RDE-FRI: Effects of Teaching with Tablet PCs with Asynchronous Student Access in Post-Secondary STEM Courses on Students with Learning Disabilities (TTASA-SWLD)

Tennessee Technological University, Cookeville TN

Investigators

Abstract

The project RDE-FRI: Effects of Teaching with Tablet PCs with Asynchronous Student Access in Post-Secondary STEM Courses on Students with Learning Disabilities (TTASA-SWLD) is a 36-month, $299,994 dollar award funded by the Research in Disabilities Education (RDE) program's Focused Research Initiatives (FRI) track. This project is investigating the academic success, academic persistence and attitude of students with learning disabilities in postsecondary STEM courses when instructors use tablet PCs and provide students with asynchronous access to all course lecture content. This experienced project team is training approximately 20 STEM faculty and recruiting 40 students with learning disabilities enrolled in STEM coursework from Tennessee Technological University (TTU) and from three (3) partnering institutions: Tennessee State University (TSU), an Historically Black University, Nashville State Community College (NSCC) and Roane State Community College (RSCC). STEM faculty who already use tablet PCs are receiving training about how to teach students with learning disabilities and how to use asynchronous instruction, and STEM faculty who are unfamiliar with tablet PCs are participating in the same training as well as additional sessions about how to maximize the use of tablet PCs in STEM education. The effects of STEM faculty using tablet PCs and the accessibility of asynchronous course content are being studied with two (2) experimental groups of students with learning disabilities, two (2) control groups of students with learning disabilities, and two (2) comparison groups of students without learning disabilities. The project addresses two (2) of the FRI track goals: To investigate effective instructional methods and practices for people with disabilities in STEM; and to add value to the education of persons with disabilities in STEM by implementing the use of technologies in educational environments. There is a formative and summative project evaluation plan which includes working with an experienced independent external evaluator on a regular basis. There is also a dissemination plan that includes providing study results on the TTU STEM Center website, presenting findings at national professional meetings in the areas of STEM college teaching and university disability services, and publishing in peer-reviewed post-secondary science and engineering education journals.