PPD Special Proj: "Enabling Students to Undertake the Challenge of Careers in Engineering and Science in School (Enabling SUCCESS)"

Proposal # HRD-96-22322 Applicant: Louisiana Tech University Principal Investigator: Paul Hale Title: "Enabling Students to Undertake the Challenge of Careers in Engineering and Science in School" (Enabling SUCCESS) ABSTRACT The Biomedical Engineering Department of Louisiana Tech University, through its Center for Rehabilitation Science and Biomedical Engineering, proposes a three-year Special Project directed at increasing the awareness of career opportunities in science, engineering, and mathematics for middle school students with disabilities. The overall goal of this project is to work with middle school students, their parents, and their science teachers to increase the number of students with disabilities that pursue science, engineering, and mathematics career fields. The specific goals of the project are to: 1) stimulate student interest in science, engineering, and mathematics; 2) heighten the awareness among middle school students, their families, and their science teachers of the opportunities for persons with disabilities in these fields; and 3) provide them with an understanding of the importance of career exploration and taking appropriate college preparatory courses in high school. Students often begin to make career preparation decisions in the middle school grades as they prepare to enter high school where college preparatory electives require decisions in earlier grades. This is especially true in science and math where a sequence of courses must be followed from the earliest possible grade level. Students with disabilities and their parents need to be prepared for these decisions and to realize that these choices will influence subsequent educational and career development activities. For students with disabilities, neglecting fundamental skills may exclude them from the opportunity to enroll or succeed in SEM curricula when they enter college. Primary components of the proposed project are: (1) As sistive Technology and Careers in SEM Workshops, (2) Adapted Classroom and Student Science Kits, (3) Teacher Awareness Seminars, (4) Study and Career Guidance Mentoring Program, (5) Super Summer of Science Showcases. A unique feature of this proposal is its focus on middle school students with disabilities, their parents, and their teachers. For the purposes of this proposal, middle school grades will include grades six through nine. Through the mentoring and counseling program, the project will address the educational transition from late elementary school through high school. The project would provide training for middle-school teachers in methods of including students with disabilities in all aspects of classroom and laboratory learning experiences. Activities designed to stimulate students with disabilities to explore science projects and courses would be undertaken and evaluated. Information regarding available assistive technologies that make SEM activities accessible to students with disabilities would be provided to science teachers, students, and parents. ***