RDE-FRI: Independent Laboratory Access for Blind and Low Vision High Shool Students in the Mainstream Science Classroom

RDE-FRI项目：为主流科学课堂中的盲人和低视力高中生提供独立实验室准入，是一个为期36个月、价值30万美元的奖项，由残疾教育研究(RDE)计划的重点研究倡议(FRI)轨道资助。该项目的主要目标是将RDE资助的盲人和低视力学生独立实验室接入小组(HRD-0435656)之前为盲人和低视力学生创建的低成本工具和教学技术纳入主流高中科学课堂，使盲人和低视力学生能够独立开展科学实验室实验。该项目团队正在与大约十(10)名BLV高中生和他们的老师一起实地测试现有设备、新创建的工具和定制的科学课程。研究小组由一位经验丰富的NSF资助的化学家领导，其中包括一对失明的教职员工和学生化学家，一名NSF资助的化学教育专家，以及一名高度熟练的评估员。这个项目团队曾在之前的ILAB项目中合作过，他们正在测试一种假设，即在主流物理实验室中使用这些已经开发的工具将提高BLV高中生的自我效能感、自信和对科学的兴趣。由于项目中的大多数学生都是初三和高三的学生，所以项目团队能够跟踪学生过渡到大学STEM领域的情况。该团队正在利用与其他国家科学基金会资助的项目和行业合作伙伴的资源，包括两(2)RDE资助的项目(HRD-0533182；HRD-0533185)，一(1)NSF国家科学与工程中心(DMR-0425880)，游标软件和技术，以及GH，LLC。该项目涉及RDE-Firi Track目标中的三(3)项：为残疾学生制作可在教育环境中快速开发和有效部署的工具；通过在教育环境中使用技术，为STEM中的残疾人教育增加价值；以及调查STEM中针对残疾人的有效教学方法和做法。该项目包括一项形成性和总结性项目评价计划和一项传播计划，其中包括在科学家、化学家和化学教育工作者的国家专业会议上发言；网站材料，以及在同行评议的专业期刊上计划发表的文章。传播计划还包括利用国家科学数字图书馆(NSDL)化学路径项目、全国盲人联合会和由RDE资助的中西部地区联盟的资源。

The project RDE-FRI: Independent Laboratory Access for Blind and Low Vision High School Students in the Mainstream Science Classroom, is a 36-month, $300,000 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 incorporate low-cost tools and instructional techniques for blind and low vision (BLV) students, previously created by the RDE-funded Independent Laboratory Access for the Blind (ILAB) team (HRD-0435656), into mainstream high school science classrooms so that BLV students can independently conduct science laboratory experiments. The project team is field testing existing devices, newly created tools and tailored science curricula with approximately ten (10) BLV high school students and their teachers. The research team is lead by a well-experienced NSF-funded chemist and includes a pair of faculty and student chemists who are blind, an NSF-funded expert in chemistry education, and a highly skilled evaluator. This project team, which has worked together on the previous ILAB project, is testing the hypothesis that the use of these already-developed tools in mainstream physical science labs will increase BLV high school students' self-efficacy, confidence and interest in science. Since most students in the project are in their junior and senior years of high school the project team is able to track student transitions into college STEM fields. The team is leveraging resources with other NSF-funded projects and industry partners, including two (2) RDE-funded projects (HRD-0533182.; HRD-0533185), one (1) NSF National Science and Engineering Center (DMR-0425880), Vernier Software and Technology, and GH, LLC. The project addresses three (3) of the RDE-FRI track goals: To build tools for students with disabilities that can be quickly developed and effectively deployed in the educational environment; to add value to the education of persons with disabilities in STEM by implementing the use of technologies in educational environments; and to investigate effective instructional methods and practices for people with disabilities in STEM. The project includes a formative and summative project evaluation plan as well as a dissemination plan that includes presentations at national professional meetings of scientists, chemists and chemical educators; website materials, as well as planned articles in peer-reviewed professional journals. The dissemination plan also includes leveraging resources with the National Science Digital Library (NSDL) Chemistry Pathways project, the National Federation of the Blind, and the RDE-funded MIDWEST Regional Alliance.