P. I.: Steven Wolfe Gilbert Children who do not get a solid foundation in science and mathematics during their K-12 years will not be properly prepared to study science, mathematics, engineering or technology (SMET) successfully in college. Too often students with disabilities fall into this group of being under-prepared for SMET study in higher education. This project is designed to help educators prepare K-12 students with disabilities for further study and work in the SMET fields. The project includes a component that focuses on transitions from high school to post-secondary institutions so reference is frequently made to K-16 students as well as K-12 students. The mission of EASI (Equal Access to Software and Information) is to develop, organize, and disseminate information and provide guidance about using adaptive computing and electronic information resources to help students and faculty with disabilities participate fully in academic life. EASI has acquired an almost ten-year reputation for compiling and distributing the latest information about adaptive technology for people with disabilities. Since January of 1995, EASI has been working on an NSF project that compiled and disseminated the best available information about adaptive computer technology use in the SMET fields in post-secondary education. EASI is now extending this previous work, with a strong focus on K-12 and the transition between secondary and post-secondary education. Additional consultants with greater expertise in K-12 adaptive computing and SMET teaching strategies are helping to build a new foundation of information and create new dissemination materials and services. Outcomes will include conference presentations, print materials, online workshops, etc. focusing on: Adaptive computer technology appropriate for use with effective teaching strategies for students with disabilities in SMET courses in K-12; Teaching strategies that help students learn both the adaptive technology and th e academic disciplines; Motivating K-12 students with disabilities for success in SMET; Providing information on strategies and tools that will help students with disabilities meet the emerging national standards for K-12 mathematics and science; and Promoting better transition from high school to post-secondary education for students with disabilities. The materials that AAHE/EASI develops for this project will be designed primarily for the use of K-12 Individualized Education Plan coordinators, SMET faculty, K-16 administrators, and special education coordinators (and for those schools of education who work directly with current and potential K-12 teachers).
