NSF INCLUDES Planning Grant: Developing a Shared Vision for Engaging Persons with Disabilities in Science and Engineering

Arizona State University, Scottsdale AZ

Investigators

Abstract

This NSF INCLUDES planning grant is funded by NSF Inclusion across the Nation of Communities of Learners of Underrepresented Discoverers in Engineering and Science (NSF INCLUDES), a comprehensive national initiative to enhance U.S. leadership in discoveries and innovations by focusing on diversity, inclusion and broadening participation in STEM at scale. The goal of this planning grant is to develop a network of researchers working to create a shared vision for classrooms that engage persons with disabilities, both visible and concealable, considering both a curricular and physical perspective. For the purpose of this project, a student with a disability is defined to be a student that is registered with the Disability Resource Center or equivalent office. While science and engineering education are both trending toward more active learning approaches, most active learning approaches assume that students are able-bodied. At the same time, many higher education classrooms, particularly large lecture halls used for introductory science and engineering courses, were designed and constructed prior to current Americans with Disabilities Act regulations, so the physical spaces may present additional barriers to engaging persons with disabilities in science and engineering classrooms. The approach to this shared visioning project is to convene workshops that bring together faculty, disability resource staff, and capital projects staff to develop a common agenda for creating inclusive classrooms that effectively engage persons with disabilities. In particular, two workshops will be convened to outline the goals of inclusive classroom pedagogy and (physical) design and highlight relevant research and best practices in each. The first workshop will seek to bring pedagogical knowledge to physical space designers and vice versa, enabling each group to think more critically about how their work impacts the other. The second workshop will focus on implementation of inclusive classrooms, highlighting successes and challenging participants to develop a plan to design and build inclusive classrooms and pedagogies that can be shared more broadly. It is expected that this second workshop will also focus on developing an innovative research agenda and plan for designing pedagogy and classrooms that better engage all learners, while ensuring engagement of persons with disabilities, both visible and concealable. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.