SDPS-2013 Printed in the United States of America, October, Society for Design and Process Science

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1 SDPS-2013 Printed in the United States of America, October, Society for Design and Process Science EFFECTIVE STRATEGIES TO ATTRACT GIFTED AND TALENTED STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES IN HIGHER EDUCATION STEM FIELDS. ALABAMA ALLIANCE FOR STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES IN STEM i CASE STUDY Overtoun Jenda, Daniela Marghitu, Caroline Dunn, Ash Abebe, David Shannon, Chukwudi Chidume, Brittany McCullough Auburn University Auburn, Alabama 36849, USA ABSTRACT In the school year, 79,705 students (10.8%) in the Alabama K-12 school system were diagnosed with a disability. White students comprised 58% of total K-12 enrollment and 56% of students with disabilities (SWD), Black students 34% of enrollment and 39% of SWD, Hispanic students 5% of enrollment and 3% of SWD, Asian students 1.3% of enrollment and 0.6% of SWDs, Native American students 0.8% of enrollment and 0.7% of SWD. This paper will present the Alabama Alliance for Students with Disabilities in STEM research and outreach efforts focused on increasing the quality and number of students with disabilities completing associate, undergraduate, and graduate degrees in STEM disciplines and entering the workforce, especially among minorities, veterans, and women; improving collaboration among and between post-secondary institutions and government agencies in Alabama; and addressing the education of students with disabilities in STEM. INTRODUCTION Status of Diversity in Alabama K-12 School System In the school year, 79,705 students (10.8%) in the Alabama K-12 school system were diagnosed with a disability. White students comprised 58% of total K-12 enrollment and 56% of students with disabilities (SWD), Black students 34% of enrollment and 39% of SWD, Hispanic students 5% of enrollment and 3% of SWD, Asian students 1.3% of enrollment and 0.6% of SWDs, Native American students 0.8% of enrollment and 0.7% of SWD [Alabama State Department of Education, 2013]. African-Americans appear to be disproportionately represented in diagnoses of intellectual disabilities and specific learning disabilities as they constitute 51% and 45% of these diagnoses, respectively. For the state of Alabama, females constitute 49% of total school enrollment but only constitute 32% of students diagnosed with disabilities, while males compose 51% of student enrollment but constitute 68% of all students diagnosed with disabilities. Alabama Alliance for Students with Disabilities in STEM (AASD-STEM ) is a collaborative effort involving four universities: Alabama State University (ASU), Auburn University (AU), Auburn University Montgomery (AUM), and Tuskegee University (TU); one community college: Southern Union State Community College (SUSCC); and eight school districts: Chambers County, Elmore County, Lee County, Macon County, Montgomery County, Tallapoosa County, Auburn City, and Opelika City School Districts in East-Central Alabama. Two of the participating post-secondary institutions, ASU and TU, are Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) [AASD-STEM, 2013]. In participating school districts, there are 7,617 students with disabilities between the ages of 3 and 21. This makes up 10.4% of total enrollment in these districts, and about 9% of the total number of students with disabilities in the State of Alabama. The Alliance has four major goals: (1) Increase the quality of students with disabilities completing associate and baccalaureate degrees in STEM disciplines. (2) Increase the number of students with disabilities completing associate and baccalaureate degrees in STEM disciplines and entering STEM graduate degrees or STEM workforce. (3) Increase the number of students with disabilities completing graduate degrees in STEM disciplines; and (4) Increase the number of high school students with disabilities going to college. Partnering Post-Secondary Institutions Alabama State University: ASU, an HBCU founded in 1867, is located in Montgomery, the state capitol of Alabama. ASU has undergraduate majors in biology, chemistry, and mathematics and has graduate programs in biology and mathematics. ASU is home of the state supported Science In Motion program, serving schools in surrounding districts. In addition, ASU has NSF funded Research Centers that provide research experiences for students with disabilities. 147

2 Auburn University: AU is a comprehensive, Research-I, land grant institution founded in 1856, and is ranked as one of the top 50 public universities by U.S. News & World Report. Auburn University's enrollment exceeds 25,000 students from 50 states and over 100 countries, and has a large number of outstanding research faculty, undergraduate, and graduate students in all STEM. AU is also home of the Science In Motion program, serving schools in surrounding districts. In addition, AU has NSF Research Centers and EPSCOR funded research that will provide research experiences for students with disabilities. Auburn University at Montgomery: AUM, founded in 1967, offers undergraduate majors in basic sciences and mathematics. In 2006, AUM was chosen by The Princeton Review as a Best Southeastern College. AU and AUM have extensive offices that provide assistance to students with disabilities. Tuskegee University: TU, one of the oldest HBCUs, is only 20 miles from AU and 32 miles from ASU and AUM. As home of George Washington Carver and Booker T. Washington, TU continues to attract a large number of African-American students. Tuskegee University has undergraduate majors in basic sciences, engineering, and mathematics and has graduate programs in biology, chemistry, and engineering. TU has NSF Research Centers and EPSCOR funded research faculty that have agreed to provide