在单个图形上进行视觉比较，以及当背景熟悉时识别或定位嵌入在分散注意力的背景中的对象。预测的缺点包括识别或定位嵌入在陌生背景中的对象，分散注意力，以及在多个图形之间进行视觉比较。这个项目建立在由哈佛-史密森天体物理中心(HSCA)资助的PI调查的先前成功的基础上，以研究患有诵读困难的科学家的特征。来自史密森学会天体物理天文台(SIAO)的这个团队，由一名患有诵读困难的研究人员领导，他是HSCA科学教育部门的专家，正在与科学家一起进行一系列行为实验室方案，以确定是否存在诵读困难以及受试者的视觉空间技能。该提案包括一项准实验设计，将22名患有诵读困难的天体物理学家的表现与22名没有诵读困难的天体物理学家进行匹配的比较队列；受试者正在从HSCA和美国天文学会招募。该项目满足了RDE社区的一个关键需求：展示残疾条件的增值成分，即诵读困难，作为科学领域研究人员职业成功的一部分。哈佛大学教育研究生院的外部评估员伊洛娜·霍兰德正在实施一项形成性和总结性的项目评估计划。其他形成性项目的意见由一个专家顾问团队提供，其中包括哈佛大学大脑和教育项目主任库尔特·菲舍尔、马萨诸塞大学波士顿分校视觉注意实验室主任马克·庞普伦、纽约大学心理学系主任玛丽莎·卡拉斯科和巴罗神经研究所视觉神经科学实验室主任苏珊娜·马丁内斯-康德。还有一项传播计划，其中包括在年度PI会议上与RDE社区分享信息，在同行评议的专业期刊上发表文章，以及向州立学校首席官员理事会提交信息。

The project RDE-FRI: The Effects of Dyslexia on Scientists' Analysis of Astrophysical Data is a 17-month, $299,999 dollar award funded by the Research in Disabilities Education (RDE) program's Focused Research Initiatives (FRI) track. The primary goal of this project is to investigate the hypothesis that scientists who have dyslexia, when compared to those scientists without dyslexia, evidence context-dependent advantages and disadvantages when using and processing computer imaging displays. These predicted advantages include discerning image features that are dependent on making visual comparisons across a single figure and identifying or locating objects embedded in a distracting background, when the background is familiar. The predicted disadvantages include identifying or locating objects embedded in an unfamiliar distracting background and making visual comparisons across multiple figures. This project builds on the prior success of the PI's investigations that have been funded by the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics (HSCA) to study the characteristics of scientists with dyslexia. This team from the Smithsonian Institution Astrophysical Observatory (SIAO), which is lead by a researcher with dyslexia and who is an expert from the HSCA's science education department, is conducting a series of behavioral laboratory protocols with scientists to determine the presence or absence of dyslexia and the visual-spatial skills of the subjects. The proposal includes a quasi-experimental design to compare the performance of 22 astrophysicists with dyslexia to a matched comparison cohort of 22 astrophysicists without dyslexia; subjects are being recruited from both the HSCA and the American Astronomical Society.The project addresses a key need in the RDE community: To demonstrate the value added component of a disabling condition, that is, dyslexia, as part of the career success of researchers in science fields. There is a formative and summative project evaluation plan which is being conducted by an external evaluator, Illona Holland, from the Harvard University's Graduate School of Education. Additional formative project input is provided by a team of expert advisors who include Kurt Fischer, the Director of the Harvard University's Mind Brain and Education Program; Marc Pomplun, the Director of the University of Massachusetts-Boston's Visual Attention Laboratory; Marisa Carrasco, the Chair of New York University's Psychology Department; and Susanna Martinez-Conde, Director of the Laboratory of Visual Neuroscience at the Barrow Neurological Institute. There is also a dissemination plan which includes sharing information with the RDE community at the annual PI meeting, publishing in peer-reviewed professional journals, and presenting information to the Council of Chief State School Officers.