AccessSTEM

Disclaimer: This project grant is over, but the benefits and community of the project continue. To learn more, visit the AccessSTEM overview page or email doit@uw.edu.

Most teachers are responsive to the pedagogical needs of all students. However, some students with disabilities have unique educational challenges. Although teachers may receive direction regarding academic adjustments and accommodations through Individual Education Plans (IEPs) and Section 504 plans for specific students, it is good to be thinking about the broad range of abilities, disabilities, and other characteristics of potential students as you design your curriculum.

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Support and expand an online resource center that shares research and promising practices worldwide. The AccessSTEM website has been regularly updated and expanded and numerous publications and presentations have resulted from project efforts. It includes pages for CoPs, events, project publications, and the AccessSTEM Knowledge Base of Q&A’s, case studies, and promising practices.

Evaluation Thus Far

To ensure high quality, products undergo a rigorous development process.

Objective 1

Implement changes within partner postsecondary institutions–University of Washington (UW), Bellevue College (BC), and Seattle Central Community College (SCCC)–to make STEM programs more welcoming and accessible to students with disabilities (e.g., more accessible websites and science labs, STEM publications that encourage the participation of students with disabilities).

The purpose of AccessSTEM is to increase the participation of people with disabilities in STEM careers. Outreach and dissemination efforts extend nationwide.

Students with disabilities, who are eligible for services under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) in preschool through high school, are guaranteed a free and appropriate education in the the least restrictive environment in the public schools. Public schools have the responsibility to ensure that eligible students are identified and provided with appropriate educational supports and services.

Everyone has both rights and responsibilities. All children with disabilities at the K-12 level in the United States have a right to a free and appropriate education in the most inclusive setting possible. In postsecondary settings, students with disabilities have the right to access postsecondary activities and programs and the right to reasonable accommodations. Faculty members have the right to require that students demonstrate knowledge and skills essential to course content.

Most groups in educational institutions, workplaces, and other settings are diverse with respect to background, cultural and gender identity, first language, socioeconomic status, age, abilities, learning preferences, and myriad other characteristics. All people have an intersecting identity made up of a variety of these unique facets.

The resources below can help to create a classroom environment that maximizes the learning of all students. AccessSTEM staff also deliver presentations on the University of Washington campus, at partner institutions, and to other stakeholder groups. For more information, see AccessSTEM Presentations.