research experiences for students with disabilities. Southern Union State Community College: SUSCC is located in Opelika, an adjoining city to Auburn, and was formed in 1993 as a result of merging two junior colleges. SUSCC serves residents of an eight county area of East Central Alabama, as well as neighboring Georgia, with an educational emphasis on academic programs for transferability to four-year colleges and universities. Objective The objective of this paper is to disseminate the AASD-STEM strategies and results toward increasing the number and quality of students with disabilities completing associate, undergraduate, and graduate degrees in STEM disciplines and entering the workforce, especially among minorities, veterans, and women. AASD-STEM PLAN AASD-STEM is funded by the Research in Disabilities Education (RDE) program of the National Science Foundation (NSF). The RDE program advances the goal of broadening the participation and achievement of postsecondary students with disabilities in STEM. RDE currently funds 46 projects that contribute to closing the achievement gaps for postsecondary students with disabilities in STEM fields, including students enrolled in community colleges, baccalaureate degree programs, and graduate schools [National Science Foundation, 2013]. Alliance Goals Goal 1: Increase the quality of students with disabilities completing associate and baccalaureate degrees in STEM disciplines. Goal 2: Increase the number of students with disabilities completing associate and baccalaureate degrees in STEM disciplines and entering STEM graduate degrees or STEM workforce. Goal 3: Increase the number of students with disabilities completing graduate degrees in STEM disciplines. Goal 4: Increase the number of high school students with disabilities going to college. Alliance Activities The major activities of the AASD-STEM alliance take place within three Bridge programs: Bridge to the Baccalaureate (for undergraduate freshmen and sophomores), Bridge to the Post-Baccalaureate (for undergraduate juniors and seniors), and the Graduate Bridge (for Master s and PhD-level graduate students). The goal is for students to move through these Bridges sequentially, progressing through each phase of study and eventually entering positions in the STEM workforce. Within these Bridges, both horizontal and vertical mentoring takes place. In the horizontal mentoring, each Bridge meets as a group twice per semester. These meetings are facilitated by a faculty mentor for each Bridge. Bridge to Baccalaureate meeting topics include: time management, study skills, resources for academic assistance, advice on classes to take, and mentoring. Bridge to Post Baccalaureate meeting topics include: coop opportunities and research internships, advice on classes, and speakers (professors) from STEM disciplines, graduate school, industry, or government. Graduate Bridge topics include conference presentations, preparing for PhD preliminary exams, applying for postdocs, scientific grant writing, and future faculty preparation. The Bridge Model also includes vertical cascading mentoring whereby students are grouped into clusters of 10 or fewer students. Within these clusters, Graduate Bridge students mentor students from the Bridge to Post- Baccalaureate, and students from the Bridge to Post- Baccalaureate mentor students in the Bridge to Baccalaureate. In particular, within each cluster, graduate students mentor seniors, seniors mentor juniors, juniors mentor sophomores, and sophomores mentor freshmen. In this regard, a peer mentor serves as a resource, a helping hand, a sounding board, a role model, coach, friend, and advisor. The mentor provides support, encouragement, and information to students in their cluster, including but not limited to academic matters. 148

3 Each cluster meets once a week, with no faculty mentor present at these meetings. This gives students the opportunity to interact with their peers in a less formal setting and discuss topics and issues that they may otherwise not be comfortable with, have time for, or have the desire to discuss in a larger setting or with the faculty mentor present. Some activities at these meetings include: students sharing papers they have written, new/cool things they have learned in recent weeks in class, and fun or interesting things that happened outside classroom. Participants in the Bridge to the Baccalaureate and Bridge to the Post-Baccalaureate receive a $2,000 stipend per academic year, and Graduate Bridge participants receive a $3,500 stipend per academic year. Other activities sponsored by AASD-STEM include summer research experiences, high school visitations, an annual conference, and mini-grants awarded to support research and interventions at colleges and universities in Alabama aiming to increase the number of students with disabilities completing STEM degrees. During the summer research internships, students spend eight weeks working with a research faculty member in a laboratory on the campus of one of the Alliance institutions. Students are actively involved in research with faculty members and other students, and their findings are presented each year at the AASD-STEM Annual Conference, as well as at many other regional and national conferences. Some examples of successful research internship projects include: Collision avoidance algorithms for unmanned aerial vehicles; Using Window Eyes, ZoomText, and Microsoft Kodu to help K-12 students and other individuals in programming; Various physiological responses of animals to stress factors such as diet and environmental conditions; Development of a polymer network designed to release the drug sirolimus while coated on the surface of a metal stent used in an angioplasty surgical procedure; Applying a new digital gradient sensing method to measure angular deflection of PMMA under static loads. In