Eastern Alliance in Science, Technology, Engineering,

and Mathematics

Funded by the National Science Foundation

under Cooperative Agreement #HRD-0333316

The Benefits of Research Experiences for

Undergraduates with Disabilities

Presentation to the Presentation to the Association of Science Teacher Education Association of Science Teacher Education

Northeast Regional MeetingNortheast Regional MeetingAmherst, MassachusettsAmherst, Massachusetts

October 27, 2005October 27, 2005

Purpose of the Study

To investigate the nature and quality of undergraduate research experiences for undergraduates with disabilities at three institutions of higher education in New England

To explore the contributions of these undergraduate research experiences to the personal and professional lives of the undergraduates

Background

Scientists play a vital role in the U.S. educational system, in industrial competition, and in the generation of new knowledge.

A challenge for our country is to attract the best talent from all sources to stimulate creativity, innovation, and change in order to advance science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM).

Persons with disabilities are a smaller proportion of the science and engineering labor force than they are of the labor force in general (National Science Foundation, 2004).

Background

Participation in undergraduate research experiences has some positive benefits including: interest in the discipline; recruitment of students of color; persistence; career preparation; networking; improved research, laboratory, critical thinking, and communication skills; self-confidence; and involvement in learning (Seymour, Hunter, Laursen, & Deantoni, 2004).

No research studies have addressed the participation of students with disabilities in undergraduate research experiences.

EAST Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Program

Funds may support summer research by students with disabilities or projects that will lead to improved access to STEM.

Students meet regularly with faculty research supervisors to review progress towards the research goals and objectives.

EAST SURF Program (continued)

Students submit a written report and present the results of their project in an oral or poster format at EAST’s annual conference in early November.

Five students from three institutions of higher education in New England participated in summer 2004.

Annie

Senior; majoring in chemistry “Use of a Microwave Oven to Speed Drying the

Sol-Gel Process” Has documented learning differences and

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)

Bonnie

Junior; majoring in environmental engineering “Cleanup of Bedrock Contamination Using in

situ Bioremediation Techniques” Has a hearing impairment

Charlie

Sophomore; majoring in electrical and computer engineering

“Accessible Introductory Computer Science” Does not have a disability; worked on a team

with another student who is blind

Drew

Senior; majoring in computer science and psychology

“Accessible Introductory Computer Science” Does not have a disability; worked on a team

with another student who is blind

Ethan

Sophomore; will probably major in computer science

“Accessible Introductory Computer Science” Has been blind since high school

Instruments, Data Collection, and Analysis

The students completed survey questionnaires and participated in interviews at the end of their research experiences.

Responses to the questionnaires were tabulated, and frequencies were calculated.

All interviews were recorded and transcribed. Data from the interviews were descriptively

summarized and coded according to themes and subthemes.

Preliminary Results and Discussion

The results were categorized and summarized into three broad themes: challenges, mentoring, and career choices.

Challenges

The students did not view their disability as being problematic in the laboratory but rather as necessitating adjustments in their own approach to conducting research:

It is very one-on-one and so I don’t have a problem. With my hearing it is harder when there is a group of people, and I think someone without a hearing impairment might find the same thing to communicate. (Bonnie)

Challenges

The positive experience of overcoming the scientific challenges of the research was a prevalent theme:

A lot of time in chemistry you can’t explain it and you figure out what the pattern is and go from there. This is also something I have had to learn that you can’t always have an answer and you need to say to yourself that I don’t know what it is but let me figure out how it is related. (Annie)

Mentoring

The participants in this study viewed mentoring with some ambivalence. One student looked to the research supervisor as a mentor and considered her to be a source of motivation, facilitation, and encouragement:

[My mentor] is probably one of the most feared people in the science department because she is tough. I don’t have a doubt when whatever I decide to go on to, you know [my mentor] will have prepared me for it. She is also very athletic and I am athletic so we talk and bike and we talk about running. We have a good and fun relationship as well. (Annie)

Mentoring

Several students, while recognizing that the research supervisor provided critical guidance, did not view the supervisor as a mentor:

I thought that he was going to be hard. Now, with this project he is a great mentor. He advises you, gives you special attention. His help was crucial. He had good leadership. (Charlie)

Mentoring

One student firmly resisted having a mentor. She preferred to rely on her own personal resources:

I look up to my parents a lot. I try not to have a mentor and be my own person and maybe my name will be remembered in my high school. It sounds cheesy and corny. (Bonnie)

Career Choices

The EAST SURF program was pivotal in the future plans of the students and instilled a desire to continue on in their fields:

I have always been an environmental engineer, but now I KNOW I want to be an environmental engineer! Now I am very familiar with the lab and familiar with the types of machines that are used and even just simple things as how to wash a vial and autoclave it. (Bonnie)

Career Choices

As a result of their summer research experiences, at least three of the SURFs planned to attend graduate school:

I would like to ultimately get my PhD, but I can always get my master’s in two years and decide what I want to do. [The SURF] has definitely opened up a great new door. (Annie)

Discussion

All the students reported that they would not have participated in the summer research experiences were it not for the funding that they received from EAST.

The findings of this study confirmed the results of other researchers in that the students were able to gain confidence and that the research experiences supported them in thinking and working as researchers.

Discussion (continued)

The SURF motivated the students to pursue advanced study in science and to consider careers in which they were unsure they could achieve.

The research experience may have allowed these students to create and be their own role models and realize that individuals with disabilities can be successful in STEM.

Questions for Further Research

What aspects of the SURF served as catalysts for connecting students with STEM pathways?

What activities of the SURF helped to sustain the students’ motivation and interest in STEM?

Questions for Further Research

In what critical ways did the research supervisors support the students so that they could be successful?

What was the impact of the SURF on the individual research supervisors?

References

Johnson, R. B., & Onwuegbuzie, A. J. (2004). Mixed methods research: A research paradigm whose time has come. Educational Researcher, 33(7), 14-26.

Kardash, C. M. (2002). Undergraduate research experiences: Male and female interns' perceptions of goals, gains, and disappointments. Las Vegas, NV: University of Nevada-Las Vegas.

Lopatto, D. (2001). Short-term impact of the undergraduate research experience: Results of the first summer survey 2001.

References

National Science Foundation. (2004). Women, minorities, and persons with disabilities in science and engineering: 2004. Reston, VA: National Science Foundation.

Seymour, E. (2001). Tracking the process of change in U.S. undergraduate education in science, mathematics, engineering, and technology. Science Education, 86, 79-105.

Seymour, E., Hunter, A., Laursen, S. L., & Deantoni, T. (2004). Establishing the benefits of research experiences for undergraduates in the sciences. First findings from a three-year study. Science Education, 88, 493-534.

References

Wang, H. A., Houang, R., Schmidt, W., Gould, C., & Pennypacker, C. (2004, April). Salient issues in the development and evaluation of the Web-based teacher training methods for the hands-on science universe curriculum. Paper presented at the annual conference of the American Educational Research Association, San Diego, CA.

Thank you!

Nancy Lightbody

nancy@lightbody.org

Eastern Alliance in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (EAST)

Voice: (207) 688-4573, ext. 148

TTY: (207) 688-4591

Eastern Alliance in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics

www.EASTalliance.orgwww.EASTalliance.org