Signing Glossaries for Science Exhibits

作为加强非正式环境学习总体战略的一部分，推进非正式STEM学习（AISL）项目为各种环境中使用的创新资源提供资金。使用手持移动设备，该项目将测试专门的科学展览签名词汇表（SGSE）。这些词汇表是由6个合作机构的5000个独特的科学手语术语开发而成，旨在为至少有一名年龄在5-12岁以上的聋人或重听人使用美国手语（ASL）进行交流的家庭提供帮助。该项目将展示特定场所的手语词汇表在参观非正式的STEM学习环境（如水族馆、植物园、自然历史博物馆、自然中心、科学博物馆和动物园）期间提高STEM学习机会的潜在有效性。在利用现有的特定领域的签署条款的同时，该项目将调整和改进它们在特定内容的非正式科学场所的使用，以增加目标受众享受和受益于该群体可获得的广泛的非正式科学学习机会的机会。这项研究将揭示这种方法如何使其他类型的残疾人受益。研究问题的目的是了解家庭成员如何与听力残疾的家庭成员互动，以及残疾人如何在非特定领域的环境中更多地了解各种STEM内容，而是利用科学展览的影响来告知，参与和吸引公众的兴趣。特定于领域的签名字典已经被开发出来，其中许多是由该PI开发的，以解决对STEM中特定内容主题的访问。该提案将这一概念扩展到非正式的学习环境，这些环境是特定内容的，以增加听力残疾人士的机会，提高他们享受非正式科学学习场所的能力，并更多地了解这些场所在科学学习方面提供的内容。

As part of its overall strategy to enhance learning in informal environments, the Advancing Informal STEM Learning (AISL) program funds innovative resources for use in a variety of settings. Using hand-held mobile devices this project would test specialized Signing Glossaries for Science Exhibits (SGSE). The glossaries are developed from 5000 unique signing terms specific to the science in 6 partner institutions and designed to reach families with at least one member, ages 5-12+, who is deaf or hard of hearing and uses American Sign Language (ASL) for communication. The project would demonstrate the potential effectiveness of the venue-specific signing glossaries to enhance access to STEM learning during visits to informal STEM learning environments such as aquariums, botanical gardens, natural history museums, nature centers, science museums, and zoos. While utilizing existing domain specific signing terms, the project will adapt and improve on their use in content specific informal science venues to increase the opportunity for the target audience to both enjoy and benefit from the wide array of informal science learning opportunities available to this group. The research should reveal how this approach might benefit those with other types of disabilities. The research questions are designed to understand both how family members might interact with a hearing disabled family member as well as how the disabled individual might learn more about a variety of STEM content in a setting that is not domain specific but uses the influence of science exhibits to inform, engage and interest members of the public generally. Domain specific signing dictionaries have been developed, many by this PI, to address access to content specific topics in STEM. This proposal extends this concept to informal learning environments that are content specific to increase the opportunity for those with hearing disabilities to increase their capability to both enjoy informal science learning venues and to understand more of what these venues provide in terms of science learning.