A Virtual Academic Community for Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Students in STEM Lisa B. Elliot & Benjamin Rubin Rochester Institute of Technology 29th Annual International Technology and Persons with Disabilities Conference, San Diego, CA March 19, 2014 Overview -Who we are -Rationale for the project -Review of model components -Academic community activities -Recruiting strategies -Monitoring community usage -Future activities -Q & A -Who We Are Deaf STEM Community Alliance ĐOnly Alliance targeted to a single disability -Supported by the National Science Foundation, HRD #1127955 -3-5 year project (Sept 2011- Aug 2016) ĐNow in our 3rd year Campus Partners -Rochester Institute of Technology, Rochester, NY (lead) -Camden County College, Blackwood, NJ (community college partner) -Cornell University, Ithaca, NY (university partner) Project Rationale -Participation gap in STEM for students who are deaf or hard of hearing (D/HH) ĐNational average graduation rate for D/HH bachelorƠs degree: 23% (vs. 73% at RIT/NTID) (all subjects) ĐBetween 1997-2006, 420 out of 265,790 (~.2%) of new STEM PhDs were D/HH ĐEmployment differentials in STEM: -Hearing 17.9% v 15.5% D/HH -Hearing in higher-earning STEM sectors than D/HH Contributing barriers: ĐStudent preparation (STEM basic skills, concepts) ĐSocialization (peers, role models) ĐAccessible media Project Rationale -Solution: Deaf STEM Community Alliance -Student preparation Remote tutoring Remote captioning Remote interpreting -Socialization Remote mentoring Peer interaction -Accessible media Curated collection of STEM resources Goal and Objectives Goal: Create a model virtual academic community to increase the graduation rates of postsecondary D/HH STEM majors in the long term Đ Iterative and incremental (Cockburn, 2008) Iterative Đ testing what works and revising what doesnƠt Incremental Đ building model in stages instead of all at once Goal and Objectives -Objectives Document and disseminate a description of the process of creating a model VAC for replication Increase the GPAs and retention rates of D/HH students in STEM majors DHHVAC Model Components -Student Preparation Elements: Remote Tutoring (Years 1-5) Remote Captioning (Years 4-5) Remote Interpreting (Years 4-5) Remote Tutoring -Tutoring Models RIT Faculty/RIT Students: (RIT-RIT) Faculty in office, students in nearby learning center (RIT-RIT) Faculty in office or other space on campus, students at home RIT Grad Student/Camden Students ĐOnly remote! RIT Off-Campus Adjunct/RIT Students ĐOnly remote! Cornell Student Tutor/Cornell Student ĐTutor in office, student in nearby learning center Remote Tutoring -Framework based on traditional, face-to-face model used at NTID Đ2011-12, RIT/NTID provided more than 14,000 hours in STEM tutoring to D/HH students registered in courses in 8 STEM-related colleges at RIT (Applied Science & Technology; Computing & Information Science; Engineering; Imaging Arts & Sciences; Science) (~500 students) ĐFaculty members provide individual and small group sessions to support students outside of class -Appointment-based (not walk-in) ĐSynchronous vs. asynchronous models Remote (Synchronous) Tutoring Strategies -1:1 or 1:several tutoring sessions -Google+ Hangouts as videoconference/chat platform -15 min-3 hr sessions -Appointment-based scheduling -Homework-oriented (vs. basic skills) -Macs, PCs, desktops, laptops, Chromebooks -Synchronous Tutoring Benefits & Challenges of Synchronous Tutoring -Benefits ĐGood tool for sharing documents ĐEasy to search & highlight key phrases with student ĐGood for observing studentsƠ homework and watching for mistakes, providing faster feedback ĐGood for classes with heavy online component ĐBetter accommodation to student schedules ĐMeet multiple students at same time -Challenges ĐDigital whiteboard ĐUnannounced changes in Google+ interface ĐEye contact & turn-taking different online Remote (Asynchronous) Tutoring Strategies -1:1 tutoring sessions -eMail & VP messages, photos, diagrams, handouts, shared documents -Homework-oriented (vs. basic skills) -Macs, PCs, desktops, laptops, Chromebooks Asynchronous Tutoring Benefits & Challenges -Benefits ĐProvided flexibility for travel when there were time differences between tutor and student or other schedule conflicts ĐAllows students to process material at their own pace -Challenges ĐHelping students to problem-solve Remote Tutoring Đ Lessons Learned So Far -Tutoring strategies ĐSynchronous v asynchronous -Scheduling ĐAppointments v ̉walk-inÓ -Challenges ĐNetwork/browser inconsistencies ĐTraining & technical assistance ĐGoogle+ UI changes -Strategies ĐEthernet connection/Chrome browser ĐOngoing feedback & technical assistance ĐOn-line guides ĐGoogle Educational Enterprise account Socialization -Remote mentoring ĐD/HH STEM professionals -Personalized recruiting -Application including background check -Google+ presence ĐMentoring platforms -Google+ private community -Google+ Hangouts -Email -Face-to-face meetings Socialization -Peer-to-peer (community) interaction ĐGoogle+ private community -STEM articles of interest -Share student schedules -Announcements (events, internships, scholarships) -Open forum for mentors to provide 1-to many mentoring in forms of ĐInformation sharing (e.g., pictures of work) ĐJob opportunities ĐOffers for assistance Socialization Đ Lessons Learned Thus Far -Someone to facilitate engagement -Encourage through personal contact -Weekly newsletters -Critical mass of participants -Started Google+ Private Community with about 25 participants (January, 2013) -Activity increased with approximately 55 participants (December, 2013) -Current membership 62 participants Accessible Media -Curated STEM Resource library on our public website: www.dhhvac.org ĐProject publications and presentations ĐRelevant work by others ĐSTEM ASL dictionaries (e.g., ASL-STEM Forum) ĐLinks to accessible STEM resources (e.g. Khan Academy, Math for College) -STEM-relevant articles and videos in Google + Private community Accessible MediaÑLessons Learned Thus Far -Importance of being assertive! ĐNot all videos are captioned ĐSometimes, captioned versions are available, but havenƠt been posted Recruiting Strategies -Tutors ĐDepartment Chairs ĐIndividual contacts ĐProfessional development training session -Students ĐTutors ĐIndividual contacts -Mentors ĐRecommendations from administration ĐAlumni association ĐIndividual contacts Monitoring Community Usage -Google+ Private community: Relatively easy, manual caluculation -Hangouts: Somewhat easy-need notification of hangout -Enterprise email account: somewhat easy, but inconsistent use by participants -Chat: DifficultÑno way to count Future Activities -Remote Captioning -Remote Interpreting -Manual on Remote Tutoring -Manual on Remote Mentoring Discussion -Questions? -Answers! Contact Information Deaf STEM Community Alliance http://www.dhhvac.org Thank you!