addition to research findings, other topics presented at the annual conferences include advocacy issues, assistive technologies, research and career opportunities, and issues and challenges faced by individuals with disabilities in STEM fields. The conference also provides AASD-STEM students with an opportunity to network with peers and faculty members from each of the five Alliance institutions. As outreach to high school students, AASD-STEM students visit area high schools to speak to counselors and students with disabilities about the AASD-STEM program and to give their perspective as college students with disabilities in STEM fields. In addition, area high school students with disabilities have visited the Auburn University campus. During these visits, the high school students meet with college students, faculty members, and representatives from Financial Aid, Admissions, and the Office of Accessibility. A community college representative also discusses the process of transferring from a community college to a 4-year college. Finally, the high school students have a chance to visit a college class. Three mini-grants have been awarded to date, funding projects in STEM and disabilities research. Funded projects have involved exploring the usability of the Tactile Image Enhancer tool to assist students in STEM with visual impairments; research on increasing accessibility using electro-encephalography to open doors; and science and technology camps and workshops for students with disabilities and K-12 STEM teachers. ORGANIZATION, MANAGEMENT, AND INSTITUTIONAL COMMITMENT Alliance activities are managed and coordinated by a full-time Project Manager located at Auburn University. The Project Manager also serves as a lecturer in a STEM discipline (Mathematics), enabling him to attend to academic issues that students may have immediately rather than waiting till a faculty member is available. An executive committee made up of faculty members, administrators, and representatives from disability services from each campus meets regularly throughout the year to provide leadership for the project and oversee program implementation. The committee discusses issues such as recruitment, program activities, and challenges and solutions to program implementation. Collected data and evaluation results are used in recommending improvements and plans of action. The AASD-STEM Advisory Board is made up of individuals from government, industry, and K-12 education. This board advises the AASD-STEM Executive Committee on issues such as program activities, improving the pipelines from high school to college to graduate school to employment, and recruitment of students with disabilities. The Advisory Board also increases connections between current students and graduates of the program with the local community, academic community, and business/industry. EVALUATION PLAN The goals of the Alabama Alliance for Students with Disabilities in STEM are assessed using mixed methods that employ quantitative and qualitative data procedures to provide formative and summative feedback regarding how the program meets each objective. A logic model has been developed to guide evaluation efforts for each goal and objective of the project. The evaluation plan includes administering survey instruments to stakeholders in the 149

4 program, conducting interviews and focus groups, as well as tracking attendance and implementation of program sponsored events. This plan is tailored to the specific objectives of the project with a focus on the implementation and effects of recruitment and retention efforts and the impact on the enrollment/retention and success of Students with Disabilities in STEM disciplines. In addition, the project s efforts to increase and improve current facilities and learning environments to attract and retain Students with Disabilities in STEM disciplines will be examined. Furthermore, the plan allows for examining the extent to which the project fosters collaboration with other post-secondary institutions and community organizations. The internal evaluator and research assistants work closely with participating institutions to examine recruitment activities and enrollment and scholarship awards for Students with Disabilities. Descriptive and longitudinal data is gathered from Students with Disabilities enrolled in STEM disciplines at the undergraduate and graduate level. Instrumentation is tailored to the objectives of specific transitional activities. The students are followed over the duration of the project and compared to students without disabilities whenever possible to determine which efforts and activities on the part of the participating institutions were most valuable in the preparation and success of students. Student participation in on-site campus activities which promote STEM careers is monitored throughout the duration of the project. Students complete pre- and postmeasures for each activity and are also examined longitudinally to determine whether they eventually enter a STEM-related major or career. Students also complete pre- and post-surveys in the fall and spring of each year to assess self-advocacy knowledge and behaviors and STEM learning experiences. RESULTS AND FUTURE WORK Results AASD-STEM is having a positive impact on the quality and quantity of students with disabilities in STEM at participating institutions. Students have reported gains in academic self-efficacy and self-advocacy behaviors, and students at every level have been successful in graduating and transitioning to the next phase of study or employment. In (year 4 of program implementation), Auburn University had 29 students enrolled in the Bridge to the Baccalaureate program, 27 in the Bridge to the Post-Baccalaureate, and 6 in the Graduate Bridge. Bridge enrollments have significantly increased each year since the beginning of the program. 