Accessible Higher Education:Perspectives and Approaches

prepared for the2010 Alternative Media Services Conference

Paul M.A. Baker Ph.D., Director of ResearchCenter for Advanced Communications Policy (CACP)

Robert L. Todd, Sr Research Scientist, Director AEI LabCATEA (Center for Assistive Technology and Environmental Access)

Educational/Disciplinary Perspectives“The Narrative”

•Introduction: who are these guys? •The educational/disciplinary perspective (intro)• Issues and opportunities and barriers (broadly)• Specific partnerships (who to go to on Campus)• Materials, best practices, technology (background)• Exemplar Case (STEM Education)• Summary and close

Setting the Context - “not my job?”

• The context – fast paced environment with a variety of stakeholders – teaching one of many responsibilities of faculty• The Problem: competing priorities and objectives – teaching/ideas vs. learning • The “Students” (aka “class”) vs. Learning • One size fits all (production model) and appropriate techniques• Costs, time, technology and substance

Issues and Opportunities• Policy - ADA (1990) and Sec. 504 of Rehabilitation Act of 1973, deal with disability• Students with disabilities underrepresented in STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) courses, majors and employment• Data show that the discrepancy widens as the level of education increases

Approaches – Now What?• So, a student walks into a class …• Awareness, Documentation, and Accommodations• “Suitable accommodations create equal opportunity to education […] so long as it does not require a major change in the essential element of the curriculum…”• Examples include extended time on exams, interpreters, and adaptation in the manner in which the class is conducted• Specific partnerships (who to go to on Campus)

Who to talk to• ADAPTS – Disability Services Program for Students• ADAPTS offers evaluation of students with disabilities, referral, adaptive technology, information on accommodations, interpreter services for students, and testing facilities• http://www.adapts.gatech.edu/index.php• But in practice, what can we do?

Issues and Opportunities

• Students with disabilities underrepresented in STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) courses, majors and employment• Data show that the discrepancy widens as the level of education increases

Percent with disabilities

Number with disabilities

Students 6-17 11% 5,538,900STEM undergraduates 10% 461,700STEM graduate students 7% 49,400STEM doctorate recipients 1% 355Population 21-64 17% 28,145,000US workforce 21-64 10% 12,836,000STEM workforce 6% 306,000STEM doctoral faculty 7% 11,700

SOURCES: Population and U.S. workforce—U.S. Census Bureau, Survey of Income and Program Participation, 2005; Students 6-17—U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs, 2008; Undergraduate and graduate students—U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, National Postsecondary Student Aid Study, 2008; STEM doctorate recipients, NSF/SRS, Survey of Earned Doctorates 2008, Workforce and doctoral faculty—National Science Foundation, SESTAT data system, and Survey of Doctorate Recipients, 2006.

NSF Division of Science Resources Statistics

The educational/disciplinary perspective

There are many ways to provide accommodations. Two categories often considered:• Targeted accommodations• Universal Design for Learning (UDL)

Learning Disabilities

• Emphasize all students are welcome by providing an access statement on you syllabus.

• Encourage students to disclose a disability• Remain open and nonjudgmental• Provide time and space for discussing

disabilities with students

Learning Disabilities

• Tell students to be proactive• Offer support and encouragement• Recommend available resources• Focus on student learning rather than

instruction• Increase flexibility and reward effort

Autism

• Alter tasks and environments as needed• Post classroom rules, schedules and syllabus• Encourage students to stay organized• Help students with scheduling and directions

Autism

• Be clear about alternate class locations• Break down large assignments into smaller

units• Recommend tutoring when necessary• Avoid pressuring students who don’t answer

questions

ADHD

• Post course expectations• Encourage students to stay organized over the

course of a semester.• Ask students to think out loud.

ADHD

• Be understanding of mistakes.• Automate when possible, and be available to

answer technology-related questions.• Establish good relationships with students,

especially in large lecture classes

ADHD

• Provide an outline• Avoid tangents and sidetracks. Focus on a

single topic• Take advantage of multimedia• Take short breaks• Provide assistive listening devices to help

eliminate background noise

ADHD

• Seat ADHD students nearest where you will be standing when giving instruction

• Avoid seating students near distractions such as windows or doorways

• Maintain clear control of the entire classroom• Consider using student teams or pairs

Deafness and Hardness of Hearing

• Avoid backlighting• Do not cover your mouth• Do not exaggerate• Encourage a quiet classroom

Deafness and Hardness of Hearing

• Repeat information when asked• Help your student improve their speech

reading skills• Provide written documents

Deafness and Hardness of Hearing

• Captions are a very simple way of making audio information more accessible for everyone.

Low Vision and Blindness

• Select course materials early• Keep electronic copies of all print materials• Use editable text and avoid PDFs when

possible

Low Vision and Blindness

• Avoid scanned notes• Maintain a library of audio lectures that can

be copied for students who require them

Low Vision and Blindness• Large print keyboards are useful for low-

vision users as well as students who are less adept at typing skills.

Low Vision and Blindness

Audible graphs can allow students to experience a change over time without requiring visual acuity.

Universal Design

• Benefits all students, not just those with disabilities.

• Often can be accomplished by the same accommodations.

Tying it Together

• Last minute efforts generally are problematic• Information/approaches are available but

faculty may need to research to find solutions• Technology has value, but is not a “fix”• While required by law, effective accessible

education is a collaborative effort bringing together practice, awareness, technology and subject matter to enable learning

Faculty (and other) Partnerships

SciTrain: Science and Math for All

• Funded by National Science Foundation, Research in Disabilities Education• www.catea.gatech.edu/scitrain/

SciTrain

Partners:• CATEA• CEISMC• GT Sonification Lab• Cobb County School System

Primary Goal

Perform research and development of online resources to enhance the capacities of high school science and mathematics teachers to educate students with disabilities.

Development

Develops asynchronous courses to train teachers to generate their own ideas and solutions for accommodations, including adapted curricula and laboratory activities, as well as appropriate uses of assistive technologies (AT).

Development

Features

www.catea.gatech.edu/scitrain

• Online training courses:– Accessible Science Training – Accessible Math Training – Accessible Computer Science Training

Features

• Accommodations Database• Publications Database

Faculty (and other) Partnerships

SciTrain U

• Funded by Department of Education, Office of Post-Secondary Education• www.catea.gatech.edu/scitrainu/

SciTrain U

Partners:• CATEA• CETL• ADAPTS• University of Georgia DRC

SciTrain U

A demonstration project to enhance the capacities of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) faculty and staff in colleges and universities to educate students with disabilities and improve learning for all students through Universal Design practices.

SciTrain U

Provides training for postsecondary teachers, student services staff, IT personnel and administrators – stakeholders who can work together to create lasting improvements in curricula.

SciTrain U

STU provides instruction to faculty and staff via a combination of: • web-based training modules and• in-person workshops

SciTrain U

Resources demonstrate methods for approaching access problems and train teachers to generate their own ideas and solutions for accommodations.

SciTrain U

The training materials provide instruction on the creation of adapted curricula and labs, online courses and hybrid courses.

SciTrain U

Teachers can use the site as a reference tool to answer specific questions, study individual online modules or complete entire sets

SciTrain U

SciTrain U Online Courses• Accessible STEM Teaching 101• Improved Teaching for Large Lecture Classes • Improving Online STEM Learning Environments• Improving STEM Labs

Accessible Version of this Presentation

Paul M.A. Baker, Ph.D., CACPwww.cacp.gatech.edu

paul.baker@cacp.gatech.edu

Robert L. Todd, CATEAwww.catea.gatech.edu

robert.todd@coa.gatech.edu