Scientists are shaped by their unique life experiences and bring these perspectives to their research. Diversity in life and cultural experiences among scientists, therefore, broadens research directions and, ultimately, scientific discoveries. Deaf individuals, for example, have successfully contributed their unique perspectives to scientific inquiry. However, deaf individuals still face challenges in university science education. Most deaf students in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines interact with faculty who have little to no experience working with deaf individuals and who often have preconceptions or simply a lack of knowledge about deaf individuals. In addition to a lack of communication access, deaf students may also feel unwelcome in STEM, as do other underrepresented groups. In this essay, we review evidence from the literature and, where data are lacking, contribute the expert opinions of the authors, most of whom are deaf scientists themselves, to identify strategies to best support deaf students in university STEM education. We describe the journey of a hypothetical deaf student and methods for faculty to create a welcoming environment. We describe and provide recommendations for classroom seating and layout, accommodations, teaching strategies, and research mentoring. We also discuss the importance of including deaf scientists in research about deaf individuals.

Little research exists about Saudi deaf education and Saudi Deaf culture. Using an emic qualitative design, two deaf male Saudis were interviewed and asked to share their life stories. These individuals had grown up in hearing families and the goal was to investigate their life experiences. The interviews were conducted in their first language, SASL, to ensure their comprehension of the questions as most deaf Saudis have low levels of literacy. Participants were from two different cities with two different educational backgrounds. A qualitative narrative analysis captured a more detailed description of how these individuals recalled growing up as a deaf person in a hearing family and later being exposed to sign language and Deaf culture. Both stories highlighted the importance of communication in both positive and negative ways. Results found that Saudi deaf individuals face many challenges in their life, such as language deprivation, poor quality education, and a poor work environment.

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While the goal of increasing numbers of underrepresented faculty members, especially Deaf professionals, has been accomplished to some extent, many are stymied in publishing their dissertation findings in peer-reviewed journals, and therefore have difficulty earning tenure. To address this need, a case study approach was utilized to investigate the development of Deaf professionals' academic writing during a five-day writing retreat. This paper discusses specific academic writing challenges including organizing ideas, finding an appropriate journal, editing, submitting, as well as handling peer reviews, rejections, and revisions. Information is provided on the final writing products, types of support, guidance, and mentorship that were employed. Findings showed that 75% of papers worked on during the retreat were successfully published in peer-reviewed journals. The importance of published work by Deaf scholars and plans for future retreats are described.

Active learning pedagogies such as inquiry-based learning have the potential not only to improve students' science literacy but also promote affective learning and interest in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) careers. Moreover, a focus on affective learning may be key to improve recruitment in STEM. Yet, we know little about how participation in inquiry-based courses can impact college students' affective learning. Here, we present results from a comparative analysis of two affective learning outcomes, attitudes toward science and science identity, after participation in inquiry-based laboratory courses. Then, we synthesize what we have learned about successes and limitations to promoting growth in positive attitudes toward science and science identity after participation in these courses. Our work focuses on non-science majors who are deaf, hard-of-hearing and hearing signers in bilingual (American Sign Language and written English) inquiry-based biology laboratory courses. We concentrate on the Deaf Community because deaf individuals often face challenges regarding access in STEM education. Our results indicate that participation in inquirybased laboratory courses has the potential to positively influence students' attitudes toward science via repeated engagement with hands-on, student-driven experimentation, peer collaboration, and a welcoming classroom environment. However, participation in these classes had a limited impact on students' science identities. Some students saw themselves as scientists during laboratory classes, however, their science identities beyond the classroom remained unchanged. While inquiry-based laboratories successfully promote one aspect of affective learning, work is needed to improve students' science identities and increase interest in STEM careers to more effectively recruit students in these courses.