The Universal Design and Technology for Students with Disabilities in STEM Fields is an enrichment project that will advance the field?s knowledge of how Hispanic students with disabilities transition from high school to post-secondary education, which student interventions and faculty training strategies improve the success of Hispanic undergraduate students completing Algebra and Pre-Calculus gateway courses, and how Hispanic-serving institutions collaborate with regional minority-serving secondary and post-secondary institutions to collect baseline data and pilot student interventions for a future Alliance for Students with Disabilities in STEM.
The goals of this project are to:
(1) Create a system to collect and analyze data on students with disabilities in local high schools and community colleges who identify an interest in the STEM fields;
(2) Use technology to create an online learning center for faculty and students with disabilities in the gateway post-secondary math classes; and
(3) Train faculty to use universal design in post-secondary gateway math courses to assist students with disabilities majoring in a STEM field through the critical juncture of transition from high school to a university setting.
This proposed project provides the foundation for a future proposed Alliance for Students with Disabilities in STEM with local high schools, community colleges and the University of Texas at San Antonio; the Alliance will be a national model for STEM programs for students with disabilities at Hispanic serving institutions.
Dr. Abelardo Villarreal, who is the Director of Field Services for the Intercultural Development Research Association, is the external evaluator for the project. The project information and findings will be disseminated to the public via professional conference presentations, journal publications, and a project website.