108 students have participated in the Bridge Programs of AASD-STEM at Auburn University. These students represent a wide variety of STEM majors from several colleges on campus. The breakdown of student enrollment by college is as follows: 47 Engineering; 32 Sciences and Mathematics; 14 Liberal Arts (Psychology); 7 Agriculture; 4 Architecture, Design & Construction (Building Science); 3 Human Sciences (Nutrition); and 1 Forestry & Wildlife. Of the 108 students who have participated in Bridge programs at Auburn University, 25 have received STEM degrees: 18 Bachelor s degrees, 5 Master s degrees, and 2 PhDs. These students have gone on to enter the STEM workforce, graduate school at the next level of study, and postdoc positions. Overall, Auburn students indicated improvement in several areas in Table 1 below shows self-reported personal improvement among Auburn University students based on their Spring post-survey responses. All survey items used a 5-point scale, with 1 being no improvement and 5 being a great deal of improvement. Responses had an overall scale average of 3.32, and all but 2 items averaged above the scale midpoint of 3. The areas in which Auburn students indicated the greatest improvement were making friends and increasing their social network, improving their peer academic network, learning more about STEM and opportunities for research in STEM and improving their self-advocacy skills. Auburn University students made their greatest improvements in self-efficacy skills and behaviors and the ability to face issues and challenges, with 97.7% reporting improvement in self-advocacy behaviors and 86.4% for issues and challenges. Their greatest improvement also pertained to their ability to face academic and social issues. In comparison to the overall sample, a greater percentage of Auburn students demonstrated improvement in their use of effective study skills and their ability to face health and accessibility issues, and interest in research. Finally, 54.5% of Auburn students made improvements in their self-advocacy knowledge, compared to just 47.8% overall. See Table 2 below. In focus groups conducted by project evaluators, students were asked about the most beneficial aspects of the mentoring they received or provided, benefits received from other program activities, and specific ways in which they have improved as students. Table 3 below contains some representative student responses. Future Work When the five year funding period ends, Alliance institutions plan to institutionalize the program and continue to sustain the enrichment activities of AASD- STEM. Students will continue to participate in Bridge programs and mentoring clusters. Evaluation and tracking of students progress will continue in order to assess the outcomes and impacts of program participation. 150

5 CONCLUSION Through Bridge activities, AASD-STEM is successfully impacting the quality and quantity of students with disabilities in STEM. Students report improvement in a variety of areas, such as STEM interest, interest and knowledge of research, ability to face issues and challenges, and self-advocacy knowledge and behaviors. Students are also successfully moving through the Bridge programs, completing STEM degrees, and becoming valuable members of the STEM workforce. It is the goal of the AASD-STEM Alliance institutions to continue this work in order to further advance the successes of students with disabilities in STEM fields. REFERENCES AASD-STEM, (2013). Alabama State Department of Education. (2013). October 2012 Child Count by Exceptionality, Ethnicity, & Sex [Data file]. Retrieved from documents/65/edser001_state_ pdf National Science Foundation. (2013). Research in Disabilities Education (RDE). Retrieved from 2&org=NSF&sel_org=NSF FIGURES AND TABLES Table 1. Auburn University - POST Reported Improvement N Mean SD Made friends and Increased Social Support Learned more about STEM fields Increased Peer Academic Support Network Learned more about STEM research Learned more about AASD- STEM programs and services Learned more about research opportunities in STEM Improved Self Advocacy Skills Improved my relationships with faculty and staff Learned more about STEM careers Clarified Career Goals Helped to better balance academics and other responsibilities Learned more about resources and services available on campus Learned more about assistive technologies Clarified Learning Goals Better prepared to apply to Graduate School Improved Academic Skills/Grades Improved Time Management Skills Improved Study Habits Helped me prepare to transition to a graduate degree program OVERALL SCALE

6 Table 2. Percentage of AU Students Reporting Improvement Area Percent N STEM Interest i This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No Ability to Face Issues and Challenges Accommodation/Disclosure Issues Accessibility Issues Academic Issues Time Management Issues Social Issues Health Issues College Adjustment Issues Self-Advocacy Self-Advocacy Behavior and Skills Self-Advocacy Knowledge Academic Skills Academic Efficacy Study Skills Research Scales Research Interests Research Involvement Research Confidence Table 3. Student Focus Group Responses I met new people from different schools in the area and learned a lot about the different majors and research that other people are doing. Being in this program has helped me branch out to do other things that I might not have been a part of. The experience I have gained helped me become more confident in entering the workforce. I've learned to be calmer about school knowing that there are different ways to get help if I need it. The most beneficial aspect of the mentoring program has been the ability to share experiences and share information gathered about potential jobs and internships. I have improved by being able to manage my disability and school work at the same time. 152