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Fieldwork is a fundamental characteristic of geoscience. However, the requirement to participate in fieldwork can present significant barriers to students with disabilities engaging with geoscience as an academic discipline and subsequently progressing on to a career as a geoscience professional. A qualitative investigation into the lived experiences of 15 students with disabilities participating in a one-day field workshop during the 2014 Geological Society of America Annual Meeting provides critical insights into the aspects of fieldwork design and delivery that contribute to an accessible and inclusive field experience. Qualitative analysis of pre- and post-fieldwork focus groups and direct observations of participants reveal that multisensory engagement, consideration for pace and timing, flexibility of access and delivery, and a focus on shared tasks are essential to effective pedagogic design. Further, fieldwork can support the social processes necessary for students with disabilities to become fully integrated into learning communities, while also promoting self-advocacy by providing an opportunity to develop and practice self-advocacy skills. Our findings show that students with sensory, cognitive, and physical disabilities can achieve full participation in field activities but also highlight the need for a change in perceptions among geoscience faculty and professionals, if students with disabilities are to be motivated to progress through the geoscience academic pipeline and achieve professional employment.

Learners with disabilities are often denied field-based learning experiences in naturalistic disciplines. Geology can present substantial barriers due to rugged terrain in difficult-to-reach locations. In 2014, a field trip was executed with the dual purpose of 1) designing inclusion in field learning and 2) demonstrating to college faculty an accessible field experience. Direct observations of participants on the trip, as well as pre-and post-trip focus groups, illuminate the student and faculty field learning experience. Geoscience faculty have little guidance or support in understanding what disability is, how to reconcile accommodation with field-geology learning goals, and they cited instances where disability service providers acted as gatekeepers. The net effect of these ontologies is to reduce faculty empathy with, and thus their ability to be inclusive of, students with disabilities in field settings. Recommendations for instructors include taking campus disability-services administrators on field trips, opening and maintaining communications with disability service providers, and designing pedagogically sound field trips that align as much as possible to principles of universal design. An advocacy approach is described, which focuses on the students and the educational process, instead of on institutional compliance. Finally, geoscience faculty should conceptualize disability service providers as accessibility service providers.

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