Making undergraduate STEM more accessible: experiences and environments.
Session Type
Plenary
Room
The Great Hall, Somerville House (room 3326)
Start Date
17-7-2025 9:00 AM
End Date
17-7-2025 10:00 AM
Keywords
accessibility, accommodations, inclusive teaching, labs, experiential
Primary Threads
Teaching and Learning Science
Abstract
Inclusive practices, such as universal design and increased flexibility, have become standard in many courses. However, undergraduate science teaching labs, and other analogous course components that are critical spaces for experiential learning, have been slower to evolve. These components play a vital role in developing both discipline-specific and transferable skills, yet they often present barriers for students with disabilities. Accommodations for these components are often a “black box:” typically neither accessibility counsellors nor students have the disciplinary expertise to determine appropriate accommodations while instructors have often been “raised” in science with an ableist viewpoint. Because of this lack of support accommodations often put additional work on the instructor and require time and energy of students with disabilities they may not have, and more than their non-disabled peers. Recognizing the need for more accessible and inclusive science labs, we employed a multi-pronged approach to better understand and reduce inequities. We created the OBSIDIAN Lab Accessibility Checklist – mOBility; viSIon (blindness and low vision); Deaf and hard of hearing; learnIng and attention; general & mental heAlth; and uNiversal design – and evaluated our foundational biology, chemistry, and physics labs for how well they support students with disabilities. We complemented this with surveys and interviews of students with disabilities and instructors (course directors, TAs, lab technicians) about their experiences requesting, accessing, and providing accommodations. In this collaborative plenary, we will share results and exchange strategies that can drive meaningful change in quality of lab (and other experiential learning spaces) accommodations—while decreasing the workload required to provide them—as well as challenges and lessons learned. Ethics certificate 2024-146. So that you can participate in polls and other discussion elements, please bring your own device (smartphone, laptop, tablet).
Elements of Engagement
Using polling and small group discussions, we will engage participants in identifying barriers and crowdsourcing solutions to enhance accessibility in undergraduate lab experiences. We will also explore how a national community of practice for offering accommodations in science-specific environments, such as the lab or field can provide support to colleagues and reduce workload.
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Making undergraduate STEM more accessible: experiences and environments.
The Great Hall, Somerville House (room 3326)
Inclusive practices, such as universal design and increased flexibility, have become standard in many courses. However, undergraduate science teaching labs, and other analogous course components that are critical spaces for experiential learning, have been slower to evolve. These components play a vital role in developing both discipline-specific and transferable skills, yet they often present barriers for students with disabilities. Accommodations for these components are often a “black box:” typically neither accessibility counsellors nor students have the disciplinary expertise to determine appropriate accommodations while instructors have often been “raised” in science with an ableist viewpoint. Because of this lack of support accommodations often put additional work on the instructor and require time and energy of students with disabilities they may not have, and more than their non-disabled peers. Recognizing the need for more accessible and inclusive science labs, we employed a multi-pronged approach to better understand and reduce inequities. We created the OBSIDIAN Lab Accessibility Checklist – mOBility; viSIon (blindness and low vision); Deaf and hard of hearing; learnIng and attention; general & mental heAlth; and uNiversal design – and evaluated our foundational biology, chemistry, and physics labs for how well they support students with disabilities. We complemented this with surveys and interviews of students with disabilities and instructors (course directors, TAs, lab technicians) about their experiences requesting, accessing, and providing accommodations. In this collaborative plenary, we will share results and exchange strategies that can drive meaningful change in quality of lab (and other experiential learning spaces) accommodations—while decreasing the workload required to provide them—as well as challenges and lessons learned. Ethics certificate 2024-146. So that you can participate in polls and other discussion elements, please bring your own device (smartphone, laptop, tablet).