Accessibility Commons^™

Core Skills For Digital Accessibility, Sara Schoen, Tony Leisen

Innovate! Teaching with Technology Conference

It's been said that the virtual and digital world has replaced the physical world as the locus for discrimination and barriers (Inside Higher Ed, November 2016). But did you know that just six core skills can reduce barriers to digital content by about 80%? The six core skills--applicable across platforms and media--are easy to learn; all they need is YOU to learn them and incorporate them into your workflows. This engaging, interactive workshop will give you the tools you need to create more accessible digital resources across all your platforms and media. We also give some suggestions for how to …

Redshirting: A Critical, Historical Analysis Of The Changing Theories, Policies, And Practices Of Children's Transition Into Kindergarten, Lisa Babel

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This paper examines the contemporary debate over redshirting within the context of a historical analysis of how schools in the United States have addressed children’s transition into kindergarten. It also considers how preparation for the transition to school is cause for concern that has varied greatly depending on the socio-economic conditions of children’s families. Redshirting is the term currently being used to define a child’s delayed entry into kindergarten, usually with the intention of creating an additional year for that child to develop socially and to strive academically. Central to understanding this phenomenon and how to address it is the …

Culture, Inner-City Education And Improving Economic Growth In Birmingham, Alabama, Leroy Abrahams

Capstone Collection

Perhaps the greatest reminder of the economic inequities in American society is the drastic deficiencies in educational outcomes, based on class and race. Birmingham, Alabama, vividly portrays this reality. Families with means send their children to private schools and/or concentrate in the suburbs, leaving largely poor, and oftentimes, predominantly minority in densely populated crime-ridden areas with suboptimal schooling. The schooling patterns are clearly reflected in the economic outcomes, though Black are a majority in the city they are vastly underrepresented in the middle to upper middle class, while grossly overrepresented among those in poverty. These inequities are often mirrored in …

Identity-Oriented Program, Isaac Jorgensen

Capstone Collection

This paper demonstrates why identity-oriented community college study abroad programs are more accessible for the diverse student populations that attend these institutions. It does this with a case study, a demographic analysis, and the theoretical support of The Experiential Learning Cycle (ELC) and Universal Design for Learning (UDL). First it proves the lack of diversity within United States study abroad participants. Following this, the paper shows that community colleges house more underserved populations than four-year universities. Additionally, it illustrates the benefits of studying abroad and demographics specific to The Washington State Community College Consortium for Study Abroad (WCCCSA), …

Approaching Undergraduate Research With Students Who Are Deaf And Hard-Of-Hearing, Austin U. Gehret, Jessica W. Trussell, Lea V. Michel

Journal of Science Education for Students with Disabilities

An undergraduate research experience can provide a unique opportunity for students to learn and grow as scientists; when positive, this experience is often transformative and motivates students to pursue science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) graduate degrees or careers. Conversely, negative research experiences can sour a student’s opinion of research, propagate misconceptions of graduate school, and lead to attrition from STEM fields. Negative research experiences can be equally devastating for faculty mentors and may result in reluctance to mentor future research students. Using a mentoring approach that has traditionally translated to positive research experiences for hearing students may not be …

Turning Clients Into Superheroes Through Accessibility Consulting, Robbie Kopp

Southeast Regional AHEAD Conference

Breaking Down the Physical and Digital Walls to Access from the Inside Out. Including people with disabilities in physical and online spaces is often overlooked in the scheme of social justice. The presenter will talk about strategies to empower organizations and groups to take up leadership in disability access and support significant change. This will be a highlight of the Able Access program that has been creating new ADA experts with each consultation project across South Carolina and the region.

Note-Taking Support: Giving More Power To The Student, David Tucker

Southeast Regional AHEAD Conference

Abruptly, from a nearby spot a voice speaks...

“Studies into effective note-taking strategies all concur that students should independently CAPTURE, ORGANIZE, and TRANSFORM their notes.

“This research is not to be taken lightly! Support professionals: ask yourself whether they cast doubt on the value of traditional forms of note-taking support! Shouldn’t ALL students be given the POWER! to take notes for themselves?”

