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1. Why Are Students with Disabilities so Invisible in STEM Education?

   Schneiderwind, Joseph ; Johnson, Janelle M. ( July 2020 , Education week)

   null (Ed.)

   In the United States, we lament the lack of diversity in STEM fields and in teacher education, but many of our actions as educators continue to “weed out” students from nondominant communities and those who are differently abled. Society, parents, and other students need to understand that students with disabilities are as capable of academic achievement as any other student given the proper accommodations that allow for success. This is an issue that should not be limited to the silo of disability studies—it is one that must be recognized by all teachers. 

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2. Expanding Conversations about Accessibility to Include Faculty

   Anicha, C. ( February 2023 , CoNECD ’23: Collaborative Network for Engineering and Computing Diversity.)

   The past decade has witnessed increasing interest in attracting and retaining a more diverse workforce in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields, including expanding the participation of women and racial-ethnic minorities and, in fewer cases, to people with disabilities. Despite the availability of a rich collection of published research on women faculty that has increasingly used an intersectional lens, these conversations rarely meaningfully address strategies to make faculty careers more welcoming and accessible to women with disabilities. Further, as the professoriate ages, there will be an increasing number of faculty with disabilities and the pandemic has a disproportionate impact on many faculty with disabilities. In the coming years, there will also be faculty who have acquired disabilities as the result of long covid. This paper reviews existing research and practice reported in the literature about faculty with disabilities as well as reports of people with disabilities and other stakeholders in an online community and offers practical promising practices for increasing the participation of this marginalized and underserved group in STEM fields. The paper begins with a discussion of structural barriers that make faculty careers inaccessible and unwelcoming to people with disabilities and presents two approaches to access: accommodations and universal design. Both approaches have a role in the process of increasing the participation of people with disabilities in faculty careers. Given the relatively sparse literature on the topic, we encourage researchers addressing faculty careers to ask about disability in their work and to analyze disability-related data to increase our understanding of the issues impacting this population. Moreover, we offer departments and institutions strategies that they can take related to institutional and departmental policies related to accommodation requests, hiring practices, faculty evaluation, and other relevant areas; departmental culture; physical environments; collaboration and communication, and information technology. We conclude with recommendations to researchers and practitioners regarding the development of practices that will lead to increased engagement and success of women in faculty positions in STEM. 

   more » « less
3. Expanding Conversations about Accessibility to Include Faculty

   Anicha, C. ( February 2023 , CoNECD ’23: Collaborative Network for Engineering and Computing Diversity.)

   The past decade has witnessed increasing interest in attracting and retaining a more diverse workforce in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields, including expanding the participation of women and racial-ethnic minorities and, in fewer cases, to people with disabilities. Despite the availability of a rich collection of published research on women faculty that has increasingly used an intersectional lens, these conversations rarely meaningfully address strategies to make faculty careers more welcoming and accessible to women with disabilities. Further, as the professoriate ages, there will be an increasing number of faculty with disabilities and the pandemic has a disproportionate impact on many faculty with disabilities. In the coming years, there will also be faculty who have acquired disabilities as the result of long covid. This paper reviews existing research and practice reported in the literature about faculty with disabilities as well as reports of people with disabilities and other stakeholders in an online community and offers practical promising practices for increasing the participation of this marginalized and underserved group in STEM fields. The paper begins with a discussion of structural barriers that make faculty careers inaccessible and unwelcoming to people with disabilities and presents two approaches to access: accommodations and universal design. Both approaches have a role in the process of increasing the participation of people with disabilities in faculty careers. Given the relatively sparse literature on the topic, we encourage researchers addressing faculty careers to ask about disability in their work and to analyze disability-related data to increase our understanding of the issues impacting this population. Moreover, we offer departments and institutions strategies that they can take related to institutional and departmental policies related to accommodation requests, hiring practices, faculty evaluation, and other relevant areas; departmental culture; physical environments; collaboration and communication, and information technology. We conclude with recommendations to researchers and practitioners regarding the development of practices that will lead to increased engagement and success of women in faculty positions in STEM. 

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4. Supporting Students with an Autism Spectrum Disorder in Engineering: K-12 and Beyond

   https://doi.org/10.14448/jsesd.13.0011  

   Kouo, Jennifer L. ; Hahn, Alexis E. ; Morton, Sarah ; Gregorio, Jay ( October 2021 , Journal of Science Education for Students with Disabilities)

   Individuals with disabilities, including individuals with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD), are underrepresented in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields. With the importance of STEM skills in future employment and other disciplines, effective instructional strategies must be identified to enhance early and sustained access to STEM for students with ASD. However, the literature identifying effective STEM-specific supports and practices for this population of students is sparse and regarding engineering, there are no empirical studies that focus on teaching engineering skills to students with ASD. Therefore, the article aims to provide an overview of the available literature on the perspectives of engineering educators and suggested strategies aimed at supporting students with ASD in K-12 instruction and higher education. Additionally, recommendations regarding employment preparation and shifting the workplace environment to support individuals with ASD are presented. The available literature reveals limitations and implications for future research including the presentation of the voices of individuals with ASD across the spectrum. Furthermore, there continues to be work that must be done to prepare educators, employers, peers, and colleagues to better understand the disability and support individuals with ASD in all contexts. 

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5. Learning From a Pandemic: Redesigning with Universal Design for Learning to Enhance Scientific Skills

   Thomas D. Montgomery, Bridget M. ( January 2023 , Journal of postsecondary education and disability)

   Colleges are becoming increasingly diverse, including strengthening representation of students with disabilities in STEM (Science, Teaching, Engineering, and Math) fields; however, representation still lags behind national trends. To adapt to this changing demographic and improve representation, STEM college professors must be prepared to grant equitable access to the STEM curriculum and enhance scientific communication skills. This practice brief outlines how a college science faculty applied the Universal Design for Learning (UDL) framework to improve scientific communication skills equitably among college students with diverse needs during a 10-week NSF-REU (National Science Foundation – Research Experiences for Undergraduates) at the host institution summer program during the COVID-19 pandemic. It also provides recommendations about how students with disabilities (i.e., chronic illness, chronic pain, depression, anxiety, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder [ADHD]) which may have been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Applying the UDL framework increased student confidence in applying the scientific method and led to gains in students' perception of their ability to use their skills to solve scientific problems. STEM faculty can use the lessons from the NSF-REU summer program outlined in this work to develop inclusive and accessible STEM programs for students with diverse needs across the country. Moreover, this work highlights the need for STEM faculty to involve Disability Services coordinators as active members in research programs to ensure equity and inclusion. 

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