RDE-FRI: The Effects of Dyslexia on Scientists' Analysis of Astrophysical Data

Smithsonian Institution Astrophysical Observatory, Cambridge MA

Investigators

Abstract

The project RDE-FRI: The Effects of Dyslexia on Scientists' Analysis of Astrophysical Data is a 17-month, $299,999 dollar award funded by the Research in Disabilities Education (RDE) program's Focused Research Initiatives (FRI) track. The primary goal of this project is to investigate the hypothesis that scientists who have dyslexia, when compared to those scientists without dyslexia, evidence context-dependent advantages and disadvantages when using and processing computer imaging displays. These predicted advantages include discerning image features that are dependent on making visual comparisons across a single figure and identifying or locating objects embedded in a distracting background, when the background is familiar. The predicted disadvantages include identifying or locating objects embedded in an unfamiliar distracting background and making visual comparisons across multiple figures. This project builds on the prior success of the PI's investigations that have been funded by the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics (HSCA) to study the characteristics of scientists with dyslexia. This team from the Smithsonian Institution Astrophysical Observatory (SIAO), which is lead by a researcher with dyslexia and who is an expert from the HSCA's science education department, is conducting a series of behavioral laboratory protocols with scientists to determine the presence or absence of dyslexia and the visual-spatial skills of the subjects. The proposal includes a quasi-experimental design to compare the performance of 22 astrophysicists with dyslexia to a matched comparison cohort of 22 astrophysicists without dyslexia; subjects are being recruited from both the HSCA and the American Astronomical Society. The project addresses a key need in the RDE community: To demonstrate the value added component of a disabling condition, that is, dyslexia, as part of the career success of researchers in science fields. There is a formative and summative project evaluation plan which is being conducted by an external evaluator, Illona Holland, from the Harvard University's Graduate School of Education. Additional formative project input is provided by a team of expert advisors who include Kurt Fischer, the Director of the Harvard University's Mind Brain and Education Program; Marc Pomplun, the Director of the University of Massachusetts-Boston's Visual Attention Laboratory; Marisa Carrasco, the Chair of New York University's Psychology Department; and Susanna Martinez-Conde, Director of the Laboratory of Visual Neuroscience at the Barrow Neurological Institute. There is also a dissemination plan which includes sharing information with the RDE community at the annual PI meeting, publishing in peer-reviewed professional journals, and presenting information to the Council of Chief State School Officers.