Moments later… strange diagrams on a projector screen highlight the connection between effective note-taking strategies and the mysterious science of memory.

The voice again.

“Doubtless, the very act of taking notes is key to understanding and remembering new …

A Campus Or A Zoo?, Tina E. Vires

Southeast Regional AHEAD Conference

Intended audience: ALL Service dogs, emotional support animals, therapy animals, animals as accommodations - they're everywhere! Is that ok? Should or can I say anything about them? What are the expectations? Faculty and staff across the country are asking these questions as more animals appear on campuses and lawsuits abound when students are denied access to animals. How do we maintain compliance and sanity? This session will provide an easy to understand overview of the different types of animals we may find on our campuses, how to discern between the types, how and why they may be approved, appropriate and …

How To Succeed In Teaching Your Campus About Physical Accessibility Issues Without Really Trying, Rob Young

Southeast Regional AHEAD Conference

This presentation is designed for anyone who has desired to teach their community about physical accessibility issues. It will be present within the framework of the "Accessibility Scavenger Hunt", an activity developed by myself in conjunction with Northern Arizona University staff and faculty. The goal of the scavenger hunt was to teach the community about campus accessibility issues without resorting to using simulation exercises. We will discuss the framework of the activity as well as the role that the activity had in improving the accessibility of the campus.

Academic Coaching: A Program For Enhancing Organization, Learning And Work Completion For College Students, Chip Studwell, Lexi Czarnatowicz

Southeast Regional AHEAD Conference

Managing college requires organizing, prioritizing, ongoing learning and timely work completion. These are the executive functioning skills for young adults that when under-utilized, can limit access to effective learning. In this workshop, the presenters will provide an overview of how the Academic Coach program, at Bridgewater College, helps students adjust and develop necessary skills for ongoing learning and work completion. Development of the program, training and certification standards and leadership opportunities for coaches to become team leaders will be discussed.

Increasing Access To Aba Intervention For Children With Developmental Disabilities In Taiwan, Noel Hsu

Master's Projects and Capstones

Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) uses a behavioral approach to help clients and their behavioral challenges. This treatment has been proven to be a highly effective intervention for children with developmental disabilities, such as autism spectrum disorders. It is widely practiced in the United States and many other developed countries; however, this intervention is not widely available in Taiwan. This phenomenon requires our investigation because it raises questions about the available supports and interventions for children with special needs in Taiwan. This project is to explore factors that influence the development of ABA intervention in Taiwan. The goal of this project …

Reimagining Ability, Reimagining America: Teaching Disability In United States History Classes, Maya L. Steinborn

Master's Projects and Capstones

In service to the FAIR Education Act (2012) and the awareness-raising mission of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (2008), this project reviews historical and educational literature about disability in the United States and provides a curriculum guide for teaching Human Rights Education (HRE) and disability studies (DS) at the high school level in California. This project traces the historical development of deficit attitudes toward disability back to the colonial era, uncovering the dichotomy between the vast resources in DS and the ableist omission of disability from K-12 curricula. Survey data and interviews further show how teachers …

The Rising Gap Between Rich And Poor: A Look At The Persistence Of Educational Disparities In The United States And Why We Should Worry, Roseanne L. Flores

Publications and Research

In 2001 the no child left behind act was signed into law with the promise to close the achievement gap between disadvantaged children and their white and more affluent peers. Ribbons were cut, ceremonies were held, as America set off on a new path to ensure that all children would have the tools necessary to achieve the American Dream. Children who in the past only had access to low-quality schools would now be able to attend high-quality schools and acquire the skills necessary to become productive citizens and obtain jobs that would catapult them into the middle class. They would …

An Exploratory Study To Understand Elementary School Students’ Conceptions Of Food Chains, Shelby Snowden

