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

参与实地学习体验是未来地球科学家准备和培训期间的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复杂的地球系统过程，这些过程在实验室或虚拟环境中难以模拟。 对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，从而对这些学生参与地球科学教育和职业道路并取得成就造成重大障碍。 该项目直接涉及NSF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-在STEM学科和地球科学领域的参与。该奖项被用于举办一个实地讲习班，为残疾学生提供在自然环境中了解地球的机会，并让地球科学教员亲自发现如何普遍设计其实地课程，以充分包容残疾学生。该项目有两个主要目标：1）举办一个完全无障碍的实地讲习班，让残疾学生和地球科学教师共同努力，确定在实地进行包容性实地学习的方法; 2）推进车间设计、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提供可访问的领域，为残疾学生提供学习机会。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（例如，课程要求、时间限制、机构规定）;或者，3）物理（例如，现场访问、支持材料）。 一组15名残疾本科生和15名教师导师将参加研讨会，这是与美国地质学会（GSA）在温哥华，不列颠哥伦比亚省（10月19日至22日）2014年年会一起举行。研讨会的学生参与者将从高中和非申报的大学生，以及获得性残疾的退伍军人招募。讲习班将利用温哥华地区提供的丰富多样的“从海到天”的地质灾害，重点是自然灾害。 一名进行讲习班前后评估的外部评估员将收集数据，为制定准则提供信息，这些准则将在地球科学界广泛传播，同时在各种地点举办的地球科学讲习班中提供获取、住宿和融入的教学方法。这一实地讲习班将有助于扩大公众和学术界对地球科学的认识，使其成为所有学生的一个可访问的研究领域和一个可行的职业选择，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.