| NSF Org: |
EES Div. of Equity for Excellence in STEM |
| Recipient: |
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| Initial Amendment Date: | September 20, 2011 |
| Latest Amendment Date: | August 19, 2014 |
| Award Number: | 1145541 |
| Award Instrument: | Continuing Grant |
| Program Manager: |
Mark Leddy
EES Div. of Equity for Excellence in STEM EDU Directorate for STEM Education |
| Start Date: | October 1, 2011 |
| End Date: | September 30, 2015 (Estimated) |
| Total Intended Award Amount: | $588,120.00 |
| Total Awarded Amount to Date: | $637,678.00 |
| Funds Obligated to Date: |
FY 2012 = $49,558.00 FY 2013 = $281,074.00 |
| History of Investigator: |
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| Recipient Sponsored Research Office: |
1601 VATTIER STREET MANHATTAN KS US 66506-2504 (785)532-6804 |
| Sponsor Congressional District: |
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| Primary Place of Performance: |
2 Fairchild Hall Manhattan KS US 66506-1103 |
| Primary Place of
Performance Congressional District: |
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| Unique Entity Identifier (UEI): |
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| Parent UEI: |
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| NSF Program(s): |
Disabilities Research in STEM, Project & Program Evaluation |
| Primary Program Source: |
04001213DB NSF Education & Human Resource 04001314DB NSF Education & Human Resource |
| Program Reference Code(s): |
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| Program Element Code(s): |
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| Award Agency Code: | 4900 |
| Fund Agency Code: | 4900 |
| Assistance Listing Number(s): | 47.076 |
ABSTRACT
The "Research in Disabilities Education Synthesis Project" is conducting a four year synthesis research project to summarize the contributions of the NSF's Research in Disabilities Education (RDE) program. The activities include investigating, synthesizing and reporting the findings and contributions from a decade (2001-2011) of funded projects from RDE. The intent is to inform secondary and postsecondary stakeholders about lessons learned in broadening the participation of students with disabilities in STEM, as well as providing NSF with a summary of the accomplishments of the RDE programs from 2001-2011. Several basic synthesis research questions guide this work:
1. How well have RDE projects met their project goals?
2. How have projects impacted their target audiences (e.g. faculty, students, teachers, and parents)?
3. In what ways have RDE projects contributed to the goals of RDE, HRD, EHR and NSF?
4. What is the contribution of the RDE-funded Research/Demonstration and Alliance/Enrichment projects to the knowledge base of STEM education of students with disabilities (SWD), educational transitions within the STEM "pipeline," student success in STEM courses and programs, and other related topics?
5. What is the impact of RDE-funded Alliances to the number and quality of SWD transitioned, retained, and completing associates or bachelors? degrees in STEM fields and the number of completers entering the STEM workforce or graduate STEM programs?
6. What other or unexpected outcomes were produced by these sets of RDE projects?
7. What are the primary lessons learned about the RDE program that can be elicited from the answers to questions 1-6?
The dissemination plan for this research project includes a technical report to NSF, an executive summary report suitable for broad dissemination within the government, a slide set for distribution, peer-reviewed journal articles, research presentations at conferences and meetings, and user-friendly reports placed on accessible websites.
The inclusion of an independent evaluator, Dr. Carol Fendt, a Senior Researcher and the Co-Director of the PRAIRIE Group at the University of Illinois at Chicago, will provide the project leadership team an external perspective to ensure the project activities are being executed as planned. Dr. Fendt will address the following evaluation questions:
1. What is the extent to which the researchers are meeting their goals and progressing according the project timeline and plan?
2. Were expectations reasonable and were modifications of the project work plan necessary?
3. Did processes operate as expected?
The findings from this research have the potential to significantly inform the direction of research about the STEM learning and education of students with disabilities. The long-term benefit is improved, and more focused, research that leads to advancing the educational knowledge base.
PROJECT OUTCOMES REPORT
Disclaimer
This Project Outcomes Report for the General Public is displayed verbatim as submitted by the Principal Investigator (PI) for this award. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this Report are those of the PI and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation; NSF has not approved or endorsed its content.
This study was designed to summarize contributions of the NSF’s Research in Disabilities Education (RDE) program by synthesizing information from the RDE funded projects between 2001 and 2011 to create a collection of challenges, lessons learned and suggested practices for working with Students with Disabilities (SWD). In order to conduct the synthesis, the research team for the RDE Synthesis Project (RDE-SP) identified 97 Principal Investigators (PIs), representing 117 projects which were funded in that decade. The research team contacted the 97 PIs to request their participation in the project by submitting copies of their NSF project reports and documents. A total of 43 PIs shared their reports and materials. The research team reviewed these documents and coded their content to identify challenges and impacts from the projects, then used this information to develop an online survey for the PIs in an attempt to collect feedback from a broader group of projects. RDE-SP distributed 87 surveys by email; 58 of the PIs completed and returned the questionnaires for a 67% response rate. The projects reported increased support for SWDs (36% of survey respondents) as a greatest achievement and identifying effective teaching strategies for SWDs (81%) as a key contribution to the field. Projects reported that target audiences gained skills for working with SWDs (59%). Projects, especially the Alliances, believed they benefitted their institutions by contributing to the growing awareness of the needs and potential of students with disabilities in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM). Alliances increased STEM faculty understanding and use of UDL principles, provided opportunities and supports for STEM faculty to engage with students with disabilities in STEM activities, and supported positive interactions between them. They believed that faculty in there institutions were developing greater awareness, understanding, and responsibility for students with disabilities in their courses. Other impacts reported by PIs were: more open-mindedness about the potential of students with disabilities in STEM; more engagement in advising and mentoring students with disabilities; and regular reflection about effective teaching and learning strategies that they could employ in their classes. PIs of Alliances speculated that project collaboration across campus and among partners strengthened and augmented services and resources for SWD, providing accommodations and supports for students in STEM promoted success. In many cases, PIs felt that the interventions provided by the Alliances substantially expanded the capabilities of the Disability Services Office to develop and nurture STEM talent in students with disabilities. In addition to the survey, the research team also conducted a number of other synthesis activities. These included: 1) review of the NSF solicitations between 2001 and 2011 to document how the program’s goals evolved over the decade; 2) compilation of publications developed in the RDE projects to illustrate collaboration and dissemination of results through network analysis; and 3) review of outputs from the projects, including products, resources and publications, to document contributions to the field. The research team analyzed all of these data to identify the primary lessons learned from the RDE projects funded between 2001 and 2011. Lessons related both to surprising challenges and successful solutions. In general, the lessons included: a) Identification of students with disabilities is problematic; b) Faculty and staff may have stereotypes about students with disabilities, their interest and capacity to do STEM work; c) In general, there is a paucity of resources for students with disabilities; d) Faculty and staff are often willing to make changes in thei...
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