This award is supporting implementation of a special professional development opportunity for current and future geoscience faculty and teaching assistants that is aimed at increasing capacity for educating students with disabilities in the geosciences and engaging them in geoscience education and career pathways. This program, which will be launched at the 34th International Geological Congress in Brisbane Australia (Symposium 1.2. Geoscience Education Theme 1: Geoscience for Society) and repeated at the 2012 Geological Society of America (GSA) annual meeting in Charlotte, North Carolina. This project is the outgrowth of a new collaboration between the International Advisory for Geoscience Diversity (IAGD) and the International Union of Geological Sciences/Commission on Geoscience Education, Training and Technology Transfer (IUGS/COGE). This instructional workshop is specifically designed for faculty who may need assistance in modifying course materials to include and accommodate students with disabilities. Most faculty members are not adequately prepared to include students with disabilities but are faced with the immediate challenge of retrofitting accommodations when such students arrive at their classes. The highlight of this professional development workshop session will be a first-hand perspective from students with disabilities involved in the presentation and workshop activities. Student presenters will discuss their experiences in the geosciences, and how instructional materials and activities can be accommodated to include them in every aspect of geoscience education. This workshop is being offered at no cost to the participants, in order to self-promote the effort of classroom accessibility and to disseminate the materials and teaching strategies as broadly as possible.
Overview An innovative faculty development course combining geoscience education and disabilities studies was developed to teach the concepts of Universal Design for Learning for accommodating geoscience students with disabilities. This course targeted instructors at all levels of experience; those who have never had to modify a course, to those who have a great deal of experience accommodating students of various abilities. A secondary outcome of this workshop connected attending faculty to an experienced community of people who teach students with disabilities, thus expanding the network of faculty and students who can share ideas, resources and curricula. The design and presentation of this course was informed by current research focused on students with disabilities and understanding both the external, physical barriers to access and inclusion to the geoscience curriculum, and the internal, personal, psychological and social challenges that these students face. This course was facilitated by members of the International Association for Geoscience Diversity (IAGD), including a student member of the IAGD who offered a first-hand perspective of learning geoscience content with a disability. The workshop presented many topics, including theories of disability, barriers students may face, possible accommodations, and shared accommodation strategies and ideas. Course participants gave unanimously positive feedback and many said they would recommend the course to others. Unfortunately, such workshops attract people who are already convinced of the benefits. Those we need to reach are not familiar with working with students with disabilities. Until such a student enters the classroom, many instructors do not see the benefit of knowing how to modify their instruction to accommodate them. We hope to change that with continued offerings and promoting the benefits of this workshop. The workshop topics included: Utilizing best practices for accommodating students with disabilities and understanding the spectrum of abilities and physical and non-physical barriers to learning Developing course materials and activities through principles of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) Understanding aspects of lesson plans and activities that have helped a variety of students with disabilities Learning how to find resources for accommodating students Creating opportunities for faculty to develop activities and/or lessons for their own students Workshop offerings This workshop was offered at the 2012 International Geologic Congress (IGC) in Brisbane, Australia and at the Geological Society of America (GSA) 2012 Annual Meeting in Charlotte, North Carolina. This workshop is scheduled to be presented at the 2013 American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting. Discussions are ongoing for presenting it regionally, hosted at area universities for K-12 earth science teachers and community college faculty. Results International Geologic Congress (IGC) in Brisbane, Australia Participants registered – 81 Participants attended – 0 Possible reasons for lack of attendance – 1. This was offered as a pre-conference workshop, no information about workshop location was posted in the conference venue. Initial registration opened after the workshop concluded. Participants did not receive their conference guidebooks until registration. 2. This workshop was offered free to participants. Since there was no financial obligation, perhaps participants did not worry about attending a workshop that was difficult to find. 3. The workshop was scheduled to begin at 8 o’clock on Sunday morning. Lessons learned Make sure the conference has information regarding about short courses independent of regardless of conference registration Do not offer a free workshop (or offer a refund for attendance) Communicate with participants early and often Geological Society of America 2012 Annual Meeting in Charlotte, NC USA Participants registered – 8 Participants attended – 9 (student registration worker stayed and attended the workshop) Lessons utilized Minimal registration fee was charged; refunded after completion of the course Pre-workshop communication with the participants was enhanced and preliminary discussions about workshop content were established. Select feedback: "I got clarification and direction and resources, what are we really trying to accomplish and for who… somewhere to start" "More things to add to my bag of tricks, data sonification, audio labeling pen, I'm in awe of the things I see." "Learning ideas and appreciating the challenges, not just with disabilities but with all students." The outcome of the two workshops provides a blueprint for future iterations of faculty development opportunities. The interaction with conference attendees and workshop participants helps to promote research-based instruction on accessibility in geoscience classrooms, laboratories, and field-based learning experiences. Preliminary results of both workshops were discussed during a technical session at the 2012 GSA Annual Meeting in Charlotte, NC, USA.
