Making Space for All: Developing Partnerships to Improve STEM Programs Including Students with Disabilities

This project will explore partnerships to learn how to advance accessibility in informal STEM learning experiences for all students including students with disabilities. The project investigates best practices in establishing partnerships for informal science learning organizations that work with elementary and middle school youth who are deaf and hard of hearing, and/or blind and low-vision.

Within each Challenger Learning Center are immersive environments in which the participants, primarily middle school students, roleplay as scientists, engineers, medical professionals, and other STEM occupations on a realistic space mission. There is a mission control room and a room that looks like the interior of a spacecraft. The rooms include real science equipment, computer workstations, and audiovisual equipment--a hybrid of digital and physical STEM learning. The simulated missions to space: 1) deepen learner engagement and interest in STEM, 2) build STEM identity, 3) increase STEM self-efficacy, 4) introduce youth to a range of STEM careers, and 5) enable learners to practice skills such as communication, collaboration, and problem solving. The goal is to inspire all young learners - irrespective of their race, gender, socioeconomic status, or disability status - to stay engaged with STEM throughout their education and life and feel capable and empowered to pursue STEM careers.

A design thinking approach is implemented in these seven phases: empathize, define, inquire, imagine, prototype, try, and notice and reflect. Initial activities will be held to develop understanding among collaborators that is mutually beneficial (empathize & define). Then results are discussed and used to identify and document and make necessary changes to learning centers and partners (inquire & imagine). The eventual goal is to use the insights generated to build capacity for the center to effectively serve all learners.