Example of Broadening Participation through a CAREER Award

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Example of Broadening Participation through a
CAREER Award

• CAREER Award to Gina MacDonald, James Madison
  University, began June 1998
• Became a Presidential Early Career Award for
  Scientists and Engineers in 1999
• Dr. MacDonald provided the following presentation.

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Facts

• 65,000 (1996) K-12 students in U.S. with
  significant hearing loss
• 81 educated in local schools
• special teaching, speech language therapy,
  educational interpreting, amplification
• Lack of Science Knowledge of Interpreters
• translates to fewer deaf students in the sciences

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Facts

• Advisors and administrators in public schools
  counsel deaf students away from laboratory
  sciences.
• They may fear that the students could be in
  danger
• Severe shortage of science teachers in deaf
  schools
• more serious than the shortage of science
  teachers in hearing schools
• advanced sciences are often not offered in deaf
  schools.

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Solutions?

• Interpreter training in the laboratory
• new environment
• new language
• Involve Deaf undergraduates students in research
• Encourage high school students and teachers
• Supportive environment for research students

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JMU Strengths

• Research with undergraduates Teaching
• Summer Research 14 years
• NSF-REU Site approximately 10 years
• Education and Outreach to Local Schools
• Outstanding Communication Sciences and Disorders
  Department

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Research, Education, Outreach - NSF-CAREER-
REU-RET

• Involving undergraduates in research
• Supporting New and Senior Faculty
• Involving high school teachers in research
• Excited science teacher excited students
• Involving high school students in research
• Used active summer research foundation provided
  by the REU for trial outreach programs

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Evolution of the Program(note first two summers
PECASE funding only)

• Summer 1
• Mike Marzolf VSDB teacher
• Laurie Kain, JMU undergraduate wanted to be a
  teacher
• Chris Colbert-interpreter

?
?
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Evolution of the Program

• Summer 3 2000 - The Brave new World
• Teacher interpreting student (RET supplement to
  Chem-REU)
• Interpreter trainee and Faculty (JMU funding)
• 3 Gallaudet Students (MacDonald- PECASE)
• ?
• Summer 4 (2001) We have arrived?
• REU, match, additional
• 2 interpreting students, 3 college students, K-12
  teacher
• Program is fully integrated into the REU Site
  program
• additional faculty mentor EXPANSION

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Current Goals

• Encourage ALL students to continue in the
  sciences
• Important experiences for all hearing students
• Expand research opportunities for teachers
• opportunity to update and share their scientific
  skills with high school students and
  undergraduates
• Familiarize the next generation of interpreters
  and educators with the laboratory
• Scientists are really not that unusual

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Students and Interpreters
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Interpreting Students
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What Have We Learned?

• To recruit Deaf students into the sciences
• Need interpreters comfortable with the language
  and laboratory
• Direct interaction of faculty
• with students works best

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Benefits

• Hearing students more likely to include students
  with disabilities in their future careers
• Retains and excites teachers and students
• Similar techniques can be used to incorporate any
  minority or disabled student
• Long way to go before the population is reflected
  in the scientific community
• Opportunity to learn about culture - language

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Resources

• Brenda C. Seal, Dorothy Wynne, and Gina
  MacDonald(2002) Journal of Chemical Education,
  79, 239-243.
• Teaching Chemistry to Students With Disabilities
• http//membership.acs.org/C/CWD/teaching/start.htm
  
• Dr. Harry Lang http//www.rit.edu/comets/pages/f
  eaturespages/newsletters/comets7.html
  http//www.rit.edu/490www/Individuals/langh.html
• Caccamise and Lang
• Signs for Science and Mathematics A Resource
  Book for Teachers and Students
• http//www.gallaudet.edu/
• B.C. Seal Best Practices in Educational
  Interpreting

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

• Student Interpreters
• Lacey Hansen, Heather Hogston, Cristin Crabtree,
  Alexis Thompkins
• Chris Colbert- Interpreter
• Teachers
• Dorothy Wynne, Michael Marzolf, Yuko Suguiko,
  Deidra Coles
• Gallaudet and RIT students Ron Petruchi, Michael
  Wynne, Daniel Lundberg, Natalie Ludwig, Amber
  Marchut, Marcy Knox

• NSF-MCB-9733566
• NSF REU, RET

James Madison University
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Overall

• Start small
• Expand improve expand resources
• Have faculty who are truly interested in the
  outcome of the project
• Faculty initiated, student supported FUN