RDE-DEI: ACCESS TO ADVANCEMENT: An Audio Exploration of the National Effort to Increase the Role of Women with Disabilities in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics

Wamc Northeast Public Radio, Albany NY

Investigators

Abstract

The RDE-DEI: ACCESS TO ADVANCEMENT: An Audio Exploration of the National Effort to Increase the Role of Women with Disabilities in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics is an Information Dissemination project builds upon several of WAMC Northeast Public Radio's previous NSF-funded projects focusing on dissemination about women in STEM (HRD-0114472, HRD-0225030, HRD-0332765, HRD-0436130, and HRD-0631603). WAMC's long-term goal for this project is for its nationally-distributed radio programs to play an important information dissemination role in the national effort to broaden the participation and achievement of women with disabilities in all fields of STEM education and associated professional careers. In the shorter-term--over the two year period of the project--WAMC's goals are: 1) to extend to significant national radio audiences, and to target audiences of teachers, professors, researchers, guidance counselors, institutional and organizational leaders, parents and young women, awareness and information about products, pedagogical approaches, teaching and learning practices, and research for broadening the participation of women with disabilities in STEM education and careers; and, 2) to introduce national radio and target audiences to fascinating and dedicated women and girls with disabilities who have been involved with these products, approaches and practices; relating their individual stories and personal achievements. WAMC anticipates the following broad impacts associated with this project: 1. Reaching millions of radio listeners in the general public, who will hear the radio stories and thus obtain in-depth information about projects and programs working to increase the participation of women and girls with disabilities in STEM; and about the educational goals, career paths or achievements of individual women with disabilities in STEM; 2. Reaching and educating a targeted audience of young women with an emphasis on reaching and educating young women with disabilities through the radio stories, who will have the opportunity to learn that STEM education and careers are possible and within reach. The stories will also provide them with in-depth information about programs that may be available to them, and introduce them to women with disabilities who are successfully pursuing STEM educational paths or working in STEM careers; 3. Reaching and educating a targeted audience of researchers, professors, teachers, guidance counselors, institutional and organizational leaders and parents, providing them with in-depth information about projects and programs working to increase the participation of women and girls with disabilities in STEM, which they may use to inform or change their own programs or practices; or pursue additional research. They will also learn about the educational goals, career paths or achievements of individual women with disabilities in STEM that they can share with students, fellow educators and researchers; and 4. Providing a fully accessible, web-based "go-to" source (the WAMC Women in STEM website) for the general public, all targeted audiences and members of the broadcast and print media to access anytime for radio stories about the national effort to increase the role of women and girls in STEM.