ABSTRACT

The value of experiential lab work can be measured by its ability to transform a student’s self-identity related to science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). Successful experiences help students shed notions of self-incompatibility with STEM and can often motivate a research career as they develop as a scientist. However, students of diverse and underrepresented populations, such as the d/Deaf and hard-of-hearing (DHH), may or may not reap these same benefits given the potential for isolation in lab settings. We conducted two surveys aimed at capturing the perspectives of students who are DHH who worked in a lab as part of an undergraduate research or internship experience and those of non-signing advisors who oversaw advisees who are DHH. Students and advisors were asked to provide strategies that they used to facilitate communication access and to rank the perceived effectiveness of those strategies. Students placed a strong emphasis on the benefits of sign language and interpreting while advisors valued written communication. For the majority of experiences, both groups indicated that advisors were actively engaged with students’ training and that the experiences themselves were rewarding and productive.

摘要

体验式实验室工作的价值可以通过其改变学生与科学、技术、工程和数学 (STEM) 相关的自我认同的能力来衡量。成功的经历可以帮助学生摆脱与 STEM 不相容的想法，并且在他们成长为科学家的过程中往往可以激发他们的研究生涯。然而，考虑到在实验室环境中可能被隔离，来自不同群体和代表性不足人群的学生，例如聋哑人和听力障碍者 (DHH)，可能会也可能不会获得这些相同的好处。我们进行了两项调查，旨在了解在实验室工作作为本科生研究或实习经历一部分的 DHH 学生以及监督 DHH 顾问的非签约顾问的观点。学生和顾问被要求提供他们用来促进沟通的策略，并对这些策略的感知有效性进行排名。学生们非常重视手语和口译的好处，而顾问则重视书面交流。对于大多数经历，两组都表示顾问积极参与学生的培训，并且这些经历本身是有益且富有成效的。