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

Research has shown that elementary school is a critical time to pique children’s interest in science. However, many enrichment activities known to pique this interest in young children are not available to students of low socioeconomic status, English Language Learners, racial minorities, and students with disabilities. This has encouraged many higher education institutions to develop STEM outreach programs. Because of the cognitive gap between STEM professionals and young children and the logistics of implementing student-centered activities in heterogeneous classrooms, programs usually consist of activities that impress students with “sophisticated” science but are beyond the cognitive levels of most students and …

Reconstruction Of The Destroyed Sinjali Secondary School, Isabella Kaganowski

Sustainability and Social Justice

This practitioner paper chronicles my involvement of the grant writing proposal that was designed on behalf of a non-for-profit organization, the Association of Dalit Women’s Advancement of Nepal (ADWAN), in order to secure funding and donations for the reconstruction of the destroyed Sinjali Secondary School in Gorkha district, Taklung village, after a 2015 earthquake struck Nepal. The proposal was guided by and collaborated with Professor Jude Fernando of Clark University, as Professor Fernando was able to visit Taklung village and gather information about the needs in the educational sector damaged by the earthquake. Literature review and research was gathered to …

School Transition From Elementary To Middle School: Perceptions From Economically Disadvantaged Students, Keith M. Mcgee Sr.

Theses and Dissertations from 2017

The purpose of this study was to investigate school transition from elementary to middle school from the perceptions of economically disadvantaged students. Through the investigation, a determination was made on whether there is a difference in the level of connectedness among economically disadvantaged students between the low performing and higher performing schools. The study was a quantitative research design. The target population of the study was economically disadvantaged students in four middle schools in an urban school district located in the central region of the state. All of the four middle schools contained sixth through eighth-grade configurations and were designated …

Adopting Children With Down Syndrome: A Qualitative Study Of Family Experiences, Emily L. Richter

Rehabilitation, Human Resources and Communication Disorders Undergraduate Honors Theses

The purpose of this study is to qualitatively investigate and compare the family beliefs, values, and perceptions of parenting of families who have adopted children with Down syndrome (DS) to parents who have biological children with DS. Participants in the study included 27 parents of biological children with DS and six parents of adopted children with DS. Participants were interviewed through a digital survey that was distributed through Qualtrics Online Survey Software. Quantitative analysis placed the participants into groups and qualitative analysis was used to identify beliefs, values, and perceptions. Results showed that while both adoptive and biological parents indicated …

Parent Perspectives On Transition Services And Expectations For Transition-Age Students With Disabilities In A Virtual School Setting, Heather Raithel

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

Students with disabilities often experience difficulties as they transition from school to adult life. This project examined the perspectives of parents of transition-age students with disabilities enrolled in a full-time virtual school setting. The first dependent variable was parent satisfaction with transition services for students in the virtual school including relevancy and quality of student and parent trainings and information on transition, inter-agency collaboration, community-based learning experiences, staff knowledge and communication, transition specific courses, and appropriateness of the IEP transition plan. The second dependent variable was parent expectations for students as they exit school in regards to independent living, post-secondary …

Reich Scholar Program: A Scholarship And Leadership Training Program For International Students With Disabilities At Dartmouth College, Megan Murray

Capstone Collection

National level and international policy changes have emerged to promote educational opportunity for children with disabilities. A gap remains in US higher education in providing access and support for international students with disabilities. Areas of need for this student demographic include financial access, availability of assistive technology, specific socio-cultural advising to living in the US with a disability, comprehensive immigration advising and career support for entering the workforce with a disability. Staff support is generally siloed in colleges. International student services and disability or accessibility services often work in isolation. This capstone imagines the pilot year of a scholarship and …

Knowledge Of Assistive Technology And Services Available To Students With Disabilities, Mary J. Addison

Master's Level Papers/Projects

The purpose of this study was to investigate the knowledge of students and faculty regarding the assistive technology and services available to students with disabilities at a university in the southeastern United States. This study consists of 300 participants who were asked to respond to 8 questions which were designed to collect data aligned with the three research objectives. The findings may be used to determine if further education or communication is needed in order to better inform students, staff, and faculty of assistive technology and services available on campus.